Distribution systems of the food sector in Russia: the perspective of Finnish food industry

Finnish food producers' trade with Russia has experienced profound changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Simultaneously, the distribution systems of foodstuffs have changed remarkably. This study sheds some light into these changes and analyses the current situation in distribution systems of foodstuffs in Russia. In addition, the study discusses the possibilities of Finnish food producers to get more of their products to the shelves of Russian food retail stores. Before the 1998 financial crisis, the import of foreign foodstuffs was booming in Russia due to the overvalued rouble. As a result of the financial crisis, food import collapsed. The export of Finnish foodstuffs to Russia has been slowly recovering during the past few years, but in the most important product categories the pre-crisis levels have so far not been reached and maybe will not be reached. In certain product categories the growth has been only marginal. It seems that starting localproduction will become increasingly important in the future. This is further encouraged by the fact that Russian consumers favour domestic food products. Russian consumers are very price conscious and demand quality in food products. The perceived price-quality ratio is an important criterion in the purchase decision.The majority of foodstuff retail is still conducted via unorganised forms of trade (e.g. kiosks and marketplaces) but modern retail chains are developing at a fast pace in Russia. They are also expected to dominate the retail trade in foodstuffs over the unorganised forms of trade in the future. This will change the distribution systems as well. The retail chains are trying to shorten the distribution chain, similarly to what has been seen in the Western countries. This together with the strengthening of retail chains is likely to shrink the role of wholesalers, as the chains increasingly want to work directly with the producers. Many large retail chains are acquiring or have already acquired a distribution centre or centres in order to boost efficiency and control the flow of products. The strengthening of the retail chains also gives them power in negotiations, which the producers and distributors have to adjust to. For example store entry fees and retail chains' own private label products pose challenges to the food producers. In the food production sector the competition is fierce, as large Russianand foreign producers want to ensure their piece of the market. The largest producers utilise their size: they invest in big marketing campaigns and are willing to pay high entry fees to retail chains in order to secure a place on the store shelves and to build a strong brand in Russia. This complicates the situation from the viewpoint of small producers. Currently, the most popular type of distribution system among the interviewed Finnish food producers is based on a network of local distributors. There is, however, a strong consensus on the importanceof starting local production in order to be a serious actor in Russia in the future. Factors that hinder the starting of local production include the lack of local infrastructure and qualified staff, and the low risk tolerance of Finnish firms. Major barriers for entry in Russia are the actions of authorities, fierce competition, fragmented market and Finnish producers' heavy production costs. The suggested strategies for increasing the market share include focusing geographically or segment-wise, introducing new products, starting local production, andcooperation between Finnish producers. Smallness was one reason why Finnish producers had to cut down their operations in Russia due to the 1998 crisis. Smaller producers had fewer resources to tolerate losses during the period of crisis. Smallness is reflected also on trade negotiations with retail chains and distributors. It makes it harder to cope with the store entry fees and to differentiatefrom the mass of products propped up by expensive advertising. Finally, it makes it harder for Finnish producers to start or expand local production, as it is more difficult for a small producer to get financing and to tolerate the increased risks. Compensating for the smallness might become the crucial factor determining the future success of Finnish food producers in the Russian market.

Russia's food retail sector from the point of view of Finnish food producers

This research paper focuses on the Russian food retail sector and its structure and development. At the momentit is one of the fastest growing markets today with 12.1% growth last year (2004). The growth originates from high oil price, which has been accumulated to people's wages. They are growing nominally more than 20% annually. But even though the income increases, the share of food of all retailtrade has been fairly stable with only a slight decline. Thus, the consumption is shifting to products with more quality and value. The shareof modern retail outlets is low, as the Russian retail sector is still very dispersed to traditional retail outlets such as kiosks, open markets and small grocery stores. The store chains are, however, becoming more and more significant. The biggest market for retailers is Moscow but nowadays the chains are expanding rapidly into other regions. Even though the markets have not been saturated in Moscow, the best prospects for growth are in the regions. The most important factor restricting the growth in Moscowis the availability of real estate and land plots for stores. The market is moving forward to saturation, and a consolidation process will follow. In fact, it has already started but not many acquisitions have been made so far. To this point the domestic chains have settled to form only alliances. The foreign players will be very strong in the tightening competition in the future. The problem of domestic chains is that the stores are nonstandardized, which is not cost-efficient. The chains are trying to enhance their power in price negotiations by forming purchasing alliances, introducing private label goods and using the regional expansion as a striking weapon. In order to follow the growing chains to other regions the producer must sell its products to the chains at favorable terms. Suppliers are strong in negotiations when they have a functioning distribution network, ability to JIT deliveries, proper documentationpolicies, a strong brand, reliability in deliveries and a fair price. The size of the entry ticket, i.e. the listing fee may define the shelf space a producer gets in the stores.

