The editorial
It is autumn. The loin of pork dominated the menus of last summer, as they did in the summer 2007. The product has been developed and the price on loin of pork was lower this summer than previous summer. This is surprising, as the price on meat begun to rise last autumn. But this is a question of a single product; according to the statistic the foodstuff prices have risen about 10 per cent during the last six months. The consumer prices on dairy products have risen up to 20 per cent. Within the food branch one has been content with values under the average. The situation within the meat branch shows certainly the results of the big stock exchanges in the beginning of the year. We expect with eagerness positive news during next winter. The minister of finance has promised a decline of the inflation and believes that we can see an end of the discussion regarding a depression. By the end of this year things will be better, writes Jari Saarela.
6 Marika Säynevirta has a new job
Marika Säynevirta leaves the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and starts working at the Finnish Food and Drink Industries Federation FFDIF. Branch Manager Marika Säynevirta will at the Federation work with questions important for the meat branch, such as the remodeling of EU :s farming politics and changes in the directives concerning transports of animals, slaughter and meat control. Marika Säynevirta travels a lot both in Finland as well as abroad. - The visits in various companies are very interesting. One learns a lot and has the possibility to discuss and enter deeply in several questions. In order to remedy bad conditions we ought to intensify the supervision, stresses Marika Säynevirta. 10 GDA tells us about the percentageThe Finnish food industry took last September voluntary into use EU :s packaging marking GDA (Guideline Daily Amount). The marking shows our daily need of energy. One third of the consumers have noticed the new marking on the packages. The marking shows in an easily comprehensible way how much a portion consists for instance of energy, fat, saturated fatty acids, sugar and nitrate. The marking is based on recommendations given by the European Food and Drink Industries Federation CIAA. Seppo Heiskanen, Director, R&D Food Legislation at the Finnish Food and Drink Industries Federation FFDIF is of the opinion that we soon should take into use a common marking with EU.
13 What makes a meat course enjoyable?
Lihalehti made an inquiry and got as an answer: good taste, nice company, tranquil atmosphere and delicious beverages.
20 The Meat Grinder and the recipe of the month. Linseed Protein and CSB-System are cooperating.
In the near future Linseed Protein in Finland will develop the acquisitions, production, storage, quality control and the sales of the companies using the CSB International steering system for the food branch. Products of Linseed suit the raw materials of the food branch; the bakery-, meat-, dairy- and beverage industries. Saarioinen invests i Estonia. Saarioinen is building a factory for ready-made-food southwest of Tallinn. The recipes follow the local food tradition. The assortment includes ready-made-food, salads and snacks. The cost of the project is about 14 million euro, the building will start during the autumn and it is estimated that the factory will be working within a year. Helsinki University. The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry conferred doctor’s degree on meat technologist 5.-7.6. 2008. Central figure at the feast was Piki Niinivaara who has held a doctorate for 50 years. His pupils Rainer Mettänen, Kari Sipilä, Pauli Vainio and Kari Oksanen were conferred Master of Arts. The "Salmon Hunters Sausage" surprised. At the traditional Sausage Market in Tammela the best sausages and mustards were chosen. In the class for barbecue sausages Makulihas “Kommee-sausage” was the winner. According to the jury it was juicy and tasty. In the class for special sausages the "Salmon Hunters Sausage" based on salmon was a clear winner. According to the jury it was so tasty that it could be served at first class restaurants. The herb mustard from Ruovesi was the winner in the mustard class. The S-group has become partner with the Scandinavian Coop Trading. SOK acquired 25% of the shares of Coop Trading. Scandinavia Coop Trading is responsible for the acquisition of non-food perishables for the cooperative shops in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Appointents. At Atria Suomi Mikko Mollberg has been appointed chief of the saledepartment. At Helsinki University they have founded a new medical nutrition professorship in order to intensify the co-operation between medicine and nutrition. Riitta Korpela, director of research at Valio, has been appointed as first professor. She has an appointment on a temporary basis of five years. At Järvi-Suomen Portti Niina Nikulainen has been appointed commercial manager and member of the managerial body. At Agrifood Research Finland four new professorships have been appointed. Raija Tahvonen was chosen professor of Genomic Nutrition, Kyösti Pietola professor of Business Economics, Eila Turtola professor of Soil and Environment and Hilkka Vihinen professor of Rural Policy. The recipe of the month is ”Light Soup on pork meat”.
