400,000 portions are served during the Malmö festival - they will make sure it stays in shape

At the Malmo festival, about 350,000 to 400,000 servings of food are served, according to a rough estimate from Rodrigo López-Calderón, who is the food manager at the festival. In this year's edition, there are more than 65 different players serving food to varying degrees.

The responsibility for controlling that all food is kept in check lies with the Food Administration's Environmental Controllers.

- Our colleagues go out and check. We have planned for about 30 checks before the Malmö festival, says Arvid Nordland, head of unit at the Environmental Management in Malmö.

The food controllers must ensure that the operators who serve food comply with rules for, for example, hygiene, that temperatures in chillers are correct and that the food contains what is promised.

- We do not control all establishments. We prioritize those who are new or who have more extensive food handling and try to do as much as possible at the beginning of the festival, says Arvid Nordland.

He says that it is common for a couple of complaints to come in during the festival, for example from visitors who have seen signs of unhygienic handling or feel that they have been poorly fed by food from the festival. But it is unusual for food restaurants to be forced to close.

- We have the power to temporarily close operations or prohibit them. It has happened on a few occasions, but we have not closed anything for the past two years, says Arvid Nordland.