Press release

Has Finland taken its own path in nutrition recommendations?

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The new national nutrition recommendations in Finland set the direction for citizens, food services, and the food industry. The primary goal of the recommendations is to promote public health through nutrition. At the same time, the significance of domestic food production for society must also be considered. Without food security and supply resilience, good nutrition cannot be guaranteed.

It appears that Finland has taken a different approach to updating its national nutrition recommendations compared to Sweden and Norway. For the first time, the new recommendations assess the environmental impact of food, but broader perspectives on economic and social sustainability are not considered.

– It is disappointing that there has been no evaluation of how these recommendations affect the operating conditions of domestic primary production and food industry, says Marleena Tanhuanpää, director at the Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation.

Finland is the world’s northernmost agricultural country. Unlike in Sweden, for example, Finland’s recommendations have not extensively assessed the ability of the Finnish food chain to produce food in line with the recommendations, nor have they encouraged choosing sustainably produced domestic food.

– In addition to dietary guidelines, economic and social sustainability must also be taken into account in public procurement, Tanhuanpää points out.

Nutrition recommendations are important for the health of Finns, but food security and supply resilience must also be considered alongside them.

– To enhance dialogue, representatives of food processing companies and industry should be included in the National Nutrition Council, which prepares these recommendations, Tanhuanpää demands.

Ensuring that Finland has sufficient and diverse food available under all circumstances guarantees that everyone gets the nutrition they need. This creates stability and security in society and helps to cope with potential crises.

– A sustainable food system that ensures supply resilience must take local conditions into account. From an environmental impact perspective, where and how food and its raw materials are produced matters. In Finnish food production, animal and plant-based production are, in many ways, interdependent.

Read more: National nutrition rand food recommendations 

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