24 Huhtahyvät is a modern meat company
The company is based in Kankaanpää and has processed meat for 20 years. The company was a pioneer when they started to market ready sliced products in consumer packages. - We have had several developing periods but luckily we have always remembered our basic operations. The cobbler should stick to his last, mentions managing director Jukka Vilska. Huhtahyvät processes about three million kilo meat/year. The company produces its own brands but works also as a subcontractor. In the year 2003 Huhtahyvät got an award for the best packages.
27 At Tapola they take care of the condition of their employees
Since a couple of years the work in order to promote the condition and well being of their workers was intensified. Today the absence due to illness at Tapola is clearly under the half of the average in the food industry.
30 Honkajoka recycles
At Honkajoki factory all offal from the slaughterhouses and the deboning and all carcasses from the farms are handled in autoclaves. The process results in cattle food, energy, fertilizers and warmth. - We were able to chose between seven different treatments but our authorities have stressed that all raw materials should be processed in the most effective way. Therefore we burn all raw materials at a heat of 133 degrees, 3 bars pressure during 20 minutes. This handling is very rough and is also very expensive but it ensures that all pathogenic material certainly dies, explains managing director Kari Valkosalo. Our bigger entrepreneurs in the meat branch own Honkajoki; Atria Oyj, HK-Ruokatalo Oy, and Järvi-Suomen Portti own Honkajoki cooperative. To the Honkajoki concern belongs also Findest Protein, founded in the year 1995. Shareholders in Findest Protein are Saarioinen Oy, Lihapouttu Oy and SMJ Oy. Honkajoki was founded in the year 1967 and its managing director Kari Valkosalo stresses that the factory recycles 90 000 ton/year. Evira controls the operations.
32 Jussi Soini is still going strong
He began his carrier as a little boy; today he is a food and meat expert. He is a well-known figure in the meat branch. In various roles he has teached workers in the detail trade and ordinary consumers. Many of the readers of Lihalehti have taken part in happenings arranged by Jussi Soini.
36 Saku Kytölä is a modern shopkeeper
During one year he has worked as shopkeeper at K-Market Ratis. During this time the shop has got thousand new products and the customers have grown with 150 %. During a Friday afternoon in June there was a fiesta going on in the back yard of K-Market Ratis in Ilmola. The shopkeeper Saku Kytölä treated his customers to a good meal: sausages, mashed potatoes and salad between 11-18 o’clock. As dessert the customers were served coffee with a bun. Saku Kytölä is very grateful for the tolerant style of the directors of Kesko. - I can realize my ideas and that feels good, says Saku.
38 The markings for high salinity are unclear
The Ministry of Trade and Industry enacted in December 2007 a new directive (1224) that involves a new marking of the salinity of products. The old directives for meat products had only one limit and it concerned cooked and raw sausages. Now this limit has been lowered (1,7 %) and is very near the technological limit. According to the industry it is possible to live with the new decision. According to the new directive Salamis shall always be powerfully salted. The new directives are national. EU has only a mention about a lower salinity. One of the tasks of our authorities is to look after the markings on food packages so that they do not mislead the consumers. Raymond Tuominen, author of this article, asks if this confusion concerning the regulations can mislead the consumers?
39 Your purchases might influence the change of climate
The change of climate influences our environment as a whole. The situation is worrying but what can a single person do? A research program dealing with the change of climate has started. In order to delay the change of climate the project investigates the household’s possibilities to minimize greenhouse gases and helps the consumers in their daily choices. If every consumer drives his own car when shopping one can imagine the effects. According to Timo Jäske at Kesko a shopping drive is Ok if the consumer buys 7-8 products, otherwise the customer shall take the bike or walk. The traffic is an important factor and should be analyzed systematically.
