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A mobile food establishment is any movable or temporary point of sale or handling place of foodstuffs. These include, for example, food trucks, sales vehicles, marquees, sales bicycles and stands. Your mobile food establishment has to be registered for regular operations. If you plan to sell food in an event, remember to notify the food control authorities.
Register a mobile food establishment
Submit your registration through the Ilppa e-services or use a separate form. You can log in to the service with your Suomi.fi credentials by using either a mobile certificate or your online banking credentials.
Additional information
If you cannot use the Ilppa service to submit your notification, please fill in the form either as a PDF or as a Word file and send it with the relevant attachments via e-mail toelintarviketurvallisuus@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program). You can also print the form and sent it to us by post.
Use the online service
Fill in a form
Send us mail
Postal address
How long before starting the operations should I submit the registration?
You must submit your notification on establishing a food establishment to the Food Safety Unit at least four weeks before you start the operations.
Registration processing and payment
Enter as specific information about your operations as possible in the notification and include a photograph of your establishment.
The Food Safety Unit will send you a certification once your notification has been taken in to be processed. Notification processing is subject to a fee.
See the valid price list of the Environmental Health Services (PDF in Finnish).
A food safety inspector will inspect your establishment after you have started the operations. The inspector will make sure that the establishment is suitable for selling the foodstuffs of your choice and that the methods you use are hygienic.
Remember to also notify the authorities if you pause or end your operations.
Notification obligation of outdoor food sales
You must inform the food control authorities when and where you plan to carry out outdoor food sales. This is referred to as notifying the authorities. The food control authorities carry out random inspections, especially in connection to any major public events.
When am I obligated to notify the authorities?
You are required to notify the food control authorities in situations such as:
- You are taking your food truck to a new location to sell food.
- Your restaurant is taking part in an event where you serve food from a tent.
- Your company plans to serve food samples at a fair.
When is notifying unnecessary?
If you are not a trader and you are acting as a private person, practising the operations less than 12 days a year. The operations must be low-risk; for example small-scale sales of coffee or pastries.
Organisations, schools or parishes do not need to submit a notification about occasional market events, bake sales or events. Nevertheless, please remember to ensure a high level of hygiene and correct storage temperature of the foodstuffs.
If you are not certain whether you need to notify the food control authorities, please contact ulkomyynti@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)
How to submit a notification
Notify the Food Safety Unit at least four weekdays prior to the sales event. The notification should state what kinds of sales are planned and when and where. Submitting a notification is free of charge.
You can send any questions about mobile food establishments and outdoor sales to ulkomyynti@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)
Please use the online service to submit your notification, if possible.
Fill in the electronic form(Link leads to external service)
If you cannot use the online service to submit your notification, please fill in the form either as a PDF or Word file and send it via e-mail to ulkomyynti@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program).