A food control authority may approve an establishment when it meets the requirements set in the Food Act. The establishment must also fulfil the requirements set in the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin. The establishment must also fulfil the requirements set in the Decree of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on food hygiene in establishments.
An establishment can only be approved once a supervisory authority has completed its inspection.
If the operation of an establishment is interrupted, terminated or the operator changes, the operator must, without delay, notify the food control authority who approved the establishment in question. In the event of a significant operational change, the operator must notify a food control authority well in advance, who will then inspect and approve the changed operations.
An application for the approval of an establishment is not required if, for example, a primary production operator produces small numbers of foodstuffs from their products in connection to their retail sales. However, the operator must notify the local food control authority about such a food premise.
If the trader is established in another EEA state and provides services in Finland on a temporary basis, they are required to have the same permits as the traders established in Finland.
The application process is subject to a fee in accordance with the rates for the Rovakaari environmental health care depending on the time spent on processing and the costs incurred during it.