Starting a food business

We will send you a decision that your business is registered and a fee for the processing. The fee is SEK 1080 wich corresponds to 1 hour of processing time. The administrative fee for the processing of the case must be paid even if the business does not take place for some reason.

You may start the business when you have received the decision or two weeks after a complete application har been submitted, even if you have not received a decision.

What happens if you are not registered as a food business?

If you start or take over a business that requires registration without having registered it can lead to sanctions. The amount of the penalty fee varies between SEK 2 500 and SEK 75 000 depending on the business turnover.

Food control is financed by fees from the operator. The fee is set by the City Council.

Fees and tariffs in environment, health and food protection (in Swedish)

Fee for registration

The fee is SEK 1150 wich corresponds to 1 hour of processing time. The administrative fee for the processing of the case must be paid even if the business does not take place for some reason.

Food controls are charged retrospectively

The food control will be charged after each completed control and is calculated based on the hours spent on the case. The current hourly control fee is SEK 1270. A planned control fee is usually between SEK 3810-6350, but in some cases it can end up being more than that.

From 2024, the municipality will use a new way to calculate how much control your business should receive. The Swedish National Food Agency and all municipalities in Sweden must comply with the new rules from January 1, 2024.

This means that all food businesses will need to submit new data and be reclassified in 2023 to comply with the new rules.

Why are new rules being introduced?

• The new rules are designed to direct controls to where they are most effective. The rules take into account known risks associated with products and activities and aim to provide clearer information and avoid misleading consumers. This means there will be more food controls earlier in the food chain to detect and prevent both health risks and information gaps. For example, wholesalers will be subject to more controls than shops to detect deficiencies as early as possible in the food chain.
• The rules also make risk classification and controls more uniform, accurate and legally secure in all the country's municipalities. A uniform assessment of the need for controls means, for example, that restaurants in a chain operating in several different municipalities will be risk classified and controlled in the same way regardless of where in the country they are located.

Preparations

We will collect information during the inspection or contact you by phone. You can prepare yourself by providing the information listed below.

• Do you have a certification? Some standards reduce the number of checks required for your business. Find out what current certifications you have for your business.
• Other useful information to have at hand is production volume (e.g. number of tons of outgoing food) and number of employees/annual workforce in the business.

What information do you need to provide as a food business operator?

Due to the new rules, as a food business operator you will need to provide new information about your business based on the following four elements:

• The main focus is how the food that the business handles is distributed, and what type of food it is.
• Activities carried out in the business, i.e. what the food business does.
• If the business handles food subject to special rules.
• The scope of the business (refers to the size or distribution of the business, for example, the number of annual employees or the number of tons of food produced).

Does it cost anything?

Currently, there is no cost to provide new data for risk classification.

Read more about the risk classification model

You can read more about the new risk classification model here:

Risk classification of establishments and activities from 2024 onwards - Control wiki (livsmedelsverket.se, in Swedish) External link..

You can read more about the changes in the control planning rules here:

The risk classification model - how the amount of control is calculated (livsmedelsverket.se, in Swedish) External link.

Your company may have to pay a control fee for a follow-up inspection. Follow-up inspection means inspection that is not planned annual. For example, such controls may be necessary in the event of justified complaints, sampling in the event of suspected food poisoning, or if deficiencies in your business have been noted which mean that more checks have to be carried out than planned.

The size of the fee corresponds to the time taken by the extra inspection, multiplied by the current hourly rate, which is SEK 1150. In the case of a follow-up inspection, we also charge an appearance fee of SEK 360 for travel to your facility.

If you have a business that manufactures, processes, or distributes products intended for contact with food, you must register it with the Västra Gästrikland samhällsbyggnadsförvaltning.

Materials in contact with food are sometimes abbreviated as FCM (Food Contact Materials). Contact materials include everything from packaging materials and plastic gloves to kitchen utensils, kitchen appliances, process equipment, and other products and materials intended for direct or indirect contact with food.

You, as a company that manufactures, imports, or sells contact materials/products, are subject to legislation and must be checked by the Västra Gästrikland Building Administration. Therefore, you must register your business no later than July 1, 2024.

The following activities are exempt from the registration requirement:

• Restaurants and others who handle FCM.
• Businesses that are estimated to have a turnover of FCM of less than SEK 80,000 during one fiscal year and are estimated to manufacture, process, or import fewer than 1,000 units of materials and products intended for contact with food.
  

Visit the Swedish National Food Agency website for more information about Food Contact Materials - FCM (in Swedish) External link.

If your business discharges grease into the wastewater, you may need a grease trap that is correctly dimensioned and emptied regularly. For questions about grease traps, contact Sandviken Energi External link, opens in new window. for Sandviken municipality and Gästrike vatten External link, opens in new window. for Ockelbo or Hofors municipality.