If you are planning to start a food business, you must register it with the municipality before the business can begin operating. This page explains what counts as a food business, how to register or deregister a food establishment, and what applies to fees, risk classification and food safety responsibilities.

Register or deregister a food establishment

A food business produces, distributes, stores, sells or serves food. Food businesses operate throughout the entire chain from farm to table. The definition of food includes beverages, sweets, food supplements, drinking water and snus, not only what we usually refer to as “food”.

For an activity to be considered a food business, it must be carried out regularly and in an organised manner. The operator may be, for example, a company, an association, a private individual or a municipality.

Before starting a food business, the activity must be registered with the municipality where the business is located. You can register the business using a form or through an e-service.

 If you register through the e-service, the business may start once your registration has been completed. If you submit a paper form, you will receive a confirmation from us after a few days and may then start your business. If you have not received a confirmation, you may still begin operations 10 working days after submitting the form.

If you already have a registered food establishment but need to make changes or deregister it, please contact the Environmental Unit administration by phone at 0122-852 35 or by email at miljo@finspang.se.

Information provided in the registration

The information you provide in the registration is used to assess the risk classification of your establishment. The risk classification is based on the risks associated with your food handling and forms the basis for determining the need for inspections and your annual inspection fee.

Registration fee

A fee is charged for processing your registration. The fee corresponds to one hour of administrative work, according to a tariff established by the Municipal Council of Finspång Municipality.

Food business operator

If you plan to start a food business, you must have knowledge of the activity you intend to operate. You must also have knowledge of food hygiene and food legislation. The requirements regarding training and knowledge depend on the type of business you run and the food products you handle.

If you have any questions, please contact the Environmental Unit administration by phone at 0122-852 35 or by email at miljo@finspang.se.

Self-monitoring programme

All food establishments must work with self-monitoring. Self-monitoring means that you are responsible for proper planning and control of food hygiene in your business. The goal is to ensure that all food is safe to eat and has correct labelling and composition.

The routines for self-monitoring must be presented to the Environmental Unit when the establishment is approved. The control programme and its documentation must always be available at the business premises and must be presented during inspections carried out by the Environmental Unit.

The legal basis for the requirement for self-monitoring is Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.

When developing routines for self-monitoring, it is important that they are adapted to your specific business. If some of the points are not relevant for your operations, they do not need to be included, for example the delivery of hot or cold food. According to current legislation, a food business operator is responsible for producing safe food. One requirement for meeting this obligation is to have well-established routines in different areas, known as prerequisite programmes.

When handling food, the provisions of laws, regulations and other statutory requirements must be followed. In addition, there are industry guidelines that can help, for example, when designing food premises. Many requirements in the EU food hygiene regulations describe the objectives of good food handling without specifying exactly how tasks must be carried out. This allows for a certain degree of flexibility. Business operators are responsible for demonstrating that the solutions they have chosen meet the legal requirements. The requirements described below can therefore be adapted to the size and nature of the business.

The Environmental Unit assesses the conditions of the establishment during the first food inspection after the business has started. During this first visit, the entire establishment is inspected, including both the self-monitoring system and the premises. If any deficiencies are identified, the Environmental Unit will determine which corrective measures are necessary.