My Opening Speech at the Nordic Joint Stand area at BioFach 2010

Hyvät kuulijat...

The Danish opening speaker Evald Vestergaard spoke Danish and Mona Hedenskog spoke Swedish so I of course started my speech in Finnish. I could see the Finnish listeners laughing and the others also laughing in confusion. Well, I did switch to English after the first few sentences...

Ladies and Gentlemen

Back in 1997 the Nordic countries was region of the year at BioFach. After that we have drifted apart even though there has been discussions about a Nordic joint stand almost every year. Not until 2009 did Finland and Sweden join forces with a joint stand area in Hall 3. Now in 2010 all four Nordic countries are together under "Nordic Organics". I think there are many good reasons to do so. We have a common culture, values and history... Some might add language to the list but as we noticed in the beginning of my speech, there might be some problems there. Finnish is a totally different language. But some theories say that 2000 years ago the population in all Nordic countries spoke Finnish, before the germanic languages came from the south - so actually there was a common language.

To continue the list: the pure nature and harsh climate are an important part of the Nordic climate. Of course in more northern parts of Norden - like Finland - this is more true than in the more southernly parts. Farming systems are similar and the food culture. And the high percentage of organic farming in all Nordic countries not to mention the well developed organic market especially in Denmark and Sweden. Looking from other parts of the world Nordic countries have a strong positive image that we should use to our advantage.

The Nordic stand area also gives us opportunities to know each other better, strengthen the Nordic network and to do more business together.

The Nordic Restaurant and Tapas bar is this years great achievement and we expect a lot of it. We are very pleased with the cooperation with the Danish Food Council and the funding from the Nordic Council. Especially pleased I am about the funding we received from the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which was arranged with astonishing flexibility and speed and enabled us to have also Finland's ambassador chef Kim Palhus here with us presenting New Nordic Food (Ny Nordick Mat) with a Finnish kick.

Have a great Nordic BioFach 2010!

Organic Finnish food served at BioFach 17.–20.2.2010

Press Release 12.2.2010

Organic Finnish food served at BioFach 17.–20.2.2010

BioFach in Nuremberg, Germany, is the world’s leading exhibition for organic products. Finnish companies have joined forces with other Nordic countries to exhibit their products at a joint pavilion. The "Nordic Organics" area will also include an organic kitchen and restaurant hosted by the Finnish Ambassador Chef Kim Palhus.

"We will serve the best examples of Finnish organic food in the Nordic restaurant”, says Mr Kim Palhus, Ambassador Chef of Finland and the Chef of the Hanasaari Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre. “Everything will be prepared with pure Nordic ingredients. Despite the cold winter season, our Finnish kitchen boasts clean and savoury ingredients like root vegetables as well as grain and berry products and many other organic products of the Finnish BioFach-exhibitors. I'm happy to help promote the New Nordic Kitchen as well as the export and marketing efforts of Finnish organic food producers.”

Finnish organic food is among the best of the world

"All the Finnish companies joining the Nordic pavilion at BioFach are devoted and energetic advocates of organic products focussing on the development of their products and their activities. They are small and middle-sized companies who formed an export group", says the CEO and Export Director of Organic Food Finland, Mr Erkki Pöytäniemi.

Organic Food Finland is an export group managing the overseas selling of organic goods from nine participating companies. Their trade volume to Nordic countries, Western Europe and the Far East amounts to nearly four million Euros.

The yearly export of Finnish organic goods totals some 14 million Euros. Grain is the most important product. About 6.5 per cent of the Finnish field area is currently certified as organic with the proportion being on the rise. Finland is among the three biggest producers of organic oats in Europe. The yield of organic oats and wheat is higher than needed for national consumption. The Finnish export of organic oats is among the highest in the world with prices being very competitive. Organic oats is exported increasingly in the form of flakes.

Come and see the unforgettable Nordic pavilion

For the first time at Biofach the Nordic expertise in organic production is presented on this scale. "The Nordic cooperation started last year with Finland and Sweden having a common stand. After long negotiations we also got Denmark and Norway to join us. Denmark is one of the most important organic producers in Europe and together all the four countries are set to make an impact", says the Finnish representative of BioFach, Mr Arto Varanki from Spokesman Events Oy, who coordinates the Nordic pavilion and the Finnish participation.

"The Nordic pavilion is an excellent approach for Finnish companies to present themselves to international markets and to network with visitors and other exhibitors. For BioFach visitors the Nordic pavilion is a unique concept well worth visiting, particularly with its magnificent kitchen and restaurant offering top quality organic goods", Varanki points out.

BioFach is now in its 2ist year. Last year it brought together 2,733 exhibitors and 46,771 trade visitors from 119 countries.

The Finnish exhibitors welcome journalists to their stands (joint stand 1-410 and Viiniverla stand 4A-415) as well as to the Nordic kitchen and restaurant (stand 1-604).

