Mejeritekniskt Forum

Kärno is a new cheese variety, made on buttermilk – and brine, left over from the production of fermented gherkins.

The new cheese is a result of a collaboration between the compagnies Kinda Gurka and Löt Gårdsmejeri – both in Östergötland. But it is also the successful result of a pilot project completed by the two compagnies, Alfred Nobel Science Park and Vreta Kluster as an example on so called:  ’Svinnovation’. The method is to value waste in food production and match food companies to create new products. In this case waste, brine, from the fermentation of gherkins was matched with residues from the dairy, buttermilk.

At this moment the chefs behind restaurant Paul Taylor Lanthandeln in Stockholm buy the entire production of the new cheese.

Kärno has its own Facebook site HERE, where you can read more and see a film about the project.

Falköping Dairy has difficulty selling its organic milk and has asks its organic suppliers to consider conventional milk production. – Some of them are counting on it, says dairy manager Uno Elofsson to the newspaper Atl.

Falköping dairy weighs in 140 million kilos of milk per year. About 20 percent of the milk is Krav-certified (organic, red). Including its daughter company, Grådö dairy, the number is 220 million kilos of milk but with a slightly lower Krav share.

– We have a utilization rate of organic milk of 60-70 percent, and that is too little, Uno Elofsson says.

That is why the dairy has asked their 34 organic suppliers if anyone would consider to switch to conventional milk production.

Uno Elofsson recognize, that it’s a fine balance:

– There must not be too many who leave organic production, because then we can end up in the same situation as a few years ago, where we had too little eco-milk, he adds.

In order to increase the market for organic milk, the dairy has invested in export of organic powder and in organic cheese production, but without enough success.

Uno Elofsson also points out that the public debate has a major impact on the market.

A few years ago organic products was very popular. Now the issue among the customers are local production and oat alternatives, he explains to the newspaper. Read more HERE.

Dellenmejeriet in Hälsingland has raised its milk price to the farmers from SEK 4.00 to SEK 4.10 per kilo, says chairman of the board Leif Björklund to the newspaper ATL.

In January 2018, ATL visited the newly, upstarted Dellenmejeriet. At that time, the raw material consisted of split deliveries from five Arla-farmers in the area. Now the group has increased to eight. Together they deliver about 49,000 litres of milk a week. (According to Arla’s rules for split deliveries in Sweden, Arla-farms can deliver up to 50 pct. of the milk to other dairies).

The farmers don’t own Dellenmejeriet. It’s a joint stock company, started and run by people who are dedicated to the local town and area.

Besides the increased milk price, Dellenmejeriet recently has introduced new packaging: Completely plant-based, including the cork.

Next goal is a milk price on five kr. per litre, but:

– There is still some way to go, Leif Björklund says to ATL.

Read the article HERE. 

Nöbbelövs Gårdsmejeri south of Kristianstad in Skåne has produced organic milk, cheese and yoghurt since 2012. Now the owners have decided to shut down the dairy.

Owner of the dairy farm Peter Nilsson explains to the local newspaper, Kristianstadsbladet, that lack of profitability is one of the reasons for shutting down

– Milk prices have not followed the price increase on other products. And still you work 365 days a year to take care of the cows, he states. Today the farm has 130 cows and the owners consider if they will continue milk production in general.

Last week on Facebook Nöbbelövs Gårdsmejeri posted:

– It is with sadness in our hearts that we must inform all our fine customers that for personal reasons we will cease dairy production for the time being. The future is uncertain ….

Thank you for all the appreciation you have shown us and THANK YOU for acting and supporting us.

Read more about the farm dairy on its Facebook site HERE

The consumers have decided, that the plastic caps on Skånemejerier’s organic milk should be removed for good.

During the spring, Skånemejerier decided to remove the caps from all Hjordnära organic milk packagings, and then let sales figures and consumer reactions determine the future for the caps.

The consumers got in touch with the dairy via social medias and corporate customer service, and a clear majority — 79 percent — wanted to avoid the caps for good.

