A worker who works on food premises and handles unpackaged perishable foodstuffs is required to have
1. a Hygiene Passport (Food Act 297/2021, section 19 subsection 1)
- A Hygiene Passport is required after three months of employment. Any previous jobs in the food sector in which a Hygiene Passport is required are also included retrospectively in this three-month period.
2. provide a health status statement for salmonella infection (Communicable Diseases Act 1227/2016 and -regulation 146/2017)
- A health status statement is required immediately upon commencement of employment or whenever there is a reasonable suspicion during employment that an employee may be a carrier of salmonella bacteria. A health status statement is required for everyone, including trainees and other similar persons, who have been working at the workplace without an employment relationship for at least one month. A health status statement is not required for those working for less than one month, but it can be done if the employer deems it necessary.
Finnish Food Authority has compiled a table (in Finnish) on what is considered to be safe handling of unpackaged perishable foodstuffs and what is not. It is presented using practical examples.
- Handling of unpackaged perishable foodstuffs in a food premises, pdf (pdf, updated 9.2.2026)