“In Finland the food is so good that there is a risk to get better”

High quality food sure just as soon as we come in the summer on vacation from St. Petersburg to Finland, the correspondent of Kauppalehti in the Northern Russian capital, Martti Kiuru (Martti Kiuru).

A study of the European Agency for food safety (EFSA), published this spring, shows that in Finland the purest food products from all EU countries. Pesticide residues in food up to four times less than the average in the EU.

High quality food is easy to make while on vacation from St. Petersburg to Finland in the summer. The food is so good that there is a danger to recover. In comparison with Russia a trump card of Finland is also actively developing the countryside, the gifts which make a variety of meals.

Living in the village Lamparilla near the city of Kuopio Helminen, satu (Satu Helminen) and Katajisto Mikko (Mikko Katajisto) jokingly call themselves “farmers night”. They have constant work day, and they hold the strawberry fields area of two hectares.

Most of the products are strawberry fields Marjatila Helminen is implemented right on the spot, and customers come here for tens of kilometers. Strawberry season just started and the field work of dozens of builders of Ukraine.

According to Helminen, satu, growing strawberries is not very profitable economically, we are talking mainly about the way of life. The difference between seasons is huge, and in bad years net profit almost never happens. This year the strawberry crop is better than last year, but he started two weeks later.

According to Helminen, Finland underestimate the purity and quality of domestic products. The art of marketing and branding is also on a lower level than, for example, the Italian ham that praise their products, scented mists of the river Po.

In Finland, the potential of rural areas could be increased, developing the process further processing. Many would be interested in processing berries for making wines and liqueurs, but in production you need to invest hundreds of thousands of euros.

It’s not just about the equipment needed, but also about bureaucracy and formal permissions, which requires additional costs. According to Helminen, satu, that bureaucracy is the main enemy of the development of a viable production of food and beverages.

Despite many difficulties, the solidarity of farmers engaged in cultivation of berries is very high. If any field is not enough strawberry pickers, all trying to help. Representatives of the new generation of farmers understand that working together brings more fruit than short-sighted pursuit of personal gain.

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