Sorry Kermit, But it’s Easy Being Green
At Annual BioFach Scene in Nuremberg
By LISA SHOEMAKER, QFFI Correspondent

There was plenty of sheen, along with lots of orange and wearing of the green to be seen at the BioFach show.

Producers of frozen bio products expand presence and lines at what has evolved from a former avant-garde trade show for hipsters into a mainstream international fair for a growing sector.

This year’s BioFach – billed as the world’s leading fair for organic products, held in Germany at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center from Feb. 15-18, 2007, was for the first time split in two parts. The traditional BioFach is now dedicated exclusively to food and drink (BioFach also hosts the world largest organic wine fair), while Vivaness was set up as the showcase for natural cosmetics and wellness.

From the humble beginnings back in 1990 when 2,500 visitors – mostly Germans – inspected what 240 exhibitors (10 % foreign companies) had on offer, the fair has grown to 2,565 exhibitors, up 23% from 2,088 exhibitors last year. Foreign participation reached two-thirds, with more than 45,500 trade visitors, of which more than a third had traveled from abroad to visit the fair. As always, Germany had the strongest representation with 811 exhibitors, followed by this year’s specially featured country Italy (398), as well as Spain (216), France (153) and Austria (111). In all, exhibitors from 80 exhibiting nations were on the scene.

Among major stories in the green press this year, in addition to warnings about the down side of climate change, are reports about how organically-grown products have become relatively scarce. As a representative of Germany’s Organic Food Industry Association (BÖLW) pointed out at Grüne Woche (Berlin’s annual vegetable and fruit food fair) in January, some organic products are currently as “precious as gold dust.”

Bavarian Environmental Minister Werner Schnappauf (far right) and Thomas Dosch, head of Bioland, Germany’s leading organic products certifying company (third from right) are joined with other bio food enthusiasts at the Bioland stand.

Even though demand for organic products exceeds supply in Europe, this agriculture segment is obviously not a priority at the moment for the German government. For the second year running, the Federal Republic’s Minister for Agriculture and Consumer affairs, Horst Seehofer, did not attend the BioFach. Last year, bird flu kept him busy elsewhere. Now his private life is delivering headline material for the tabloids.

Instead, Herr Seehofer wrote a friendly address that was published in the fair’s catalogue. Meanwhile his predecessor, Renate Künast of the Green Party, could be seen walking the halls and in discussion with Thomas Dosch, head of Germany’s leading bio-certifying organization.

Big smiles were evident everywhere during the show, as business is booming and many organic products are sold out. Ninety-one percent of the BioFach exhibitors said they were satisfied with the fair; 93% reached their most important target groups and made new business contacts; 89% expressed hope for good follow-up business.

The downside to all this optimism, however, is that there is a growing tendency to divide organic products into two sections: cheap, or as a Safeway supermarket manager who attended the show put it: “Affordable organic, and at the other end of the spectrum, premium organic.”

Cheap organic here refers to products that have been grown in accordance with EU standards (which many old timers feel are still wanting in certain respects), produced by companies that don’t process exclusively organic goods, and sold by mainstream supermarkets. Premium, on the other hand, is produce certified by organizations demanding an even higher standard, usually marketed through health and natural food shops. Among such certifying bodies are the Soil Association in the United Kingdom or Demeter in Germany.

As a result, both producers and processors are pickier than ever. Producers won’t sell to just anyone. They need to be assured who the other suppliers are, lest there might be a chance of having their products adulterated with those that have been less carefully monitored.

And processors, on the other hand, are concerned that some of their acquisitions might turn out to be involved in some sort of a scandal – ruining more than just the product involved.

Organic Spinach-topped Bio Baguette is new from Salomon FoodWorld. The 130-gram product, which is accented with tomato chunks and fresh cream, is ready to serve after 13 minutes of baking.

“We look at the philosophy of our business partners,” said a spokesman for the Nordic Food Group (www.ollesab.com) from Sweden. “We are not the cheapest, and we hope our customers understand that it is not a question of money in the first place, but a question of quality.”

There is an increasing number of conventional processors interested in the organic market, as they are keen on earning higher margins.

