4 The editorial. Chief editor Veli Saarenheimo writes about ecological meat. He points out that the situation for the meat branch is good, 97% of the Finns consume meat. But who sells meat in Finland? The raw material comes principally from HK and Atria. Saarioinen and Snellman are almost self-supporting. Most processors use these suppliers.
In Finland the share of ecologically produced food is only 0,9 % and in the meat branch 0,6%. Even if it is said that there is a demand for ecological meat products in Finland the assortment in the shops is small. Apparently the Finnish consumers appreciate the assortment of the meat industry and trust that the authorities supervise the products. The Finnish producers want above all to produce tasty products of high quality.
- I hope that the assortment of ecologically produced meat products in the future will grow but above all I hope that the consumers also in the future have confidence in Finnish foodstuffs, underlines Veli Saarenheimo.

6 Arto Hiltunen, general manager at SOK points out that the S-group has no “private label” marking. The retail sale of the S-group rose last year to over 10 million euro. Arto Hiltunen observes that the group closely follows the behavior of the consumers when they buy meat products and that the Finnish consumers clearly prefer Finnish meat.
– The S-Group has no private label marking for meat products, convenience food, and fresh foodstuffs. But the situation can change. Several entrepreneurs abroad have broadened their private label marking to apply also perishable goods. We follow carefully and attentively the development, stresses Hiltunen.

10 Viljo Holopainen is in charge of the "Food Supply Cluster". In order to guarantee safety in the society even in divergent, stressed situations a developed cooperation between the operators in the food branch is extremely important, tells preparedness manager Viljo Holopainen.
Earlier the work in Finland was concentrated to secure the activities and operations during wartime.
- Today we have other disturbances and threats. This year we focus on supply problems concerning water. Earlier the entrepreneurs were responsible of all operations. Today the entrepreneurs concentrate on their basic functions and a lot of the work is relocated, stresses Holopainen.

13 Saarioinen is expanding in Jyväskylä. Saarioinen Lihanjalostus invests about 12 million euro in cow houses and in renewing slaughter lines. They also renew refrigerating plants and the handling of offal. Saarioinen had to decide weather these operations should be realized by themselves, in cooperation with collaborators or if the work should be relocated. The company decided in favor of the first alternative. The enlargement and the renovation concern above all the cow houses and the preparatory actions and initial phases of slaughter. The enlargement means that Saarioinen will have 3400 square meters new space at their disposal.

16 Finfood Meat Information is an important molder of public opinion. Several occupational groups collaborate with the food branch, even if they have nothing to do with raw materials and foodstuffs. For instance the domestic science teachers, the nutrition therapists, the food editors and the teachers at vocational schools are occupational groups that inform about the food branch and the eating habits and supply information and know how to younger generations. Finfood Meat Information supports and takes part in this valuable work and mentions especially what crucial part meat plays in a healthy diet.
Versatility, impartiality and reliability in combination with a understandable and legible printed information are the secrets why Finfood Meat Information is so popular. Today the problems are the well being of animals and questions regarding the climatic conditions.

18 The Meat Grinder and the recipe of the month. The GDA-marking (Guideline Daily Amount) is developing. The Finnish food industry took last September into use the GDA-marking on packages. This year the marking will be enlarged and will concern 600-1000 products. By the end of this year several types of products will be marked, for instance convenience food, bakery and milk products, cold cuts, sausages, cold meat, non-alcoholic beverages, sweets and breakfast and snack products.
The marking shows in a easily comprehensible way how much a portion consists for instance energy, fat, saturated fatty acids, sugar and nitrate. The marking is voluntary and is based on recommendations given by the European Food and Drink Industries Federation CIAA.
Wigren produces a marinated leg of lamb. Snellman has got the ISO 2000 standard concerning product safety. The new international standard concerns the food industry. The voluntary standard for product safety confirms the statutory auto control system. The food branch arranges en basic education that can be taught beside work. The training began 9th of April. The production of broilers has increased. During the last two years the production costs have risen which reflects as an increased production. The recipe of the month is a broiler steak with goat cheese.

22 Solotop invests in the food industry. Solotop is an enterprise based in Helsinki and it sells equipment, accessories and service to the food branch. The manufacturer of Crystal-weighing machines has during their 30 years of activity developed into a leading agent of process- and packaging machines for the retail trade and the food industry. Earlier the growth depended on company purchases. Today the enterprise invests in the food industry. Solotop is a family business. Timo Tammisto is managing director of the company. His father Erkki Tammisto is chairman of the board and owns the enterprise together with the family. Timo Tammisto got his degree in Helsinki, traveled to Boston and there took a MBA degree and returned to Finland. The future seems bright due to turbulence in the market. Changes involve new possibilities.
- We invest in technical know-how and service, stresses Timo Tammisto.

