Contact materials

An operator who places on the market materials and accessories intended to come into contact with foods must submit a notification of their place of business and of the activities carried out in it at least four weeks before commencing the activities.

The notification should be made to the food control authority of the municipality where the place of business is located. If the operator is active in several localities, a separate notification must be sent to the authority in each municipality.

The operator must also notify the food control authorities of any essential changes to, as well as suspension or termination of, the business.

The disclosure obligation concerns:

• producers of materials and supplies used in the manufacture of contact materials and supplies
• actual contact material manufacturers
• wholesale traders of contact materials (not retailers)
• operators that import contact materials from the EU or from outside the EU and similar export operators.

You should primarily use the electronic service Ilppa to submit the notification. A private entrepreneur or an official representative of a company (signatory) can log directly into the Ilppa application using suomi.fi e-Identification. Other Ilppa users need a mandate granted by an official representative of the company on the Suomi.fi service, which can be done in the Suomi.fi web service. For more detailed instructions for using the Ilppa web service, visit the Finnish Food Authority’s website.

A pdf form you can print out and fill in is also available. You can return it by e-mail or post to the environmental health services’ address.

Notification of contact material activities

Notification of contact material activities (pdf)

Read more about food packaging and other contact materials

Finnish Food Authority