The Nordic Food Group is a big supplier of organic berries, cultivated and grown wild. But how can wild berries be grown organically? Well, in reality, there is not much difference. Only in the case of the certified berries, they have been grown on land that was examined, and the owner guarantees to maintain the standards for organic farming. In the other regions, which are usually looked after in the same way, berries could receive different treatment.

Producers of organic products are also becoming increasingly aware of fair trade conditions and their social responsibility, particularly in developing countries. Guayaquil, Ecuador-based Expalsa (www.expalsa.com; read more about this company in the Global Seafood section of this issue), a leading exporter of organic frozen shrimp to the UK, USA, Switzerland and Germany, supports a Catholic Church orphanage in addition to emphasizing the importance of caring for nature, shrimp farmers and other workers through their production philosophy and work conditions.

Another example of how to look after growers was presented by MARAP (www.marap.at), an Austrian company dealing in dried and frozen fruit, which planted 1.5 million fruit trees in Uzbekistan – the Soviet Union’s former orchard of choice. After the collapse of communism, the Uzbek fruit growers were cut off from their traditional market and hence cut down their trees for use as fuel in winter, thus destroying their livelihood. MARAP also supports health education programs, in particular regarding HIV and clean water services.

Among an increasing number of the formerly strictly conventional manufacturers attending BioFach was the potato specialist Schwarmstedter (www.schwarmstedter.de). Last fall, the Schwarmstedt, Germany-based firm took its first range of organic products to the InterCool fair in Dusseldorf. Having made a name for themselves as producers of traditional potato dishes, they now offer organic potato specialties including: Rösti-Ecken (the Swiss version of hash browns, in 450-gram boxes), Kartoffel-Puffer (potato pancakes in 600-gram packs) and Kartoffel-Taschen (potato pockets filled with seasoned cream cheese distributed in 300-gram five-packs.

Salomon FoodWorld of Grossostheim-Ringheim, Germany (www.salomon-bio.com), has filled a market niche that organic producers had neglected so far: Frozen Bio Baguette sandwiches. One of the two varieties introduced is vegetarian, with spinach, while the other baguette is topped with meaty salami.

According to bioPress, Germany’s trade magazine for natural products, the sale of organic frozen vegetables in the Federal Republic has increased by 61% (3,500 tons) over the last year, accounting for a 57% rise in turnover.

Private labels offered at deep discount shops such as Aldi and Lidl are said to be selling especially well. The more traditional supermarkets have to date underrated the organic frozen foods market, so there still lies a lot of potential dormant in that area.

Schwarmstedter has rolled out three new organic potato-based products, one of which is Bio Kartoffel-Puffer in 600-gram boxes.

newcomer to the trade show was Werntaler Bio-Back (www.werntaler-bio-back.de), a Bavarian bakery introducing frozen strudel. It has managed to accomplish the difficult task of rolling out the dough very thinly.

Werntaler strudels are made 100% by hand. Most industrial manufactures of strudel are said to “cheat” by using untraditional doughs that can be handled by machines.

The company’s offerings are available in four varieties: apple, quark (German curd-cheese), cherry and poppy-apricot. The company supplements its range with a couple of yeast doughs, one of which is a pizza dough that you will have to let thaw, then roll out before turning it into a pizza with toppings.

Several other producers have also discovered ready-made pizza dough as a market niche. A specialist in the gourmet frozen pastry business, Moin (www.moin-bio-backwaren.de), added a spelt pizza dough to its slow convenience range.

Kathleen Voigt from Eiscafe Cadillac, an ice cream maker based in northeastern Germany (www.eiscafe-cadillac.de), offers frozen delights from cow, sheep, goat and buffalo milk. She explained the reason for adding pizza dough to an ice cream product line: “In this business, you’ll have to diversify if you want to get over the winter.”

Thomas Schulz, head of the Copack by FRoSTA department of Bremerhaven, Germany-based FRoSTA, stands before a display of bio branded and private label frozen vegetable products.

The Herbafrost stand at the BioFach was active with visitors during much of the show, as seen here. The Belgian company specializes in supplying frozen herbs to industrial further processors as well as to catering and retail customers.

A leading Spanish manufacturer of ice cream, KitCream, has discovered the organic market. Looking around BioFach as visitors in 2006, members of the company (www.biocream.es) noted that there were not many ice cream makers and even more importantly that there was a definite lack of flavors. So they got working and last autumn came out with a range of about 30 flavors meeting organic standards. Among them are strawberry and chocolate, flowery flavors such as rose and violet, and olive oil ice cream which contains no sugar – you would have it with your tomato and basil starter.