25 At Finnwild Finnish poultry is favoured. Turkey, duck, goose and pheasant - prepared according to the customer’s requirements. Work at our biggest “birdhouse” is done according to this principle. Finnwild brings up, slaughters and packages the birds at their farm. More than 90% of the birds are delivered to the Helsinki region.

28 European Meatpro. The international European Meatpro trainingnetwork has also established itself in Finland. The first seminar was arranged in December and it dealt with the development work concerning the professional training in meat technology. Now it is hoped that we within a couple of years can develop a system that can find the most competitive young people within the branch. These students should then be specially trained in order to become really skilled in the meat technology branch.
The vocational school in Pori is coordinator for the activities in Finland.
- There is a big shortage of professional workers. It was a great mistake when we stopped training meat technologists, stresses Ari Åkerströn who is responsible for the project.

31 Appointments. Anne Rindell has been appointed to field chef at Atria Suomi OY. Alexandr Semenovyh has been appointed sales manager in the new Russian sales unit at Leipurien Tukku and he is responsible for meat processing and the meat industry. The nutrition therapists Mirva Lampinen has per 4.2.3008 worked at Atria Suomi Oy:s unit for package development. Sari Heikkinen has per 1.3.2008 been appointed Assistant Controller at Lihakunta.

32 Snellman doubled their result. The Snellman concern is enlarging their German sausage factory at Pietarsaari. The production will be doubled. One reason for the enlargement is that Snellman is starting to export to Russia in collaboration with two Russian distributive firms. Last year the growth was 16% partly due to the purchase of Kokkikaratano.
- The economical goals for processed products and convenience food were fulfilled, mentions Martti Vähäkangas, md for the operations.
On the other hand, according to Vähäkangas, there are still problems concerning the profitability of fresh meat.

34 Leena Lehtolainen creates also in the kitchen. Leena Lehtolainen is a writer. Cookery is for her both a counterbalance to writing and a natural part of everyday life. In the owner-occupied house in Degerby in Inkoo she prepares pâté of reindeer, red wine marinated leg of mutton, rosemary potatoes and stewed strawberries with cointreau froth. Leena wishes a bigger assortment of chicken products in the stores.

38 The Label Rouge is gaining popularity in France. The birds grow slowly and they are kept in poultry houses that are limited in size to 400 square meters. Every day the birds can bate outdoors. Although the price on the label Rouge is twice as high as the price on traditionally bread broilers Label Rouge has gained 30 % of the poultry market in France. When breeding Label Rouge one has to follow strict regulations, the so-called Label Rouge program, that simultaneously is a quality guarantee. The production of Label Rouge began in France 40 years ago.

40 How are things at Cortex? Last year the enterprise moved to new accommodations to Kilo in Esbo. The organization was restructured and the personnel both in the selling and the service departments were enlarged. Last year the turnover was over 12 million euro. Cortex sales machinery, equipment and materials to the food industry and it is a part of KTA, that operates in the printing industry.

42 Index of services.

52 “My work.” Tuulia Vennola from Nurmijärvi was very young when she started working in the restaurant branch. After several years in the branch both in Finland and abroad she decided to change profession.
- Already when I started to study to become a environmental engineer I knew that I wanted to become a health officer. The exam made it possible for me to get my present job.
During her time of study in Hämeenlinna Tuulia acquired a working knowledge of microbiology. But she tells that the real understanding she has obtained
in her practical work. Tuulia makes inspections in schools, day nurseries and shops.
- The supervision regards foodstuffs, the occupational safety and the product safety. In the day nurseries it is important to draw attention to the hygiene and the activities in the kitchen. In the shops one must foremost control the foodstuffs. Principally the meat and fish products must be in a marketable condition.

52 Eviras pages deal this time with minced meat. The raw material for minced meat must always be fresh and of high quality. The high quality is based on special attention to the hygiene during the whole line of action.

56 The columnist Sakari Nupponen focuses this time on the black sausage. The editor at the evening paper Ilta-Sanomat, Sakari Nupponen, writes about the black sausage. He writes about Tampere were the tradition to enjoy this delicacy still flourishes. Black sausages has been produced and sold on the markets in Tampere for decades. Even in Estonia exists a living tradition to eat black sausages. There the black sausages are served on the Christmas table together with sauerkraut, roasted pork and cooked potatoes.
- My most exotic experience I had on the Azores. I enjoyed a splendid lunch at Ponta Del Gadas hotel- and restaurant school. As a starter we were served black sausage with pineapple compote, tells Sakari Nupponen.

Translation: Nina Hackman.