Suspected food poisonings and other complaints related to food

‘Food poisoning’ refers to an infection or poisoning contracted by consuming food or domestic water. The causes of food poisonings are often microbes (bacteria or viruses) or toxins produces by microbes. The most common symptoms of food poisoning are nausea, vomiting, stomach aches, diarrhoea and fever. The onset speed of the symptoms varies case by case. In food poisoning caused by toxins, the symptoms often start in a few hours from consuming the contaminated food or water. Symptoms caused by bacteria (e.g. salmonella, campylobacter) or viruses (e.g. norovirus) often occur only 1–5 days from consuming the food.

If you suspect you are suffering from food poisoning, notify the health inspector as soon as possible. If you experience symptoms, think about what you have eaten and save any of the remaining food.

You should also notify the food business in question about the suspected food poisoning so that they can take necessary action. If necessary, the health inspector will inspect the food business and take samples.

If the symptoms of food poisoning are severe or last longer than 24 hours, please contact your local health centre. Please tell the doctor that you suspect the stomach symptoms are caused by food or drinking water.

Operators are obliged to report any suspected food poisonings to the health inspector. Please submit the report without delay.

If there is some of the suspected product left, keep it and freeze it for laboratory tests, if needed. Do not combine different foodstuffs into a single sample; the sample size should be sufficient, 200–300 grams per product.

In all cases, any suspicions of health hazards caused by water or food must always be reported to the health inspector.

You can report suspected food poisonings:

by using the electronic form

to the customer service line of the Environmental Health Services

or by email at

The area monitored by Porvoo Environmental Health Services covers Askola, Lapinjärvi, Loviisa, Myrskylä, Pornainen, Porvoo, Pukkila and Sipoo. You can find the contact information of the food control authorities of other regions on the Finnish Food Authority’s website.

You can also contact Food Control if you observe hazardous elements related to food safety in a sales or serving establishment (e.g. incorrect handling of food, high storage temperatures, uncleanliness of the food business). You can report any observations to the customer service line of the Environmental Health Services

or by email at

The area monitored by Porvoo Environmental Health Services covers Askola, Lapinjärvi, Loviisa, Myrskylä, Pornainen, Porvoo, Pukkila and Sipoo. You can find the contact information of the food control authorities of other regions on the Finnish Food Authority’s website.