General information about Oiva
There is a guideline on the Oiva-system called the Oiva publication system for food-control information.
A few details from the guideline:
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The Oiva reports are published by the municipal food control authorities or the Finnish Food Authority’s veterinary inspector. It is not possible via the Oivahymy.fi website for the Finnish Food Authority to delete or change a report published by the municipality. Oivahymy.fi is a shared platform maintained by the Finnish Food Authority for providing a single point of access for reports compiled for consumers.
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The municipal food control authorities write the reports and they are legally responsible for the content of the published Oiva report. When you receive the Oiva report and the inspection report via mail, please check that their content matches the inspection conducted in your company. If you detect an error in a report, contact the food control authority who conducted the inspection directly. You can find the relevant contact information on the inspection report mailed to you.
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When deficiencies have been observed during the inspection, the inspector must state what issues need to be rectified. If needed the inspector can also guide and instruct the operator. The Oiva report will display a grade of To be corrected or Poor, until the deficiency is rectified.
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For the issued To be corrected grades, the inspector must agree on a set deadline by which the deficiencies must be rectified. Check the inspection report for any dates provided for rectifying deficiencies issued a grade of To be corrected. If rectification of a deficiency requires that a rectification plan is made first, a deadline for compiling a rectification planned is agreed during the inspection.
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If a grade of Poor is issued, the inspector must initiate coercive measures pursuant to the Food Act in order to rectify the deficiency. The inspection report must cite that coercive measures have been initiated.
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Oiva observations displayed in the published section of the Oiva report are short descriptions directed at the consumer on why a specific matter checked during the inspection was not graded as Excellent. They are not intended to be detailed explanations of the observations made.
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Detailed issues and deficiencies arising during the inspection are logged into an inspection report which will not be published, but sent only to the operator. If matters belonging to the inspection report are entered on the published Oiva report, contact the food control authority who conducted the inspection or its control unit.
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Guideline and forms for the use of food industry operators and food control authorities have been gathered on the Finnish Food Authority’s website under Guides, instructions and forms for food industry operators.
Scale
The scale in brief: When the Oiva report is smiling, with a small or a big smile, no issues impairing/jeopardising food safety or misleading consumers were observed during the inspection. The operator is in control of the risks related to its operations. When a particular matter has not been given a smiling grade, there has been an issue observed during the inspection which poses a risk to the consumer or constitutes a misleading of the consumer. The issue must then be rectified, in other words, ensure that it complies with the legislation.
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Excellent: Operations are in line with the requirements.
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Good: There are small issues with the operations which do not impair food safety or mislead consumers.
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To be corrected: There are issues with the operations which impair food safety or mislead consumers. These issues must be rectified within a set period of time.
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Poor: There are issues with the operations which jeopardise food safety or considerably mislead consumers, or the operator has failed to comply with orders that have been issued. These issues must be rectified with immediate effect.
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