Micronization of Pharmaceuticals and Food Ingredients using Supercritical Fluid Techniques

Micronization techniques based on supercritical fluids (SCFs) are promising for the production of particles with controlled size and distribution. The interest of the pharmaceutical field in the development of SCF techniques is increasing due to the need for clean processes, reduced consumption of energy, and to their several possible applications. The food field is still far from the application of SCF micronization techniques, but there is increasing interest mainly for the processing of products with high added value. The aim of this study is to use SCF micronization techniques for the production of particles of pharmaceuticals and food ingredients with controlled particle size and morphology, and to look at their production on semi-industrial scale. The results obtained are also used to understand the processes from the perspective of broader application within the pharmaceutical and food industries. Certain pharmaceuticals, a biopolymer and a food ingredient have been tested using supercritical antisolvent micronization (SAS) or supercritical assisted atomization (SAA) techniques. The reproducibility of the SAS technique has been studied using physically different apparatuses and on both laboratory and semi-industrial scale. Moreover, a comparison between semi-continuous and batch mode has been performed. The behaviour of the system during the SAS process has been observed using a windowed precipitation vessel. The micronized powders have been characterized by particle size and distribution, morphology and crystallinity. Several analyses have been performed to verify if the SCF process modified the structure of the compound or caused degradation or contamination of the product. The different powder morphologies obtained have been linked to the position of the process operating point with respect to the vapour-liquid equilibrium (VLE) of the systems studied, that is, mainly to the position of the mixture critical point (MCP) of the mixture. Spherical micro, submicro- and nanoparticles, expanded microparticles (balloons) and crystals were obtained by SAS. The obtained particles were amorphous or with different degrees of crystallinity and, in some cases, had different pseudo-polymorphic or polymorphic forms. A compound that could not be processed using SAS was micronized by SAA, and amorphous particles were obtained, stable in vials at room temperature. The SCF micronization techniques studied proved to be effective and versatile for the production of particles for several uses. Furthermore, the findings of this study and the acquired knowledge of the proposed processes can allow a more conscious application of SCF techniques to obtain products with the desired characteristics and enable the use of their principles for broader applications.

Hermetic sealing of food packaging trays

Suojakaasupakkaaminen on lisääntynyt voimakkaasti viime vuosina elintarvikkeiden pakkaamisessa sillä pakkaamalla elintarvike suojakaasuun voidaan sen hyllyikää pidentää ilman säilöntäaineita. Tällainen pakkaaminen vaatii kuitenkin täysin kaasutiiviin pakkauksen, jonka kaasunläpäisevyys on myös alhainen. Yleisimmin käytetyt pakkausmateriaalit suojakaasupakkaamisessa ovat monikerroksiset muovimateriaalit, joissa yhdistyy monen eri muovin parhaimmat ominaisuudet. Yleisimmin käytettyjä muovilaatuja näissä monikerrosrakenteissa ovat PE, PET, PA ja EVOH polymeerit. Myös muita perinteisiä polymeerejä käytetään jonkin verran näissä rakenteissa. Uudemmat muovilaadut, kuten biohajoavat muovit, eivät ole vielä yleistyneet kaupallisessa käytössä pääasiallisesti niiden korkean hinnan vuoksi. Muovisten pakkausten korvaamista esimerkiksi muovipäällystetyillä kartonkipakkauksilla on viime vuosien aikana tutkittu enenevissä määrin. Muovipakkausten korvaamista helpommin kierrätettävillä ja mahdollisesti biohajoavilla materiaaleilla edistävät EU:n direktiivit, jotka käsittelevät pakkausjätteen käsittelyä. Kartonkivuokien saumaamista kaasutiiviisti tutkittiin myös tässä työssä. Tavoitteena oli löytää pakkaus, joka soveltuisi kanasuikaleiden pakkaamiseen suojakaasuun. Kana on herkkä mikrobiologiselle hajoamiselle, minkä johdosta se tulee pakata suojakaasuun jossa happipitoisuuden tulee olla alle 1 % pakkauspäivästä viimeiseen käyttöpäivään saakka. Suorittamalla erilaisia tiiveystutkimuksia voitiin osoittaa, että kartonkivuoka on mahdollista saumata kaasutiiviisti luotettavalla tavalla. Tämä vaatii kuitenkin kartonkivuokien valmistuksen optimoimista päällystemuovikerroksen ja kartongin paksuuden mukaan sekä kannen saumaamista optimoiduilla saumausparametreilla. Tiivein vuoka saavutettiin muovifilmikannella, jonka saumaus perustui samaan muoviin kuin vuoan saumaus. Polyeteenillä saavutettiin tiivein ja kestävin saumaustulos.

