Smiley, neutral face and sad face – what do the grades mean?
Smilefjes (smiling face), strekmunn (neutral face) and sur munn (sad face) are the three results of a smiley inspection by Mattilsynet, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority: a smiling face means no breaches that need follow-up (grades 0–1), a neutral face means breaches that need follow-up (grade 2), and a sad face means serious breaches (grade 3). In 2025 Mattilsynet made 4 765 inspections at 4 044 restaurants, and 590 of them (14.6%) got grade 2 or 3 at least once (Mattilsynet, data as of 7 Oct 2026).
The smiley scheme in short
The smiley scheme (smilefjesordningen) is Mattilsynet’s inspection scheme for restaurants, cafés and other places where guests sit down and eat on the premises. Pure take-away places, canteens, petrol stations and institutional kitchens are normally not part of it – Mattilsynet decides case by case. The scheme has covered the whole country since 2016.
After every inspection the place gets a report with one of the three faces. The report must hang clearly visible at the entrance, so guests see it before they choose to eat there – not hanging it up is a breach in itself. The result is published within five working days at smilefjes.mattilsynet.no and as open data on data.norge.no (licence CC BY 4.0). Restoradar is built on that open data.
The three faces
- In order – No breaches that need follow-up Smilefjes – smiling face: no breaches that need follow-up. Every requirement checked got grade 0 or 1.
- Follow-up – Breach that needs follow-up Strekmunn – neutral face: breaches of the regulations that need follow-up. At least one requirement got grade 2.
- Serious – Serious breach Sur munn – sad face: serious breaches of the regulations. At least one requirement got grade 3.
The face is decided by the lowest grade given on the requirements that were checked: one requirement with grade 3 gives a sad face however good the rest was. Of the 8 642 restaurants Mattilsynet lists today, 23 (0.3%) have a neutral face and 1 (< 0.1%) a sad face as their current result.
The grades 0–3
The inspector gives one grade per requirement checked. The scale has four steps:
- Grade 0 – no breach of the regulations.
- Grade 1 – a minor remark that needs no follow-up. Mattilsynet does not publish grade 1 on the smiley site; the place gets a smiling face. Restoradar therefore shows it only to registered users, always marked “Minor remark – not published by Mattilsynet”, and never counts it as a breach.
- Grade 2 – a breach of the regulations that needs follow-up. Gives a neutral face.
- Grade 3 – a serious breach of the regulations. Gives a sad face. Mattilsynet may also order the place to stay closed until the breaches are corrected.
The requirements (kravpunkter) are 25 points in four areas: routines and management, premises and equipment, food handling and preparation, and traceability and labelling. The inspector checks at least one requirement in each area, but not necessarily all 25 every time. The full list is on About the data; the most common finding in 2025 was “Premises – layout, standard, maintenance” (requirement 2.1).
How often does Mattilsynet visit?
There is no fixed interval. Mattilsynet prioritises inspections by risk and capacity – new places, places with earlier breaches and places someone has reported get visits more often. In 2025 it made 4 765 inspections at 4 044 restaurants, about 1.2 inspections per place visited. The numbers per year, county and requirement are on Statistics.
What is a follow-up inspection?
A place that gets a neutral or sad face is given a deadline to correct the breaches. Mattilsynet follows up – with a new visit or by assessing the documentation the place sends in. The business is also entitled to a new inspection within ten working days after it reports that the problems are fixed, so it can get its smiling face back quickly.
In the data the follow-up appears as a new inspection with a new date and result. In Restoradar’s lists it shows as a tick with a date under the status when a later inspection ended “In order” after the finding in the row. For a supplier this means the window between the finding and the follow-up is short – often a few weeks – and that in exactly that period the place has to show its routines are in place.
Where to find a place’s smiley
- At the entrance: the report from the latest inspection must hang visibly.
- smilefjes.mattilsynet.no: Mattilsynet’s own search page with every inspection since 2016, one place at a time.
- Restoradar: the same public results as a list for the whole country – filtered by county, municipality, industry, severity and current face. Without names for everyone; with names, addresses and a link to the inspection for registered companies (free, Norwegian organisation number). Every finding links to Mattilsynet’s page for the place.
What the data says – and what it does not
- A finding describes the day of the inspection. Many places fix the problem the same week, and the next inspection shows it. Always look at the current status and the date.
- The finding text is Mattilsynet’s standard wording for the requirement and grade. The inspector’s own notes are not published, and not on Restoradar either.
- A place no longer on the smiley site has closed, changed owner or been registered anew. Restoradar shows them only when you choose “Include unlisted”.
- Municipality and county are derived from the postcode and may be wrong for a few addresses.
- The data says nothing about how the food tastes, and it is not a ranking. Restoradar makes no “worst restaurants” list – the service is built for suppliers who want to know where their product is needed, not for guests.
Want to use this in sales? Read How to use Mattilsynet’s inspection data in sales, or go straight to requirement 3.7 cold chain, the requirement that matters most for temperature monitoring.
Sources
- Mattilsynet: Smilefjesordningen (Norwegian) – who is covered, the faces, the report at the entrance.
- Mattilsynet: Smilefjestilsyn (Norwegian) – the lowest grade decides, a new inspection within ten working days, publication within five working days.
- Mattilsynet: Dette ser vi etter på smilefjestilsyn (Norwegian) – the four areas and 25 requirements.
- Open data: Smilefjestilsyn on data.norge.no (CC BY 4.0). The numbers in this guide are Restoradar’s processing of that data as of 7 Oct 2026.
Questions and answers
- Is a sad face (sur munn) the same as being closed?
- No. A sad face means serious breaches (grade 3) were found; Mattilsynet may order the place to close until they are corrected, but that is a separate decision. The business is entitled to a new inspection within ten working days after it has corrected the problems.
- Where do I find a restaurant’s smiley?
- On the report at the entrance and at smilefjes.mattilsynet.no, where every inspection since 2016 can be searched. Restoradar shows the same public results as a list, with names for registered companies.
- What is a minor remark (grade 1)?
- A small remark without follow-up. Mattilsynet does not publish it on the smiley site, so Restoradar shows it only to registered users, always marked “Minor remark – not published by Mattilsynet” – it is never counted as a breach.
Source: Mattilsynet – smiley inspections (CC BY 4.0) and the Brønnøysund Register Centre – Enhetsregisteret (NLOD), processed by Restoradar. Data as of 7 Oct 2026. Restoradar is not affiliated with Mattilsynet.