Even KitCream’s less flamboyant aromas are interesting enough to attract attention: goat’s cheese, figs, yogurt-cranberry and yogurt ice with aloe vera.

Ready-to-eat-on-the-spot hand-held ice creams are another rare treat in the organic world. Bucheckchen (www.biokonditorei.de), the company headed by Thomas Heller, a pastry chef from Dresden and third-time exhibitor at BioFach, has expanded his range of ice cream sandwiches to include Viennese shell-shaped waffles with two flavors of filling.

The other producers of individual portioned ice creams are Gildo Racchelli in little containers distributed by Demeter Felderzeugnisse, and Boogaard from the Netherlands, which offers cones and ice cream on a stick. In addition, Boogaard (www.boogaard-int.com) has developed a completely new range of puff pastry products under the brand name of Zonnemarie – either plain or triangles filled with cherries or apples.

Bio-Fach’s Old-timers

When FRoSTA (www.frosta.de) and its private label arm, Copack, first introduced organic ready meals six years ago, the Bremerhaven, Germany-based firm was ahead of its time and had to withdraw those products from the market after three years, keeping only a range of frozen organic vegetables on the freezer shelves. The company still did not give up on a more natural approach to food production, however, and promotes itself as the only one in the nation not using taste enhancers, food coloring, stabilizers, and artificial or unnatural flavors and emulsifiers in its conventional line.

In addition, FRoSTA has teamed up with Germany’s leading women’s magazine, Brigitte, known for its down-to-earthness and no-nonsense approach to dieting. The Brigitte Diet, which has become a household term in the past decades, consists of well-balanced, healthy meals. Now FRoSTA is producing such meals for the dieter who has no time to cook.

Frozen organic salmon fillets from Bremerhaven-based Deutsche See are distributed in transparent packaging so that shoppers can visually inspect the quality of what’s inside before making a purchase decision.

So this year, it is back re-launching an organic range – this time aimed at bulk users. The FRoSTA Bio-System offers ready-to-use vegetables and ready vegetable mixtures to be served as a side dish or as a vegetarian ready meal in its own right (as it includes potatoes). There is also a convenience meal: in this case Bio Paella del Sol – a rice dish with chicken, pangasius fish and mixed vegetables.

Romania made its first BioFach appearance as a frozen food producing nation. SC Ecofruct SRL (e-mail: ecofruct@rdslink.ro) from Targu-Mures supplies the industry with a wide range of well-known berries, plus sea-buckthorn and rose hip (both rich in vitamin C).

Also very interesting is the company’s selection of frozen mushrooms, including chanterelles and porcini – whole, sliced and diced. Furthermore, Ecofruct supplies frozen ramson – which has been the most popular re-discovered herb in Germany in the past years. All products are approved by CERES, a German certifying organization that operates on four continents.

Bremerhaven-based Deutsche See GmbH (www.deutschesee.de), Germany’s leading supplier of fish, seafood and fish products (see additional information about the company on pages 63-65) is always good for innovation. A couple of years ago it introduced farm-raised organic pangasius from Vietnam, followed by organic tilapia last year. The latest aquaculture product on offer is red drum fish from Israel.
In addition, Deutsche See has come up with a true revolutionary product (don’t forget, we’re talking organics): 100 % organic fish sticks. So far, the fish sticks are sold mainly in health food stores.

Pangasius, a fresh water catfish, bred and certified organic in Vietnam, is the primary ingredient. The product’s bread crumb content is also organic.

Demeter Felderzeugnisse (www.felderzeugnisse.de) has joined the retro trend as evidenced by its new Pizza Minis aimed at children. One of the varieties is Hawaiian-style, which was popular as toast in the 1960s and ’70s (and still features on the menu of pizza places, particularly those in the Eastern parts of Germany). The gluten-free range features spelt dough.

Demeter’s developers must be an optimistic team, as their second new spelt pizza product is “Spinaci” – this one with goat’s cheese for those with intolerance for cow milk. Let’s hope those children out there still know about Popeye the Sailor Man.