For further information please contact:

Mr Erkki Pöytäniemi, Organic Food Finland, +358 50 550 5225, erkki@organic-finland.com

Mr Arto Varanki, Spokesman Events Oy, +358 40 544 5598, arto.varanki@spokesman.fi

Kim Palhus, Hanasaari, +358 40 484 8123, kim.palhus@hanaholmen.fi

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The Finnish Exhibitors at BioFach 2010:

E. Boström Ltd, Annika Boström, +358 40 5462888, www.bostrom.fi

– organic muffins

Greenfinn's Ltd, Kari Saari, +358 6 861 2540, www.greenfinns.com

– organic 100 % juices from Nordic berries

Helsinki Mills Ltd, Ulla Heiskanen, + 358 9 2716 9225, www.helsinginmylly.fi

– organic flour and flakes

Keskisen Mylly Ltd, Markku Vitikainen, +358 3 471 6532, www.keskisenmylly.fi

– organic buckwheat pasta and other buckwheat products

Kiantama Ltd, Annikki Kyllönen, +358 201 442 251, www.kiantama.fi

– organic Nordic berries

Napapiiri Organics, Marja Nuora, +358 50 586 2697, www.napapiiri-organics.com

– organic jams

Nordic Koivu Ltd, Susanna Maaranen, + 358 40 523 7348, www.nordickoivu.com

– organic Nordic birch sap for consumers and industry

Viiniverla Ltd, Juha Kuronen, +358 40 530 9224, www.viiniverla.fi

– organic berry wines

– stand nr 415 is situated in hall 4A

Virgino Ltd, Perttu Korolainen, +358 750 0300 100, www.virgino.fi

– organic cold pressed rape seed oil

BIOFACH again!

Again one organic year has passed and BioFach is approaching fast. For anybody working in international organic business a year is not the calendar year, it is counted from BioFach to BioFach on week 7 in February. So I presume many of you reading this blog are also heading to BioFach and I hope to meet you there!

This year Organic Food Finland is back in Hall 1 (stand 410) and the Nordic cooperation has been expanded. You will find us under the "Nordic Organics" banner together with Denmark and Sweden. The Nordic countries do have some things in common so cooperation is natural. Organic Food Finland will be in one block and 10 companies are exhibiting - or actually everyone in the group. Feel free to contact myself or Lhassan for arranging a meeting there (email: info@organic-finland.com). Or you can just pop in to see what is new from Organic Finland.

An exciting part of the Nordic cooperation is the Nordic Kitchen and Restaurant we will have on the Nordic Organics stand area. The restaurant will focus on showcasing the New Nordic Cuisine (Ny Nordisk Mat) and of course the products of the Nordic exhibitors. At lunch time there will be lunch served so this is an excellent place in the middle of a busy day when you get hungry. Apart from the staff chefs who are preparing delicious Nordic food, Finland's Ambassador Chef Kim Palhus will be present and showcase New Nordic Cuisine "version Finland" - of course using raw-materials from our exhibitors as much as possible. So be sure to be there on Wednesday or Thursday for a treat!

Finland, the prime source of pure organic food

When talking about farming in Finland we always like to point out that FInland is the northern-most country to be self-sufficient in basic food-stuffs. Finns have survived in these harsh conditions through history and so have our cultivated plants and our animals. But actually the summers are not harsh at all, they are quite nice although a little short. On the other hand the sun shines around the clock and plants just keep growing.




It is the winters that were difficult for the people and animals in the old times - and still are for the pests. Finland is a country which is pure in nature and sparsely populated and where pests are killed by the winters. Therefore Finns consider Finnish food to be practically organic as it is. Of course this is not quite true. To be organic a farmer needs to follow the organic farming method f.ex. not using chemical fertilizers or pesticides and the farm must be certified. And actually quite a few are: 6,5% of the Finnish field area is certified organic - whcih is one of the highest figures in the world. On top of that Finland has the largest area of certified organic picking area for wild organic berries - 7 million hectares!

So what kind of organic products can you expect to find from Finland? For organics the most important line of production is grain. Finland is one of the biggest producers of organic oats and is well known for the excellent quality of its oats. Oats are a highly recommended part of a diet as it is one of the few products with an EFSA-accepted (European Food Safety Authority) health claim. Oat bran is becomming more and more of a hype in many markets. Finland also produces high quality spring wheat and rye. Finland has a rich bread culture combining western and eastern influences and the tradition of sour rye bread is still alive and well. It can be found as fresh bread in many forms as well as dried flat-bread. Rye flatbread has been one of the biggest succes stories for organic exports from Finland. Other cereal based products are f.ex. organic muffins and rye crisps and rye chips. Also Finnish wheat is of excellent quality.