42 The Children in the Urko family take part in the daily cooking.
The family eats together every day even if it sometimes happens at 8 o’clock in the evening. During the meal the discussion deals with what everybody has been doing during the day. The broiler soup bought in the local shop is the six-year-old Kaisa Urkos favorite dish. Her brother Lassi, thirteen years of age, prefers lasagne bought in the shop because the homemade has a to hard skin. Mother Kirsi loves broiler dishes and Pertti Urko, father of the family, likes best spaghetti with sauce on minced meat. The menu of the family looks as follows: Monday: Broiler filet with rice Tuesday: Meatballs with boiler potatoes Wednesday: Spaghetti with sauce on minced meat Thursday: Coalfish filet with potatoes Friday: Sauce on sausages with sliced potatoes. Saturday: Soup on minced meat Sunday. Broiler with vegetables. At dinner salad, bread, margarine and fruit are also served. During weekends also a desert is on the menu. Usually jelly made on berry juice, thickened with potato flour or cheese with self-picked berries.
45 Air-dried ham and rumen from Toscana
Delicious meals can be prepared from very exotic raw materials. The Italian kitchen is world-famous for its tasteful dishes and shared meals. Italians know how to prepare tasty food and prepare delicious dishes as Trippa, which is prepared from rumen, and Lampredetto prepared from the honeycomb bag.
48 How are things at H-Hetki?
The entrepreneurs in the Finnish province Uusimaa have chosen Janne Räsänen at the company H-Hetki as “The Young Entrepreneur of the Year”. He is managing director and shareholder of the enterprise that was founded in the year 2005. The company processes meat products and marinades of high quality in their own factory. Furthermore they import special meat products. The turnover was in the year 2007 over 3 million euro and they expect a rise of 30 per cent. Janne Räsänen has worked at Pouttu, Snellman and Keskos Kaukomarkkinat and studied food technology at Helsinki University and has taken a master degree at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, the major subject was meat technology.
50 Index of services
60 “My work”Toni Hukkanen
buys fish from all oceans of the world. V. Hukkanen is the biggest wholesale business in the fish branch. Its most important customers are the meat- and the convenience food industries. Toni Hukkanens main job is the purchase operations. The market trade was for Toni very important. He tells that he got his first order when he was 5 years old. - My customer dictated the letters and the order was forwarded. I have noticed that within our branch family entrepreneurs make the best result. It might depend upon the fact that we don’t look at the clock. The working day begins at nine in the morning and continues late in the evening, tells Tomi Hukkanen. In Chile and Canada they wake up in our afternoon. - With China we have contact by e-mail but sometimes the telephone rings in the middle of the night, tells Toni. Timo Hukkanen has seven brothers and sisters. One younger brother and two younger sisters are also working in the company, yet only as summer workers.
62 Eviras pages deal this time with hygiene passports
In Finland we have already half a million hygiene passports. The half million border was overstepped in April. The hygiene passports are part of the auto control. Our system is unique. For many employees in the food branch the passport is obligatory but everybody who wants can pass the examination. The hygiene passport is part of the hygiene control that Evira supervises.
64. The columnSakari Nupponen,
editor at the evening paper Ilta-Sanomat, writes this time about “Tammela sausage market”. About midsummer the 11:th sausage market was held in Tammela. The popularity of the market has grown year by year and this year it was suggested that next summer a bus transport should be arranged from Helsinki to the market. At the market “The Sausage Master of the Country” is always appointed. This summer was, to everybody’s astonishment, “The salmon Catchers Sausage” the winner. The winning sausage is cocked of salmon and produced by the NIKMIK Company. - I think that the competition for the title “The Sausage Master of the Country” will be harsher next year, concludes Sakari
Nupponen Translation: Nina Hackman.
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