Demeter Felderzeugnisse is not the only one following in Popeye’s steps. Ökofrost (www.oekofrost.de), Germany’s largest wholesaler of frozen organic products, started developing its own range, Biopolar, two year ago, specializing in fish and seafood products, and is now launching its first pizza – with spinach and shrimp and a flammkuchen. This Alastian version of pizza, Tarte Flambé with Salmon, instead comes without the tomatoes, using a sour cream-based sauce.

Instead of developing new products, BioNini (www.bionini.de) has improved its current range: using only chicken breast meat in Chickn Schnitzel and Chickn Nuggets, it now has a superior product with slightly lower fat content at the same time. And its Chickn Friks (chicken burgers) are fried without any fat at all.

BioNini emphasizes that only German Bioland meat is used. Bioland is one of the traditional German certifying organizations, founded in the 1970s, with higher standards than those common EU sanctioned standards.

Spelt “Rediscovered”

A noticeable trend at BioFach was spelt. As pointed out previously, Demeter Felderzeugnisse offered spelt pizza for kids, Moin came up with a spelt pizza dough and a spelt croissant, and even Schedel, Germany’s leading producer of baked frozen goods, joined the club. It not only added new spelt products but also replaced the wheat flour in some of its traditional products with spelt – after polling customers about their needs and wishes.

Spelt is a grain related to common wheat. Although it contains some gluten, it can be tolerated by people who have only a mild form of gluten intolerance. As a crop it lost importance when fertilizers were introduced to boost yields, as spelt has zero reaction to synthetic fertilizers. The grain survived in some corners of Germany and in Tuscany where it is still being sold to tourists in quaint little bags labeled farro.

The combination of a hardy grain not easily affected by pests, needing or wanting no fertilizer, plus the health benefits recommends it to organic producers and consumers alike.

Naturally, Hoyers Bageri Le Blé d’Or, a bakery from Denmark specializing in many different bread products, also has a spelt loaf listed. However, this year’s novelty from the company was frozen danish pastries with cherry, apple and vanilla-chocolate fillings.

Nutana, another company calling itself the largest producer of vegetarian food products in Denmark, is promoting vegan, organic burgers in the ethnic Indian, Mexican, Eastern Mediterranean (falafel) styles. All serve up with a crispy, crunchy exterior and an authentic flavor.

The third Danish producer of frozen goods on the scene was Skee Is. The ice cream maker produces a range completely devoid of additives, concentrating on traditional flavors, perfecting them instead of opting for diversification.

France is usually seen as the country of gourmets, and the enjoyment of good food is not necessarily considered healthy, as it often involves fat, sugar and red meat. As such it is all the more surprising that some of the more interesting health-oriented ready made meals this year came from France.

Soy – Nutrition & Soya (www.soy.tm.fr), for example, calls itself the plant alternative and offers strictly vegan fare, meaning no animal products at all. Its line is based on either wheat (seitan) or soy (tofu and soy milk), the tofu products being gluten-free as well. The range of ready meals is quite international: à la Provencale and Catalane are close to home, while à l’Indienne or à la Tunisienne explore other continents.

Found at the stand of Nature & Compagnie (www.natureetcompagnie.fr) on the other hand, was food that was neither vegan or even vegetarian, but gluten-free instead. Its pizzas with bacon and mushrooms or three cheeses, as well as tartes lorraine or provencale, and savoury cakes with raisins and chicken, are all based on rice flour and potato starch.

Poland’s Hortex Moving East To Build First Russian Plant

Warsaw-based Hortex, a leading Polish producer of frozen foods, including fruit and vegetables, plans to build its first plant in Russia. Completion of the project is expected in two or three years, according to Tomasz Kurpicz, president.

Kurpicz said the Russian market for frozen food looks to grow at a rate of 10-25% annually, compared to only 3-5% in the West. Manufacturing at Hortex’s own plant in Russia can be profitable, since the prices for agricultural products there are much lower than in Western Europe.

Moreover, Hortex in Russia will be free of import duties and subject to reduced expenditures for transport. It is still undecided where the new plant will be located, but it is thought that the Krasnodar region in southern Russia is the best choice, because of its large production of good quality vegetables and fruits.

According to Valerie Yelkhov, a member of the Association of Russian Producers of Ice Cream and Other Frozen Food, current production in the country can satisfy only 60% of the demand.