Food Safety Testing: Rapid Molecular Methods for Chemical and Biological Hazards

The central goal of food safety policy in the European Union (EU) is to protect consumer health by guaranteeing a high level of food safety throughout the food chain. This goal can in part be achieved by testing foodstuffs for the presence of various chemical and biological hazards. The aim of this study was to facilitate food safety testing by providing rapid and user-friendly methods for the detection of particular food-related hazards. Heterogeneous competitive time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays were developed for the detection of selected veterinary residues, that is coccidiostat residues, in eggs and chicken liver. After a simplified sample preparation procedure, the immunoassays were performed either in manual format with dissociation-enhanced measurement or in automated format with pre-dried assay reagents and surface measurement. Although the assays were primarily designed for screening purposes providing only qualitative results, they could also be used in a quantitative mode. All the developed assays had good performance characteristics enabling reliable screening of samples at concentration levels required by the authorities. A novel polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay system was developed for the detection of Salmonella spp. in food. The sample preparation included a short non-selective pre-enrichment step, after which the target cells were collected with immunomagnetic beads and applied to PCR reaction vessels containing all the reagents required for the assay in dry form. The homogeneous PCR assay was performed with a novel instrument platform, GenomEra^™, and the qualitative assay results were automatically interpreted based on end-point time-resolved fluorescence measurements and cut-off values. The assay was validated using various food matrices spiked with sub-lethally injured Salmonella cells at levels of 1-10 colony forming units (CFU)/25 g of food. The main advantage of the system was the exceptionally short time to result; the entire process starting from the pre-enrichment and ending with the PCR result could be completed in eight hours. In conclusion, molecular methods using state-of-the-art assay techniques were developed for food safety testing. The combination of time-resolved fluorescence detection and ready-to-use reagents enabled sensitive assays easily amenable to automation. Consequently, together with the simplified sample preparation, these methods could prove to be applicable in routine testing.

Sensory and Non-sensory Factors Behind the Liking and Choice of Healthy Food Products

