Food control projects
Control projects provide information on the activities of food businesses. They help us target control measures at high-risk activities. In addition to our projects, we take samples whenever necessary.
Espoo Region Environmental Health Services carries out food control projects every year on its own and together with other municipalities in the capital region. We also take part in national projects coordinated by the Finnish Food Authority.
A project may include taking samples of food products and contact surfaces or inspecting a specific area. If the results are poor, the inspector will advise the operator to take corrective measures. If necessary, new samples are taken later.
If you have questions about our food control projects, you can contact Espoo Region Environmental Health Services by email at elintarvikevalvonta@espoo.fi.
Current projects
Current food control projects
- Naming of food products and protected product names: In 2025, Oiva inspections focus on monitoring protected product names and the naming of food products. The purpose of the name protection scheme (EU quality schemes for geographical indications and traditional specialities) is to protect the traditional names of food and agricultural products from misuse and falsification. When monitoring the naming of food products, we make sure that the name describes and identifies the product accurately and does not mislead the consumer. For example, we monitor the correct use of the name ‘ham’ (‘kinkku’ in Finnish), as it is an area where many problems were identified during our previous project.
- Monitoring of the import of food products of animal origin from the EU internal market: Together with the food control authorities of Helsinki and Vantaa, we have launched focused efforts related to the import of food products of animal origin from the EU internal market. This work will be carried out from 2025 to 2028, and it will focus on improving the monitoring of the import of food products of animal origin from the internal market in various ways.
Finnish Food Authority’s current national projects
- No ongoing projects.
Completed projects
Summaries of food control projects:
- Hygienic quality of self-serve water in food establishments in the Helsinki metropolitan area in 2024 (City of Helsinki, in Finnish, summary in English)(external link, opens in a new window)
- Sales conditions for pick-and-mix sweets and nuts in shops in 2023 (pdf, in Finnish)(external link, opens in a new window)
- Hygienic quality of pizza toppings stored in refrigerated drawers, 2023 (pdf, in Finnish)(external link, opens in a new window)
Reports on the Finnish Food Authority’s national control projects:
- Pathogens in pre-packaged leafy vegetables 2018–2020 (Finnish Food Authority, in Finnish)(external link, opens in a new window)
- National control project for salt and nutrition 2019–2021 (Finnish Food Authority, in Finnish)(external link, opens in a new window)
- Ensuring conformity of olive oils (Finnish Food Authority, in Finnish)(external link, opens in a new window)
Theses
Below you can find a list of thesis projects carried out at the Food Control Unit of Espoo Region Environmental Health Services.