Local and organic food

Finns very much appreciate local and organic food; they want to know where their food comes from, and they want to support the traditional livelihoods of the countryside. More and more Finns are becoming health conscious and environmentally aware. Organic food is free of artificial additives and local producers insure food origins. In addition, local food is environmentally friendly – there is no need to ship similar products from across the globe.

Organic food

Although our Nordic location makes plant growing challenging, cold winters also keep our soil clean. Thus, there is a much less need for pesticides than in other parts of Europe. In addition, Finns use neither genetically modified seeds nor hormones in food production.  We can proudly say that even our “non-organic” food is very clean and natural.

Strictly organic food is easily identified by its label in Finland. Governmental authorities monitor the quality and standards of organic produce. There are currently some 4,500 organic farms in Finland, representing six percent of all farms.

The philosophy behind organic food relies on nature. Organic production techniques seek to mirror nature as closely as possible. This means that no fertilizers, pesticides, GMO or antibiotics are used. Biodiversity is considered, renewable resources preferred, and as much is recycled as possible. In addition, Animals can live according to their natural habits. Cows are free to eat fresh grass at pasture, and chickens lay eggs in nests and scratch about the yard for grain. Organic products contain no artificial ingredients – no artificial colors, sweeteners or flavors, which is apparent in the first bite! 

For more information about Finnish organic food, please visit:

Food from Finland: Organic food

Organic Finland

Local food

You can find local, typically small-scale producers wherever you go in Finland. Each small town has its own marketplace, where you can shop for locally grown vegetables, fruit, berries, bread, pastries and fish. Friendly, lively locals who sell their offerings are eager to tell you about their products. You will hear that the fish on the market table was swimming in the nearby river earlier that morning, and that the fresh, crispy apples were picked up from the orchards a few miles away just hours ago.

Towns and villages have their own bakeries, where you can find just baked, scrumptious sour rye bread made with flour from the countryside nearby. And many enjoy the deliciously sweet cinnamon buns the baker just pulled from the oven.

You can easily trace each stage of the production process of local food, ensuring that what you eat is as fresh as possible.