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4 The editorial
Horsemeat on the menu. In Finland we seldom eat horsemeat, earlier it was a popular raw material. Today Suomen Hippos has started a campaign to intensify the marketing of horsemeat. The project is going on 1.3. - 30.11.2009. One tries to map the situation of today from the point of view of the meat industry. How much horsemeat is consumed and is there a growing demand for horsemeat? How can horsemeat be used by the households and do the slaughterhouses have the capacity to slaughter horses? In the long run one wants to double the amount of slaughtered horsemeat.
6 Today and tomorrow
Biofuel from waste. In Sweden half of the sold Volvos are flexi fuel models that use the worlds most sustainable transportation fuel. Bioethanol is made from waste by a new extremely energy efficient process and business concept. It is a sustainable solution in the global fight against climate change. Waste is a local, renewable feedstock that is available everywhere. Capturing the energy in waste and turning it into biofuel using renewable energy make the CO2 balance what it is - unique. St1 has developed the Etanolix® method to produce the most sustainable bioethanol in the world. The global CO2 emissions have to be cut down – especially in the transport sector. That is why the goal of St1 Biofuels Oy is to find environmentally friendly, sustainable and economically profitable solutions. The GMO-vision. Some organizations that work for a cleaner environment and food production unite their efforts in the project ”The GMO-free Finland”. In the project take part several influential politicians, research-workers and experts. Unpleasant news. The Finnish food industry informs sometimes very badly about crises and the information is often insufficient. The swine influenza in Mexico. In April 2009 the first cases of swine influenza A/H1N1were verified in Mexico. Ear chips The electronic ear ships for cattle are very effective. Working security is improved during transportations of animals and in the slaughterhouses. The chips speed up the identification during veterinary visits and during the inspections of the authorities. To change to the new system will cost Finland about 1,5 million euro. Make acquaintance with: A Forkful of facts. Statistics on farming, the food industry, the perishable trade and the institutional kitchens. The summer meeting of the Finnish Meat Trade Association at Vanajanlinna takes place 22.8.2009. Anuga 2009 Fair in Cologne, Germany. www.anuga.com The German meat spot. www.kress.de/cont/spot.view.php?spot=2629
8 The development is rapid
The project “The National Food Strategy” that is going on at the Finnish Food and Drink Industries Federation will be ready in autumn 2010. Within the rapidly alternating sphere of activities one tries to find elements that can improve the competitiveness of the whole food chain. Managing director of the Finnish Food and Drink Industries Federation, Heikki Juutinen, tells that the project aims to solve the problem how the Finnish food chain successfully shall manage the competition of tomorrow. The aim is that Finland in the year 2020 shall have a successful food industry, secure provisions and that we shall be self-supporting concerning food.
- Today we have several challenges; the foodstuff crises, the recession the globalisation, the climate change and EU:s new agricultural politics. The responsibility of the meat branch will be considerable, explains Heikki Juutinen.By optimised methods of production can environmental- and water charges be minimized. Juutinen encourages all entrepreneurs to continue their research and development work.- Know how and professional skills are in key position. We must cooperate with the authorities and the educational institutions to create suitable training possibilities, stresses Heikki Juutinen.
12 The festive spring of the meat technologists
On Thursday the 2.4. the meat technologists held their spring meeting and on Friday the 3.4. was the defence of Liisa Voutilas doctor’s thesis. Opponent was professor James R. Claus from Wisconsin in USA. Liisa Voutila examines in her doctor’s thesis the cause of structural weakness in poultry and pork. The pale colour of the meat indicates that the structure is weak, the meat has also a low pH-value, secrets a lot when stored and is related with PSE-meat (PSE = pale-soft-exudative). The work of Liisa Voutilainen is of international importance; in USA there is a lot of meat with a weak structure.
16 The meat grinder
ST1 and SOK produce wind power together. ST1 and SOK have together founded a wind power enterprise. Tuuliwatti will concentrate on decentralized wind power production in order to reduce transmission waste and power investments. ST1 Has analysed potential sites and arrived at rental agreement for 150 establishments, principally along the Finnish west coast.
Barbecue delicacies from Wursti. Now you can buy Wurstis BBQ-ribs in 1 kg packages. The American barbecue ribs are marinated in a sweet barbecue-sauce. They are cooked and roasted and need only to be warmed. The table of the month shows the production, consumption, import and export of cattle, pork, lamb, broiler and turkey during the period January-March 2009.
