4 The editorialChief editor Veli Saarenheimo mentions that the world rapidly undergoes several changes and that the Finnish food industry today orientates itself towards Russia. Trade is trade…….However in the handling of meat he observes a growing split between the processing and the supply of raw material.Our meat industry has already during several years been based on a few big enterprises, some smaller ones and several small operators. But the Finnish meat production cannot satisfy our own demand partly because our export of meat. Rising costs in slaughter operations result in an import of raw material. Without membership in EU several entrepreneurs should have difficulties in obtaining competitive raw material to run their business.
6 Rising prices bring often crises
The Finnish pig breading is working hard to keep its position, in the worst case it fights for its survival. The profitability is decreasing and that means a reduced production. The problem of the pig breeders is today well known in Finland. Today we have about 2500 piggeries and next year there will be a reduction of about 10%. That means that we in Finland next year will produce 209 million kg pig meat. But Matti J.J. Perälä mentions in his dissertation at the Helsinki University that there will already this year be a reduction of 15% due to the higher costs on wheat.The smaller companies have already difficulties in obtaining Finnish raw material. During the last years both the import and the export of pig meat have grown. We exported 49 million kg pig meat during the year 2006. Last year the export dropped but the import continued to grow. Today occur processed imported meat products rather often on the shelves of our local shops.Director Matti Perälä is responsible for the meat and the primary production at Atria. He mentions that the company to a certain extent has guarded itself to cut down the production. But the processed volumes of today cannot be reached by using imported raw material. The production depends on the consumption. A consumption of 190 million kg demands a production of 210 million kg. In Finland the price on pig meat is lower than the average price in other countries in EU.
10 The Finnish Meat Trade Association elected Seppo Korpela their chairman
The summer meeting of the Finnish Meat Trade Association was held at Levi in August. During the weekend seminars, evening meals and golf- and skittle competitions were arranged. The statutory annual meeting was held and assembled over fifty persons.
13 Welcome to an enjoyable dining table
Food experiences are more important than before when the households decide their daily purchases. - We should not only take into consideration the safety and the pureness of food along the production chain but also accentuate the ethic experiences the meals give us tells Tiina Lampisjärvi at the Finnish Food Information Service.We should encourage the positive development of today; food connects people in a positive way.- The time spent at the dining tale and the meal in itself gives us the feeling of well-being and thus improves the quality of our everyday life.- This was not possible in Finland during the 40:ties and 50:ties when the housewife often stood eating at the stove. Today our society has developed and changed and we are more open and tolerant which can be observed in our standard of cooking and our culinary art, stresses Tiina Lampisjärvi.
16 The meat grinder and the recipe of the month
The relay for the benefit of locally produced food is finished. The race took place in August and started in Suomussalmi and the goal was in Helsinki. According to Irma Kärkkäinen, head of the race project, the idea was to heighten the use of locally produced food in the public feeding. Jaakko Nuutila, ombudsman for food culture at the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners pointed out the ecological and economic importance of locally produced food.- It is not wise to transport food from one part of the world to another, as we ourselves are able to produce good raw materials. Sampsa Heinonen chief at the Finnish Food Information Service spoke also for a lasting development and stressed that the starting point of the ecological production is an ecological, social and economic balance. “Locally Produced Weeks” were celebrated in Finnish schools, educational institutions, shops, and institutional kitchens during the weeks 36-39.The professional and managerial employees of the food branch have got a labour agreement of their own. The agreement was accepted in August and came into force by the 29.9. 