Food control inspections are disclosed in Finland as well as in many other countries. The disclosure systems aim at increasing food safety and consumer transparency. We have studied the Finnish disclosure system Oiva since 2016 to elucidate the impact of the system on food safety and food businesses. We have also studied the consumer intentions based on Oiva reports in Finland and Smiley reports in Denmark. The material consists of tens of thousands of Oiva-inspection reports, questionnaire studies and focus group interviews with inspectors and food operators. The consumer intentions are measured with an experimental study design. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Finnish Foundation of Veterinary Research, Doctoral Programme in Food Chain and Health.
Collaborators: Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, UH, Tampere University, Turku University and Copenhagen University.
Publications:
Kaskela, J., Sund, R., Lundén, J. 2021. Efficacy of disclosed food safety inspections in restaurants. Food Control. 107775.
Kaskela, J., Ollila, S. Vainio, A., Lundén, J. 2021. The perceived openness to interpretation of food inspection grading associates with disagreements between inspectors and food business operators. Food Control. 128, 108207.
Lundén, J., Kosola, M., Kiuru, J., Kaskela, J., Inkinen, T. 2021. Disclosed restaurant inspection results on food safety show regional and local differences in Finland. Food Control. 119, 107462.
Vainio, A., Kaskela, J., Finell, E., Ollila, S., Lundén, J. 2020. Consumer perceptions raised by the food safety inspection report: Does the smiley communicate a food safety risk? Food Control. 110, 106976.
Kaskela, J., Vainio, A., Ollila, S., Lundén, J. 2019. Food business operators’ opinions on disclosed food safety inspections and occurrence of disagreements with inspector grading. Food Control. 105, 248-255.