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Danish food milestone reached in China

Christian Wenande
February 5th, 2018


This article is more than 6 years old.

Elsewhere, experts group unveils recommendations for developing gastronomy in Denmark

Danish sausages heading to China (photo: Pixabay)

The Danish food and agriculture industry got some good news over the weekend when China officially approved the importation of heat-treated pork products from Denmark.

The decision, which the Danish authorities have spent a decade working on securing, means that everything from red sausages to ham can be sold on the lucrative Chinese market.

“It’s a big day for Danish agriculture and economy. We are the world champs at Danish sausages and pork meat products, and the middle class in China wants to get a taste of it,” said the environment and food minister, Esben Lunde Larsen.

“It’s going to boost export income and jobs in Denmark. It’s a massive day and I’m having a tough time getting my arms down.”

The Danish industry estimates the agreement with China could be worth about 250 million kroner annually in export income.

READ MORE: Chinese cuisine at a Danish pace: Uncovering food authenticity with Kewei’s Kitchen

Gearing up on gastro
In related news, a team of gastronomic experts have delivered ten recommendations to the government that aim to support and develop gastronomy in Denmark.

Team Gastro, as the expert panel is called, came up with recommendations across the five central categories: Export, Tourism, Food Waste, Eating Habits, and Gastronomy in the Centre.

The recommendations (here in Danish) included creating more food experiences for tourists, expanding the exportation of high-quality food products, strengthening networking and knowledge-sharing for product development, and developing a Danish gastronomy academy.

The government is going to use the recommendations as a basis for its Gastro 2025 initiative, which is expected to be proposed in the near future. Food products contributed to 108 billion kroner in export earnings in 2016.

“It’s a great and ambitious bit of work from Team Gastro and I look forward to delving down into the recommendations and ideas about how they can be implemented,” said Larsen.


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”