Protein promotes the decrease in weight. To keep the weight after a reducing cure is difficult. According to a Dutch investigation it is easier to keep weight after a protein rich diet than after a diet rich of carbohydrates. No sabotage in connection with pieces of broken glass. The Swedish police has established that the pieces of broken glass in foodstuffs were incorrect alarm or separate wicked deeds. Glass in foodstuffs was not an organized attack against the food branch.
Snellman buys more beef. Snellmans sales of minced meat have during the last few months raised by 25 %. The product “Tasty minced meat” sells 170 000 kg/weeks. The meat is fresh and a domestic product.
The Finnish Rheumatism Association awarded packages that are easy to open. The Finnish Rheumatism Association and the Foundation for Finnish Inventions organized a competition “Easy to open“ in order to get food and medicine packages that are easy to open. The entry “Iisy” by Nicolo Kerimov and Ilari Laitinen won the competition. The package fits for flour, flakes, bran and rice. The processing organizations fuse.
At their meeting in April Faba Breading and Faba Service decided to merge. The delegation for Faba Breading and the administrative body of Faba Service concluded the agreement concerning that the boar semen production is transferred to Viking Genetics. There are plans to transfer the business activities concerning pig breeding to FABA Swine Ltd. Faba is the trademark for animal breeding and artificial insemination in Finland. Faba Breeding is a national breeding organization, where pig breeders and producers are members and maintains the official herdbooks for dairy cattle, beef cattle and swine. Roasted kebabs.
The North Trade Happy Chef -series toasted kebabs can be enjoyed directly after warming. The kebabs can be warmed in grill, oven or micro. One kebab weights 50 g and a package contains 10 kebabs.
Elintarviketalous 2009 is published in May. The periodical is published by Food and Farm Facts and contains a survey of the consumption and production of the Finnish farming and food branch during 2003-2008. The statistics cover the EU 27 district and Norway, Brazil, USA and Russia. The recipe of the month: Pasta soup with meatballs.
20 Keijo Pulli bought Savupojat three years ago
Md Keijo Pulli has owned Savupojat for three years. During his leadership the enterprise has bought the brand “Maalaisherkku” and cut down the deboning.
- The operations must be profitable and I started at once to develop the business.
Maalaisherkku was bought in September 2007 and stands today for a quarter of the production.
- We were interested in Maalaisherkkus products for allergy sufferers that contain 91 % meat and in their lamb products, explains Keijo Pulli.
24 In the meat branch there are several security risks
Slaughter and meat processing are dangerous branches. During the last ten years much work has been done to minimize the risks. The frequency accidents at work in the industry are 43/accidents/one million working hours, in the food industry 52/accidents/one million working hours. Yearly 1350 accidents happen in the meat branch and cutting sharp or rough objects, stumbling or mental or physical stress causes them. The usage of safety gloves, safety aprons, earmuffs and safety shoes has reduced the accidents and the industrial injuries. The employers have a big responsibility. Stress, cramped working areas and machinery out of date increase the risks.
- When the working environment is safe and when the employees by guidance learn safe working methods the safety surely will improve, tells Paula Kopola, safety officer at Liha-Saarioinen. At Liha-Saarioinen the industrial injuries have declined by 30 % during the period 2005-2008. By mapping the dangers and by estimating the risks one has found the elements of danger in the production and thus have been able to improve the safety.
27 The meat inspection must be standardized
According to existing directives and according to the legislation the meat inspection should be uniformed and modernized, explains senior consultant Marjatta Rahki. One should provide for the availability of personnel by improving the veterinary training and the further education of official veterinarians and develop the assignment of tasks between the veterinarians, the assistants end the personnel of the enterprises.
28 The butchers shop is a success
In the market-hall in Pori work about twenty entrepreneurs; one of them is shopkeeper Reino Raekoski. Reino started his career in the branch as 15 years old in Helsinki. After a many-sided career in the food branch he settled down with his family near Pori.