The fruits of Finland are our berries. Both wild and cultivated. When we in Finland say wild berries, we really mean wild berries growing in the nature and hand-picked without any manipulation of the environment. There are several eadible berries growing in the wild of which the commercially most important are blilberry - also called blueberry - (Vaccinium myrtillus) and lingonberry (V. vitis-idaea) followed by cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), cranberry (V. oxycoccos) and crowberry (Empetrum nigrum). Black curant and other currants are the most important cultivated berries while strawberry is cultivated for the fresh-market. Sea buckthorn is found wild on the coast-line but also cultivated. It is fair to say that fruits are extremily healthy and in particular the berries from the north are even more healthy. Generally wild berries are healthier than cultivated berries. They have lower yield but higher content of beneficial substancies. F.ex. wild bilberries have multiple times more healthy substancies compared to the cultivated varities. Lingonberry is expected to become the next superberry. Organic berries are available in many forms: frozen, concentrates, dried etc for the industry or made into consumer products like juices and jams for the consumer or even more sophisticated - sparkling wines and liqueurs.

There is an abundance of other organic products from Finland always building on the qualities of the pure nature, rich tradition or modern technology or a combination of all. Birch sap is linked to the nature and traditional medicine while rape seed oil has proven health benefits and the berry dessert ”kiisseli” is a traditional food that in its modern format is an excellant product for hikers who need to carry their food with them to the wilderness.

Nordic Koivu web-site and News Feed

Nordic Koivu Ltd who recently joined the Organic Food Finland Export Group has a very informative web-site which is definitely worth visiting. The company is the worlds leading producer of birch sap and the only one who is able to give a long shelf-life to 100% pure bottled birch sap. The product has not been heated and does not contain any additives or preservatives. Check also the news feed. The most recent articles are

- New premises for Nordic Koivu Ltd
- Expert recommendation to use Nordic Koivu birch sap for sports applications
- Birch sap's effect on birch pollen allergies
- Increasing demand of birch sap amongst industry

Organic EU logo

The situation with EU logo is difficult right now as we are waiting for the new logo to be launched but no-one has seen it yet. It will be chosen from logos submitted by European art-students. Of the over 3000 entries the 100 best have been chosen. This will be narrowed down to 10 and then there will be a Europe wide consumer vote. An interesting process and impossible to say what the outcome will be. One key problem is that only entries which are pure symbols - i.e. without any text - were accepted. It is easy to understand why as there is no common name for organic in the different European languages. But it does pose problems. The organic industry through the Ifoam EU group proposed a label that included the wording Organic - Bio, which would have been understandable for the vast majority of Europeans and also outside the EU. But this was against the rules of the competition and was therefore not considered.

The aspect of how the new label will function outside Europe has been largely overlooked. Maybe there will be some (little) EU funding for promoting the new label inside the EU, thus helping consumers make the link between the label and organic certification, but outside the EU there will be no promotion paid by the EU. This is a major problem for companies in the export
business of organic products. Asia, which is a fast growing market for organic products is an example. A lot of the organic products in Asian markets come from the USA and the USDA organic logo is the most recognized organic logo on that market. The consumer there looks for a Western certification logo for credibility. An EU logo would have that credibility if it existed and could be recognized as an official logo. Weather this can be communicated with the new EU logo remains to be seen. If not we will give markets to the US companies.

New year for Organic Food Finland

We are enjoying the last weeks of this summer and soon entering September. Again we have a few new companies joining Organic Food Finland. Let me present them shortly here - we will post more information later and of course update the www.organic-finland.com web-site.

Nordic Koivu in Eastern Finland produces a really unique product that is both refreshing and healthy: Birch Sap - which in many parts of the world is considered herbal medicine. The product is well known everywhere where the birch grows naturally, i.e. most of the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere. Usually birch sap is consumed fresh in the spring when it can be harvested from the birches. Birch sap is highly perishable and even in a refrigerator you can keep it only for a few days. Usually bottlers use preservatives or heat treatment but Nordic Koivu has developed a method for bottling the birch sap without any preservatives (nothing added) or heat treatment. So the product retains its full quality.



ViiniVerla is an other "one of it's kind": the only organic winery in Finland. There are about 25 wineries in Finland, i.e. farms that produce alcoholic drinks of berries and apple. Grapes don't grow in Finland - apart from some enthusiasts back yards in Southern Finland. In the Finnish wine competitions ViiniVerla has faired very well and personally I am a fan of the sparkling wines and the liqueurs, especially cranberry and cloudberry. This is certainly something you should taste!

Keskinen Mills' in Central Finland is a small mill specialised in gluten-free buckwheat. The buckwheat is grown in the region around the mill. The main products are flour for the gluten-free bakeries and organic buckwheat pasta. So this is something for both the organic and gluten-free market - which in some countries are somewhat merged. Keskinen Mills' guarnatees that no grain gets mixed with the buckwheat and therefor celiac patients can safely consume their products.