The northern nature and food culture of Finland make a broad and varied appearance at the International Grüne Woche in Berlin on 18-27 January 2008. Finnish producers will present their delicacies and you can also see some of the exotic nature - even Santa Claus himself directly from Finnish Lapland. The section will highlight the originality, purity and traceability of Finnish food.
The Finnish section is a joint effort of all parties to the Finnish food chain: the Quality Chain project of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Central Organisation of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owner (MTK), Finnish Food Safety Authority (Evira) and more than 10 Finnish companies which present and sell their products at the fair. The section will be opened by the Finnish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sirkka-Liisa Anttila together with the one and only real Santa.

Several Finnish food producers will be present to let you taste some of their products. The visitors get to try, for example, Karelian pastries baked at the centre of the Finnish section. Other delicacies include meat from pigs fed with cereals, eggs and bread baked with 100% of rye or oat flour. Visitors can also buy reindeer and moose meat, mushroom and berry products, berry wines and genuine Finnish beer.

The Grüne Woche fair of 2008 is the first time when Finland makes such an extensive and positive export effort on food culture in cooperation between authorities, associations and companies. The aim of the Finnish section and side-events is to enhance the image of Finnish food culture in Central Europe.

Another aim will be to increase the interest in Finland as a destination for tourism. The City of Helsinki as well as Lapland, Northern Karelia and Ostrobothnia regions will be present and the visitors will be shown the best parts of the Kansanluonto - National nature documentary film which praises the beauty of Finnish nature.

Finland's section of 250 sq. metres has an excellent location along the main hallway of the fair in Hall 8.2, place number 120.

The section is opened on Friday 18 January at 12.00. A press conference starts before this at 11.30. Some top names of Finnish cuisine and design will attend the press conference.

Media representatives may accredit for the fair at http://www1.messe-berlin.de/vip8_1/website/MesseBerlin/htdocs/www.gruenewoche.de/en/Presseservice/Akkreditierung/index.html.

Further information at the Finnish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry:
Pekka Väisänen, Head of Communications, tel. 358 (0)40 773 0644