A healthy and balanced diet can reduce health problems, such as overweight and metabolic syndrome. In general, people have a considerably good knowledge of what constitutes a healthy diet and how they could achieve it with their food choices. Besides, people argue that health is among their top five food choice motives. Nevertheless, the prevalence of overweight is increasing and other food choice motives, such as taste, seem to conflict with the health. Liking for food does not necessarily determine acceptance alone, thus several non-sensory factors, such as brand, country of origin and nutrition claim, can also influence. Moreover, consumers are individuals in how they prioritize sensory and nonsensory factors of foods, but e.g. increasing age, female gender and health concern have been connected to a more health-oriented dietary behaviour. To sum up, identifying different factors that can increase the liking and consumption of healthy food is essential in order to develop more attractive healthful food products. Adding vitamins, minerals, fibre or other ingredients to a food product can be used to enrich the nutritional quality of the products. However, this may be difficult in practice as regards the sensory quality and pleasantness of the foods. Generally, consumers are not willing to compromise on taste in food. On the other hand, consumers are very heterogeneous in their likings, and their personal values and attitudes may interact with preferences for specific sensory characteristics. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of intrinsic product characteristics on sensory properties and hedonic responses; to determine the impact of few non-sensory factors; and to examine the interaction between sensory and non-sensory factors with consumers’ demographics, values and attitudes in liking of healthy model foods. The results showed that product composition influenced sensory quality and had an effect on hedonic responses. Adding flaxseed to bakery products showed a significant improvement in the nutritional quality without negative effects on sensory properties. On the other hand, the fortification of wellness beverages with vitamins and minerals may impart off-flavours. In general, sweetness of yoghurts, freshness of wellness beverages and low intensity of rye bread flavour appealed to consumers. Information about the domestic origin of yoghurts and claiming a specific function for wellness beverages enhanced liking. However, consumers who were more concerned about their health and considered natural content as an important food choice motive, rated sourer and less sweet yoghurts and wellness beverages as more pleasant. In addition, interest in health increased the consumption of rye breads and other whole grain breads among adolescents. The results showed that the optimal product quality in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic factors differs between individual consumers, and personal values and food choice motives can be connected to preferences for specific sensory characteristics of foods. This indicates that each food product needs to be considered in relation to its specific market niche, and to which segment of consumer will respond most positively to its characteristics.

Elintarvikekelpoisten painovärien vertailu offsetpainatuksessa

Tässä diplomityössä tutkittiin kolmen eri painovärivalmistajan elintarvikekelpoisia arkkioffsetpainovärisarjoja ja verrattiin niitä keskenään. Tavoitteena oli löytää optimaalinen elintarvikekartonkipakkausten painamiseen soveltuva arkkioffsetpainoväri. Työn kirjallisessa osassa selvitettiin yleisesti offsetpainatusprosessia, painovärien koostumusta ja elintarvikekelpoisten painovärien eroavaisuutta verrattuna perinteisiin offsetpainoväreihin. Kirjallisuusosassa tuotiin esille myös niitä tekijöitä, joilla elintarvikekelpoisuus määritellään. Näistä yksi tärkeä osa-alue on migraatio-ongelmat, joka on lainsäädännön kannalta ajankohtainen. Kokeellista osaa varten koepainovärejä painettiin taivekartongille arkkioffsetpainokoneella. Painetuista arkeista tehtiin mittauksia, joissa käytettiin densitometrisia, kolorimetrisia, kromatografisia ja aistinvaraisia menetelmiä. Näillä pyrittiin tuomaan esille eroavaisuuksia tutkittavana olleiden painovärien välille. Koeajojen ja mittausten perusteella analysoitiin painatuksen laatua, painettavuutta, painovärien elintarvikekelpoisuutta ja kestävyyttä. Työn tulosten perusteella ei voida suoraan osoittaa, että jokin painovärisarja olisi toimivampi kuin toinen. Yksi johtopäätös olikin, että painovärien koostumusta ja painatusprosessia on mahdollista modifioida monella tavalla, jolloin voidaan parantaa joitakin painovärin ominaisuuksia. Yleisesti kokeet osoittivat, että perinteinen aistinvarainen tapa testata painovärin elintarvikekelpoisuutta on hyvin subjektiivinen ja antaa arveluttavia tuloksia. Koetuloksista oli kuitenkin havaittavissa, että uuden sukupolven vähemmän migraatiota aiheuttavat painovärit ovat elintarvikekelpoisempia kuin aikaisempien kehitysasteiden painovärisarjat.

Integration of the Food Waste Disposer Unit to the Existing Sewage System

Among the numerous approaches to food waste treatment, the food waste disposers method (FWDs), as a newcomer, has become slowly accepted by the general public owing to the worries about its impact on the existing sewage system. This paper aims to justify the role of FWDs in the process of urbanization in order to better prepare a city to take good care of the construction of its infrastructure and the solid waste treatment. Both the literatures and the case study help to confirm that FWDs has no negative effects on the wastewater treatment plant and it is also environmental friendly by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. In the case study, the Lappeenranta waste water treatment plant has been selected in order to figure out the possible changes to a WWTP following the integration of FWDs: the observation shows only minor changes take place in a WWTP, in case of 25% application, like BOD up 7%, TSS up 6% and wastewater flowrate up 6%, an additional sludge production of 200 tons per year and the extra yield of methane up to 10000m3 per year; however, when the utilization rate of FWD is over 75%, BOD, TSS, and wastewater flowrate will experience more significant changes, thus exerting much pressure on the existing WWTP. FWDs can only be used in residential areas or cities equipped with consummate drainage network within the service sphere of WWTP, therefore, the relevant authority or government department should regulate the installation frequency of FWDs, while promoting the accessory application of FWDs. In the meanwhile, WWTP should improve their treatment process in order to expand their capacity for sludge treatment so as to stay in line with the future development of urban waste management.