2008. In the agreement are of course questions regarding travel; working-hours and overtime work the most urgent. The professional and managerial employees are a very important group in the meat branch. The group consists of experts and persons in a leading position, about 2700 persons. Developing the productivity was the theme at a day with lectures and discussions for persons responsible for the production and development in the meat and food industries, arranged by the Meat Research Center. Logistics in Germany. CSB-Systems International arranged a seminar in Berlin in October for Finnish companies in the meat and food branches. At the seminar they presented their IT-solutions. Appointments. Food technologist Heikki Koivumäki at the Meat Research Center has been appointed project leader per 1.8.2008. An “Easy to open Mark”. The Finnish Rheumatism Association published in August their new mark “ Easy to open”. The association wants to inform especially the food-, medical- and packaging industries and the trade how important it is for the customers that packages are easy to open. The rheumatism associations in the other Scandinavian countries already have similar marks. About 1,5 million Finns suffer of injured hands. The packaging industry fights against theft. Cryovac and Checkpoint Systems have developed a system based on radio control that can be applied on vacuum packages. Cryovac is specialized in food packaging and Checkpoint Systems is specialized in developing tools that reduce waste. It is impossible to remove the mark without damaging the package and it alarms at the front door of the shop. Finnvacum has bought PM Digi. Finnvacum imports packing machines and packing materials for the food industry. The concern owns also Bamach Oy that sells machines and equipment to the bakery industry. The enterprise has also subsidiary companies in Sweden and Estonia and a co-operation company in St:Peterburg in Russia. PM Digi Oy markets and keeps in repair weighing, packaging and marking systems of high quality for the foodstuff industry.The recipe of the month is “Pig chops Mediterranean style”.
20 Ready–to-eat food in the future
The food will be tasty, healthy, easily prepared, ethically produced, preferably of home ingredients and without additives. There is a need for ready to-eat-food and the assortment, competition and consumption will cover all age groups. The products will be on sale in shops, markets, kiosks, stands, restaurants, and institutional kitchens and on Internet. There will be dishes for special diets, for instance ready-to-eat food for diabetics and persons with heart- and vascular diseases.
23 The ready-to-eat food tastes better and better
During the year 2007 the ready-to-eat meals was the group with the biggest growth. The ready-made meals have during the last ten years become the most popular within the group convenience food. Last year their market value was estimated to be 447,4 million euro. The consumers have already accepted the ready-made meals as a part of their cooking. The ready-to-eat food does not perhaps replace the whole meal but it is often a component. Ready-to-eat food is often also used even when we prepare banquets. The consumers are willing to pay the higher price for the advantages the ready-to-eat food offers. The ready-to-eat food is easy to use and saves time, energy and waste as the consumer usually eats the whole dish. Warm meals are important for singles and elderly persons. The biggest growth of ready-to-eat-meals is observed in single households. A big amount of ready-to-eat food is produced in the HoReCa sector. The restaurants, schools, and institutions use all kinds of semi-products as a part of the meals. Good examples are meatballs, stuffed cabbage rolls, sauces and dessert mixes.
26 The convenience food industry challenges the equipment manufacturers
The industry is interested in the growth of convenience food and that affects directly the purchases of equipment and hastens the process of innovations. At the company Vesantti Oy the growth of the ready-to-eat food sector is considered as a very positive development in their turnover. Jarno Leppälä, managing director at Vesantti, tells that today the equipment must be more effective, many-sided and width a better precision regarding the dosage.- If a package of sliced meat weights 530 g instead for 500 g it results in economic loss, stresses Jarno Leppälä.As an example of a new technology he mentions the Afoheat grilling tunnel. In the tunnel gas and high temperatures develop in infrared radiation grilling the dishes beautifully and melting the cheese on a lasagna. Another example is the popular Stephanie’s boiling pot in which it is easy to cook pasta and different fish sauces. Alcos spiral freezer is a new machine in which one can cool big amounts of ready-to-eat food and in the spiral heating system one can heat steaks, pizzas and ready-to-eat food.
28 The Scandinavian nutrition recommendations will be modified in the year 2012
A working team decides on the recommended intake of for instance fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Meat and meat products will probably keep their position in the new recommendations. Meat contains a lot of protein that is important when one goes down in weight.The members of the working group are experts in the food branch and they come from all five Scandinavian countries. From Island comes one member, from the other countries two members. From Finland comes Mikael Fogelholm from the Finnish Academy and another member from Finland is chosen during the autumn. The group begins the practical remodeling next year.
