According to the Finnish Food Authority, checks of more than 2,500 retail outlets last year found about 12 percent of retailers selling improperly labelled food products.
The problem is most common in ethnic shops, according to the authorities, where not all mandatory product information, such as information on ingredients or allergens is properly labelled in Finnish or Swedish.
"The lack of labelling is very serious," says Tuulikki Lehto, a senior expert at the Food Authority.
"It requires almost immediate corrective action or a corrective action plan. Allergens can, in the worst cases, cause a trip to hospital," Lehto points out.
Lack of language skills and extra work
Heiman Khezri, who represents the Multicultural Entrepreneurs Association (Monikulttuuriset yrittäjät in Finnish) says that there is no question that laws and regulations should be complied with.
"Ethnic entrepreneurs should not be treated differently from anyone else. In the eyes of the law, everyone is on the same footing," he notes.
Khezri believes that not all entrepreneurs are familiar with the requirements of the law.
"Some think that if they have premises, a cash register and shelves full of goods, that's enough," says Khezri.
Shortcomings in product labelling by retailers have been seen in Kokkola, Vaasa and Seinäjoki, year after year. There are several reasons, according to Taru Panu a health engineer at the Vaasa City Environmental Office.
"A lack of information and language barriers. Perhaps people are avoiding the issue. It takes time and money to translate the labels and relabel products," Panu points out.
The director of the Vaasa Environmental Office, Esa Hirvijärvi, also sees a financial aspect to the matter.
"A company that does not translate missing labels and relabel products can get by with lower costs. Those that comply with the law pay more," says Hirvijärvi.
In Vaasa, five ethnic stores import their own foodstuffs into Finland.
Two of these have received several warnings this year and last year for inadequate labelling.
One of the companies has corrected the problem. The other has not, despite repeated warnings and guidance.
Now the city is raising the possibility of issuing a fine.
More advice or an agent to help?
Tuulikki Lehto of the Finnish Food Authority suggests that one solution could be a joint wholesaler for entrepreneurs, who could centralise product information.
She says that retailers will still have to familiarise themselves with the legislation or ask for help.
Another option, she suggests, is to get an agent.
According to Heiman Khezri, the authorities have a big role to play in disseminating information.
"Information is not available in one place, but is scattered around different authorities' websites. It would also be good to have information on regulations in languages other than Finnish and Swedish," Khezri points out.
The Finnish Food Authority offers detailed information on the intricacies of the law with a food information guide, but it is only available in Finnish and Swedish. European Union labelling legislation is also available online in all EU languages.
All Points North dove into Finland's growing ethnic food market. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena via Apple or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
