Primary production (Alkutuotanto)
Primary production covers the earliest stages of the food chain. Producers must verify whether their activity needs to be registered before operations begin.
Examples of primary production
- Milk production
- Egg production
- Raising livestock for meat
- Fishing and aquaculture
- Cultivation of vegetables, fruit, grain, and mushrooms
- Beekeeping and honey production
- Gathering wild berries and mushrooms
- Hunting
Activities considered primary production
- Producing and raising primary products
- Cultivation and harvesting
- Milking
- Stages of animal production before slaughter
- Transport of live animals
- Transport of primary products (excluding milk) to the next stage in the food chain, such as processing or retail
- Direct supply of low-risk primary products to the final consumer
Activities that are not primary production
- Further processing of primary products
- Transport of milk away from the primary production site
- Slaughter of animals
Operations such as making cheese or jam, drying herbs, peeling vegetables, gutting fish on land, or filleting fish fall under food establishment regulations rather than primary production. These activities must comply with the requirements for food premises.
Need help assessing registration duties?
Follow the Finnish Food Authority guidance or contact your local food control unit for binding advice.
Open Finnish Food Authority guidance