Welcome to New Nordic Food’s newsletter
April 2010
OPUS and the supermarket project
DENMARK: OPUS is currently working with the New Nordic Diet. The food will now be tested in the real world through the Supermarket Model. 200 somewhat overweight adults will receive their food free of charge from a "supermarket" at Copenhagen University, LIFE. About half of them will get their food from the New Nordic Diet and the other half from the Average Danish Diet. The researchers expect that the group eating the New Nordic Diet will be healthier. www.foodoflife.dk/Opus/wp/Supermarkedet.aspx NNF was a little bit too quick off the mark to link OPUS with Copenhagen school food in our last newsletter. The Copenhagen food schools is an independent project in the City of Copenhagen which named Amager Fælled School as the first school to take part in a pilot test under the auspices of OPUS with school intervention, which will be launched in August 2011.
Nordic Food Glossary, with lovely pictures of fish, now as an iPhone App
NORDIC REGION: The Federation of Norden Associations (FNF), in partnership with NCM (with NNF), has now launched a “Nordic Food Glossary” App which can be downloaded to your mobile phone. The glossary contains approximately 1500 Nordic words for food with translations to all the languages, including Greenlandic and Faroese, see attachments. In particular, the information on fish has been improved. There are about 90 lovely drawings along with information on about 60 species of fish. www.nordicfoodglossary.org
Nordic sensuality
ICELAND: On Thursday 20 May Icelandic Matis is organising a workshop on the theme of Sensual Communication. Amongst the participants are Ulf Larsson, Örebro University, Peter Kreiner from NOMA and Nordic Food Lab, Marit Rødbotten from Nofima in Norway, Hanna Kivelä from Valio Oy, Finland and Valdimar Sigurðsson, from Reykjavík University. Finally, Johan Ununger, Saltå Kvarn AB, will talk about how to use social media in communication. The registration deadline is 1 May. www.matis.is/nsw2010
More moose and deer hunting
NORWAY: Moose and deer hunting will be expanded. The State Land and Forest Company is permitting hunting for professionals and the general public. The application deadline is 30 April. The deer have established themselves in new areas, including inland Eastern Norway, which is a hilly terrain that poses great challenges for hunters. The Norwegian State Land and Forest Company is the country's largest landowner, owning one fifth of mainland Norway.
Project food waste
FINLAND: MTT Agrifood Research Finland has begun to study the food industry's waste of food to find the causes and possibly to reduce food waste. The project is funded by the Quality Chain and the food industry. The subject is of current interest and under debate because carelessness with food waste is an important area of responsibility for production and consumers. The project will examine the extent, causes, environmental effect of food waste in Finland, and opportunities to reduce it. There will be an information campaign linked to the project. For further information please contact Juha-Matti Katajajuuri, www.mtt.fi
This year’s potato star
SWEDEN: The potato is trendy again. ‘Svensk Potatis’ (Swedish Potatoes) is organising a competition for the Potato Star of the Year by calling for potato recipes for all seasons. The competition is open for professionals and amateurs. It will be an advantage if the dish is based on local traditions and makes good use of the potatoes unique qualities. The Potato Star of the Year can win a train trip to the award-winning Julita Wärdshus, Sörmland or a gift voucher for SEK 5000 to a Swedish restaurant. Application deadline 15 May. www.merpotatis.nu
Funding for green food development
NORWAY: The Ministry of Agriculture and Food administers a subsidy scheme which funds organisations that, amongst other things, are involved in climate and environmental work and promote positive attitudes to green values. The application deadline is 1 June 2010.
www.regjeringen.no/upload/LMD/Vedlegg/Utlysingsbrev_2011%20%282%29.pdf
Local food in Finnmark
FINLAND AND NORWAY: Norway and the county of Finnmark are working in partnership with local businesses to make local food well-known and accessible to everyone. Stakeholders such as Coop Finnmark and Rica Hotels Finnmark are now investing in local products such as Nordlys mulled wine from Nordlys Mat in Alta and lamb meat from Varangermat. The response from consumers has been positive.
www.fylkesmannen.no/hoved.aspx?m=1870&amid=3123682
Food production and value
NORWAY: A working group under the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food recommends continuing to invest in a programme, VSP Food, for adding value to food production through innovation and diversity in food. The group has worked with binding producer associations, competency projects in market co-operation and market access, and regional competency points. The programme was started in 2001 and has been successful in that the number of small-scale food producers and food specialists with a local identity has increased considerably. The Value Adding Programme, VSP Food, finishes in 2010 but the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Lars Peder Brekk, will take a continuation of this work up in the Norwegian Parliament. Read the report “VSP food after 2010?”
www.regjeringen.no/upload/LMD/Vedlegg/Brosjyrer_veiledere_rapporter/Rapport_VSP_mat_etter_2010.pdf