Catalytic transformations of fatty acid derivatives for food, oleochemicals and fuels over carbon supported platinum group metals

Växtoljor som utgör en förnybar naturresurs används som sådana eller i modifierade former i många industriella processer, som är av stor betydelse för vårt vardagliga liv. Växtoljor används i livsmedel, i kemiska och farmaceutiska produkter, i textilindustrin, för framställning av färgämnen och beläggningsmaterial samt som miljövänliga bränslekomponenter. Fetter och oljor hör till de äldsta kemiska komponenterna som utnyttjas av människan. De består huvudsakligen av glycerolestrar och fettsyror. Fetter och oljor har typiskt en kolkedja med kol-koldubbelbindningar samt karboxyl- och estergrupper, som kan genom hydrering eller dekarboxylering konverteras till nyttiga och miljövänliga produkter med hjälp av ädelmetallkatalysatorer. Aktivt kol (C) används som bärare på katalysatorerna. Väteaddition, d.v.s. hydrering av växtoljor har varit föremål för omfattande forskning i över hundra års tid. Hydreringen är en viktig process, för den tillämpas på produktion av fetter och margarin. Omättade fettsyror hydreras traditionellt på nickelbaserade heterogena katalysatorer. Samtidigt med en partiell hydrering av fettsyrorna och fettsyraestrarna som har två dubbelbindningar pågår också isomeringsreaktioner, vilka ger cis- och transisomerer av reaktantmolekylerna. Den största nackdelen med nickelkatalysatorerna är deras giftighet samt bildning av ohälsosamma transisomerer i reaktionsprodukterna. Dessutom deaktiveras nickelkatalysatorn snabbt p.g.a. att nickeltvålar bildas i reaktionsblandningen. Platinabaserade katalysatorer lider däremot inte av dessa begränsningar. Metaller i platinagruppen i det periodiska systemet studerades i detalj för att avslöja kinetiska effekter i hydreringen av cis-metyloleat. Palladium, rutenium, rhodium, platina och iridium användes som katalytiska metaller. Metallhalten på aktivkolbärare var 1 vikt-%. De olika platinametallerna undersöktes för att kartlägga konkurrerande hydrerings- och isomeringsrutter på metallerna. Det visade sig att metallerna i andra raden av det periodiska systemet (Ru, Rh, Pd) är aktivare i isomeringsprocesserna, medan metallerna i tredje raden (Ir, Pt) har en lägre aktivitet. Pd/C valdes bland platinametallerna, för att den är attraktiv ur ekonomisk synvinkel och den är mycket aktiv och selektiv, speciellt jämfört med nickel. Tyngdpunkten i arbetet var utvecklingen av en alternativ, palladiumbaserad hydreringsteknologi som skulle ersätta den traditionella teknologin som är baserad på användningen av nickelkatalysatorer. Palladiumbaserade katalysatorer kan återcirkuleras, de är aktivare och mera resistenta mot syror och de bildar mindre mängder av skadliga transisomerer. För att denna teknologi skall bli ekonomiskt hållbar och konkurrenskraftig, måste den basera sig på de bästa möjliga katalysatorerna, vilket innebär att en optimal kombination av hög aktivitet och selektivitet samt en lång livstid för katalysatorn krävs. Därför inkluderades teknologiska aspekter kraftigt i forskningen. Mycket arbete satsades på design av palladium på en mesoporös kolbärare och undersökning av korrelationerna mellan katalysatorns egenskaper och dess aktivitet i isomeriseringsreaktionerna och i hydreringen av kol-koldubbelbindningarna i reaktantmolekylen. Katalysatorerna karakteriserades med många fysikaliska och kemiska metoder (transmissionselektronmikroskopi (TEM), röntgendiffraktion (XRD), röntgenfotoelektronspektroskopi (XPS), temperaturprogrammerad reduktion (TPR), temperaturprogrammerad desorption (TPD) av