– This is exactly the result, we hoped for. It is gratifying to see that Hjordnära’s consumers prioritize sustainability over convenience. Removing the plastic caps reduces the packaging’s climate impact, and it also makes it easier for consumers to recycle because everything now can be sorted as paper, says Cecilia Lindwall, marketing manager at Skånemejerier. Read more HERE

Oatly faces international shitstorm after Blackstone investment deal. As a consequence, cafes are abandoning the company.

This summer Oatly landed a $200m investment deal with Blackstone, one of the largest private equity firms in the world, known for purchases of housing, investments in soy production in Brazil and maybe contributing toward Trump’s re-election effort. All actions, that doesn’t harmonise with Oatly’s image and ambition to save the climate.

The criticism is growing, not only in Skåne, where Oatly has its home base, but also cafes in in Germany, UK and Finland have reacted and changed to other suppliers of oat drink, Sydsvenskan writes in an article the 5th of September.

On its homepage Oatly.com the company responds to the critique and arguments:

– Getting a company like Blackstone to invest in us is something we have been working on to create maximum change to benefit the planet. From a sustainability perspective, we are convinced that helping shift the focus of massive capital towards sustainable approaches is potentially the single most important thing we can do for the planet in the long-term.

Skånemejerier’s cheese brand Allerum switch to a new packaging with less plastic. This means that the packaging can be sorted as paper.

The change in packaging means a reduction of four tonnes of plastic per year and includes a total of 15 different packages of Allerum cheese.

– We believe that the change will be well received by our consumers. In surveys we see, that consumers who buy stored cheese are more interested in environmental issues than the average consumer, Louise Heegaard, marketing manager at Skånemejerier, says.

– We face a common challenge in the industry to reduce plastic and reduce the climate impact. Today, we have 97 percent recyclable packaging and our goal is 100 percent by 2022, says Skånemejerier’s sustainability manager, Jeanette Flodqvist.

Read the press release from Skånemejerier HERE

For the second year in a row the campaign ’EKO-September’ will set spot on organic food through activities and information.

EKO-September is financed by the Swedish Board of Agriculture and is part of their action plan to increase production, consumption and export of organic food. The organizations behind the campaign are Organic Sweden, Ekologiska Lantbrukarna, KRAV and Sweden’s consumers.

The campaign is aimed at consumers, farmers, processors, wholesalers, retailers and others, who are interested in organic food.

The EKO-September campaign has been developed to spread knowledge and information about the benefits of organic food and how it is produced.

Read more about the campaign and find activities HERE

Dagligvarugalan’s category the Dairy Department of the Year goes to an Ica store  — because all the finalists are Ica stores.

Every year, the branch magazine Fri Köpenskap holds a gala evening, where employees and other players in the retail business are attributed for their efforts – within 20 categories. One of these categories is the Dairy Department of the Year, and the three finalists have just been announced. They are Ica Kvantum Landvetter, Ica Nära Rosendal, Uppsala and Ica Kvantum Vellinge.

– The winner will be a store that has inspired its employees to focus on creating added value in the dairy department and to create a good workflow in the department in a rational and efficient way. The store must have worked with assortments, exposures and campaigns that have increased customer value, attracted new thinking and brand purchases at the consumer level and thereby strengthened the store’s overall attractiveness, the jury says.

The winners will be presented on October 8, 2020. Read more about the competition HERE

Arla sets up a so called zero vision (nollvison red.) concerning animal welfare on the farms. The vision is part of the updated quality program ’Arlagården’.

– The zero vision means that all cows, at all Arlafarms, should feel good every day. Setting up a zero vision and measuring the development means that we work even more focused and achieve progress faster, says Patrik Hansson, CEO of Arla Sweden. For instance, every cow will be checked four times a year – and more unannounced controls will be carried out according to the updated program.

During the thirteen years that the quality program Arlagården has been in use, 16,000 audits have carried out. They show that the absolute majority of the approximately 2,500 farms in Sweden work very well. But there are a few percent of the farms that have problems, Arla explains in a press release. Read more HERE