30 The poultry breeders got a feather in their cap
The program ”A feather in the cap “ tells about the Finnish quality system. The program informs consumers, media, the horeca-sector and the skilled workers in the food branch about the transparency of the product chain and the safety of poultry meat. For the implementation answers the Finnish Food Information Service in co-operation with the advertising agency Adseki. Riitta Stirkkinen at Finfood Meat Information tells that the work is interesting, challenging and often difficult. The program is financed by EU 50 %, by the Finnish state and by the poultry branch. The openness and the transparency grants confidence for the branch as a whole.
32 Väinö Purje is a great profile in the meat branch
He is the great super chef of all times. He has this autumn celebrated his 80:th anniversary. He is known in the meat branch since the beginning of the 1950:ties. He had been 10 years in the meat branch and had studied recitation and singing as Kesko appointed him as head of training. Then a very intensive period of work started. He traveled all over Finland teaching the Finns to chose the right pieces of meat for different dishes, to prepare dishes of meat and to consume vegetables and salads. Väinö Purje has taken part in more than 100 instructional TV- films.
36 We have to respect the habits of the animals and the possibilities nature gives us
The hunting season is here but we ought to wait until the leaves have fallen. Then the security and the precision of aiming are good. At the same time the weather has became chillier. The carcass flies are away and the conditions for slaughter, hanging and deboning of the carcasses are improved. Today hunters have built hunting platforms and hunting-lodges near the paths used by the animals and near their eating places.
40 How are things at Resta-Menu?
There the employees are concentrated on serving the customers ready-made quickly served dishes. The enterprise works for the horeca sector. The new concept is to heat freezed portions in a turbo oven and serve them to the customer within one minute. The company is a new operator in the branch of ready-to-eat food and began to operate after the Gastro Fair. Juha and Raija Vainonpää have worked in the food branch for a long time. The business concept was developed together with Juha Kantola at Satafood. The growth of Resta-Food has exceeded all expectations and for the year 2009 the budget is 2 million euro.
42 Index of services
52 “My work.”Jukka Kossila works at Saarioinen as Sales Representative for convenience food and meat products.- Also well-known brands demand a continuous greater effort in order to survive, stresses Jukka. He began his career at a S-market in Lauttasaari in Helsinki in the beginning of the 1980:ties. In the year 1988 he became Sales Representative for several big markets in Helsinki. When markets today replenish their assortment the former products are taken away. - Today I visit 3-4 markets a day and plan the assortment very carefully with the employees and discuss it with the customers but the evenings are set aside for the family, mentions Jukka Kossila, father of three children. 62 Eviras pages deal this time with the auto control of small entrepreneurs and the HACCP directive. It is not easy for small entrepreneurs to create an auto control. In May 2008 Evira published “A special directive for small entrepreneurs about auto control and the HACCP”. You can find it on the address www.ltk.fi/haccp. The directives and examples consist of several components; the entrepreneurs can chose the components that suit their enterprise.
64 The column
The columnist Sakari Nupponen, editor at the evening paper Ilta-Sanomat, writes this time about sausages and fast food. He wonders why the sausages have such a bad reputation, why it is a shame, almost a sin to eat sausages. - Most people who are of this opinion are salad freaks, and salad has caused the most serious food poisonings in Finland, exclaims Sakari Nupponen!Today the assortment of ready-to-eat food: - sausages, pizzas and hamburgers includes also kebabs, which contain a lot of salad. Also the sausages can be varied in many ways. Sakari Nupponen mentions “The Salmon Hunters Sausage” that won the firs prize at the sausage market in Tammela last summer. “Can be served in first class restaurants”, was the opinion of the judges. - Why not fill the sausages with escargots or cauliflower or with poultry liver, goat cheese, lamb and beans or goose liver and apple jam, asks Sakari Nupponen. Translation: Nina Hackman.
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