- I had decided to leave the food branch but the entrepreneur Satakunnan Pihvi contacted me. They had about 30 meat producers; the production was in order but the sales halted. My work was to create a sales network. Since 7 years Reino has his own enterprise “Pihvimestari” in Pori market-hall.- The beginning was tuff, sometimes I had only nine customers a day, tells Reino.The product assortment has convinced the customers and today about hundred customers visit Reinos stall, during Christmas time about 500 customers/day.- Our trumps are unpacked, fresh products and locally produced products. Permanent favourites are our meatballs, spareribs, sausages, the sauna smoked ham, the cold smoked horse tenderloin, the horse sausage ring and the reindeer and game products, tells Reino Raekoski.
31 The small entrepreneurs must cooperate
The eco meat producers Ulle and Sebastian Nurmi have sought and found new forms of cooperation. The products from their farm in Tammisaari archipelago reach the consumers through several entrepreneurs. To manage they have got many irons in the fire. Bovik farm has had Finnish sheep since 1991. They are allowed to graze for nothing in the archipelago so that the biotopes do not overgrow with weeds.
- Our own fields can produce only the winter feedstuff and in the archipelago there are a lot of fine herbs that give lamb a wonderful aroma, explains Ulle.
Half of the meat is sold to restaurants in Helsinki: Savoy, Nokka, Juuri and Bank, the rest to private persons in Lohja and Inkoo. One cannot support oneself by breeding sheep. Sebastian Nurmi works also as a photographer and Ulle weaves. Half of the wool is worked up at the farm. Ulle and Sebastian Nurmi also occupy themselves with farm tourism.
33 The households buy more eco products
2007-2008 the eco purchases of the households increased by 19 %, the food purchases by 7 %. Milk- and meat products and hen’s eggs stand for 80% of the increase.
34 The veterinary of the year
The environmental health manager Outi Lepistö has been chosen “The veterinary of the year”: She has informed about and improved environmental health and promoted a homogeneous food inspection in the municipalities. She copes with clean drinking water, food poisonings, misfortunes caused by dangerous substances and liquids, infections caused by animals and water and infectious diseases that are passed on from animals to humans. During the water crisis in Nokia she acted all the time competently, calmly and informatively.
- A good administration and information improves the food safety, repairs sanitary troubles and improves the supervision, points Outi Lepistö out.
36 The home-help service delivers homely fare
Institutional care is more expensive than home help and most of the seniors prefer to live at home. In the countryside and in small municipalities the home help functions very well. In Luopio old people’s home they prepare meals also for day nurseries and seniors who live at home. Meatballs, minced meat, soups, semolina and rice puddings are popular dishes. The meat comes from Atria and Saarioinen as cubes or slices. From Atria come also the cold cuts. The meat is delivered once a week.
40 The consumers are ready to pay for the information
The consumers want to know more about the origin of the meat, the production, how the animal diseases and the medication are supervised on the farms, about gene manipulation, and they are ready to pay for the information. The knowledge about the quality of foodstuff is all the time growing, but it seldom reaches the consumers.
41 We prepare sausages
When one prepares sausage at home the result is always tasty. You can follow the basic recipes or you can use your imagination and experiment with different raw materials and spices. The meat must be a little fatty, a food processor is of good help. Order the sausage casing in good time.
42 Index of services
54 The column
The columnist Sakari Nupponen, editor at the evening paper Ilta-Sanomat, is of the opinion that the depression was too short.
- We never had time to buy the cheap piece of meat, he points out.
Today it is difficult to find in the counters shoulder, hen and calf, it is easier to find meat of antelope, kangaroo and ostrich. But there are also gleams of light. The restaurants have noticed that it is profitable to prepare dishes that today not are prepared in the households. They use cheaper pieces of meat, cheaper fish and root vegetables.- The truth is that the rich assortment of today is poorer than it was yesterday. The assortment is worst in dime stores and in service stations, stresses Nupponen.
55 Facts on meat
Markus Yli-Hemminki from the Finnish Meat Research Institute informs about beef breading and the production of beef. In Finland there are about 900 000 cattle of which 300 000 are dairy cows and 110 000 bulls. The rest of the population consists of suck cows, calves and heifers. In Finland the cattle has been bred for milk products, beef has been a by-product. Beef is read in colour, the fat consists of half saturated fatty acids and half unsaturated. The Finns consume about 19 kg beef /person/year. The greater part is consumed as minced meat, after that comes cubes, strips, steaks and tenderloins. Finland is not self-supporting concerning beef. The deficit is compensated by import, especially more expensive primal cuts.
Translation: Nina Hackman.
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