kolmonoxid, kemisorption av kolmonoxid, fysisorption av kväve). Temperaturens, vätetryckets och katalysatorkoncentrationens inverkan på fettsyra- och isomersammansättningen hos de hydrerade oljorna bestämdes under kinetiska betingelser, i frånvaro av massöverföringseffekter. Syreavspjälkning genom fullständig dekarboxylering av karboxylgruppen i fettsyramolekylen är det hittills bästa sättet att framställa miljövänlig dieselolja, eftersom linjära paraffiner fås som reaktionsprodukter och en tillsats av dyr vätgas undviks. Deoxygeneringen undersöktes systematiskt på en Pd/C-katalysator (Sibunit) genom att använda mättade fettsyror C16-C20 och C22 som råvara. Produktmolekylen blev en dieselliknande kolvätemolekyl, med en kolatom färre än i utgångsmolekylen. Lika stora dekarboxyleringshastigheter observerades för rena, mättade fettsyror. En jämförelse av deoxygenereringshastigheterna för stearin-, olein- och linolsyra som råvara vid 300oC i närvaro av 1-volymprocent väte på mesoporös Pd/C (Sibunit) avslöjade att katalysatorns aktivitet och selektivitet ökade med en ökande mättningsgrad av reaktantmolekylen. Då stearinsyra användes som utgångsmolekyl, bestod huvudprodukterna av önskade C17-kolväten, medan mängden av aromatiska C17-komponenter ökade, då olein- och linolsyra användes som utgångsmolekyler. Katalysatordeaktiveringen var relativt påfallande vid deoxygeneringen av linolsyra så att endast 3% av fettsyrorna omsattes till produkter i 330 min. Deaktiveringen orsakades av aromatiska C17-komponenter samt av fettsyradimerer, som bildades via en Diels-Alderreaktion. Hydreringen av omättade fettsyror kan därför rekommenderas som ett primärt kemiskt steg i framställningen av miljövänliga dieselprodukter. Målet var också att öka förståelsen av palladiummetallernas roll i nanoskala, speciellt effekten av metallpartiklarna i katalytisk hydrering och deoxygenering. Pd/C-katalysatorer med lika stora halter av Pd syntetiserades och metallens dispersion på bärarmaterialet varierades systematiskt genom en kontrollerad uppväxt av palladiumnanopartiklar på aktiv kolbärare. Metalldispersionens effekt på hydrerings-hastigheten och cis-transförhållandet undersöktes i detalj. En optimal metalldispersion som gav den högsta dekarboxyleringshastigheten hittades. Massöverföringens inverkan på reaktionens hastighet studerades experimentellt och temperaturprogrammerad desorption av kolmonoxid från katalysatorytan undersöktes ingående. Hydrering av växtoljor genomfördes under satsvisa och kontinuerliga betingelser. Både finfördelat Pd/C och katalysatorgranulat användes i experimenten. Ett av målen med arbetet var uppskalningen av hydreringsprocesserna. Med tanke på stora produktionsvolymer var det logiskt att undersöka kontinuerliga hydrerings- och dekarboxyleringsteknologier. En kontinuerlig packad bäddreaktor studerades i laboratorieskala, vilket gav viktig information om katalysatorns långtidsstabilitet och deaktivering. Effekten av rena fettsyror och triglycerider som råvara samt metallpartikelstorleken och palladiumhalten studerades med hjälp av den kontinuerliga reaktorn. Produktionskapaciteten som erhölls med satsvis och kontinuerlig drift jämfördes. Dekarboxyleringen av stearinsyra undersöktes också i en kontinuerlig packad bädd. Omsättningsgraden blev 15% för en stabil katalysator.

The effects of national legislation on the implementation of IFRS in Finland and Russia

This study examines the possible differences in IFRS implementation between Finnish and Russian companies as well as reasons behind them by theoretical means as well as by incorporating a case study of two companies.