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Food or cure By VAIDA SAMUOLYTĖ It is an old truth – if you want to be healthy, watch what you are eating. Considering current situation, we should add – learn to choose from the vast range of products those, which can really be referred to as organic, healthier, etc. Partisans of healthy lifestyle can celebrate: only very few self-respecting fellowcountrymen would dare to say that they do not care at all about healthy nutrition and do not consider what they eat and what kind of products they buy. “When making my choice of products - be it milk, meat or vegetables - I usually prefer Lithuanian products. Why? Because I believe that our food producers are more concerned about the quality of raw materials and food products”, says Andrius Pečkys, the manager of Neo Group, one of the largest companies in Klaipėda area. He jokes: “Maybe our producers haven’t “learnt” yet how to make sausages from Es alone?” Mr. Pečkys claims that he studies the labels carefully and chooses more natural, healthier products with less artificial additives. I quit smoking, so I had to start taking care of what I eat – I pay more attention to the products themselves as well as to the production methods”, the head of the company tells about his habits. Most of Lithuanian entrepreneurs could agree with this statement - both the producers and the retailers agree that Lithuanians pay increasingly more attention to the contents of the products they buy, read the labels more carefully and choose healthier, higherquality products. Betrayed Lithuanian cuisine Traditional fat Lithuanian dishes are remembered when visiting foreign business partners or guests have to be treated. If we take a tour in the centre of Vilnius it becomes obvious that there are more Chinese restaurants than traditional Lithuanian inns here. “People are more and more concerned about healthy nutrition lately. I can make this conclusion because the number of people who are consulting dieticians is increasing. Not just people who want to loose weight come to me – I start getting more clients who want to learn to eat healthy”, says dietician Daiva Pipiraitė. Such concern about food is not a result of good life. “The variety of food products is vast these days. Some are refreshing, others are nutritious, the third are energising and so on and so forth. The new millennium characterised by high pace of life, emotions, stress, and impact of harmful after-effect of civilisation makes the modern people think about health benefits, not only pleasure and fullness. Scientists, doctors, people from food industry join their forces for common goal – they develop healthy food products, propagate and implement principles of healthy nutrition. Healthy lifestyle and correct nutrition became one of the most popular topics discussed in the local and world press as well as in our everyday conversations”, Dr. Algirdas Liutkevičius, head of Technological laboratory of Food Institute at Kaunas Technological University, continues. The trend of healthy nutrition is quite strong in Europe. At the very beginning were organic, natural, low-fat food products. Currently, about 50% of diary products sold in Scandinavian countries would be classified as low-fat or reduced-fat-content products according to the Lithuanian standards. Longing for the “real” food A French friend proudly says setting on a table a rather modestly looking jar of jam: “Try it – it’s a real jam. I bought it at the monastery store; the nuns make it from the cherries they grow themselves.” In Lithuania, we still remember and many of us are still enjoying jams made by mothers or grandmothers, but the healthy food tag is already becoming a serious push to choose this and not another product. By the way, surveys show that customers choose organic products not only for their impact on health and better taste but also for the sake of style. When asked about healthy food products sold in their chains of stores, representatives of all major supermarkets – Rimi, Iki, VP Market – unanimously mentioned organic foods rather than low-fat products or functional foods. Healthy food is identified with organic products in Lithuania. In some chain stores there are special shelves marked with their own trademark, in other stores one should look for products with organic food signs among other products of the same type: bread among bread products, etc. Representatives of chain stores also concurred on one more issue: some four or five years ago such products were almost unavailable and very few people were looking for them. Although organic foods still account for a very small share of the entire product range of the supermarkets, this share is constantly growing. “For instance, in 2003 we had over 40 denominations of Lithuanian and imported organic food products, this year we have over 240,” Viktorija Jakubauskaitė, representative of VP Market for Public Relations quoted. When talking about organic foods, representatives of chain stores mentioned the produce of Lithuanian farmers and imported products: fruits, vegetables, bread products, grain, and juice. So far, organic products praised by the retailers, producers and farmers do not make their way to the hearts and plates of the buyers easily. Retailers believe that the main reason for the lack of popularity is the high price of organic food products. “Not all our farmers manage to pack their products properly or make attractive colorful labels,” Raminta Stanaitytė-Česnulienė, representative of UAB Rimi Lietuva for Public Relations recited other reasons for minor popularity of organic foods. If these shortcomings were rectified, the prices would increase even more and they are high as they are. The customers themselves, in addition to the high prices, indicate more reasons why they do not choose organic products: they do not know how special they are, they don’t see their advantages compared to the traditional products and they doubt if these products are organic at all. Another problem is that customers really do not know yet how such products are marked. Products with organic or special qualities should be marked with signs “Organic product”, “Guaranteed product”, “Ekoagros” or GTG. But when the chain stores or certain producers mark organic foods with their own signs, imported goods bear other signs, it results in confusion, and the trust of consumers in such goods is even more diminished. Honestly, one might get confused not only when choosing organic foods but also when looking for higher-quality, healthier food products. According to the specialists, analyzing the label information is one of the most reliable ways of choosing the right product. “When choosing a product, it is really advisable to read the label carefully. The name and contents of the product basically say everything about the product. Besides, it doesn’t take long for the customers to identify a producer whose products suit their taste best. Products supplemented with bacteria, minerals and vitamins must be labeled accordingly and the contents must indicate it”, said Aušra Ištarienė, head of Food Department of the State Food and Veterinary Service. She encourages food producers to contact their service when they are uncertain about the labeling of food products and get everything cleared out. Should one trust the signs on the labels? “Label is the image of the producer, the contact between the producer and the customer. Lithuania is a small country and it is very easy to spoil your reputation but very difficult to gain it back”, she said. Food with the beneficent bacteria However, natural, organic or low-fat food is not sufficient for modern person who is always in haste and suffers from stress. Even doctors themselves give a mild smile when explaining the rules of healthy life that are obviously too difficult to follow in our reality: sleep well, do sports, spend time in the fresh air, avoid stress. Therefore, it is needed to find fast and effective means to help the emaciated body at least a little bit. Therefore, TV advertising claiming that your child will be not only full but also healthier if he eats certain curd cheese or yogurt sounds very attractively. Even those who are very skeptical about advertising swallow the bait: “Well, since I am buying yogurt for my child anyway, I better buy the one being advertised. Whether these bacteria help or not, it might still be a better product then a regular one.” The market was fast to respond to the needs of the society and food products, which offer some additional benefits, appeared on the shelves of the stores. Scientists already have a special term to define them. “Functional food is the kind of food, which is supplemented with biological substances during the production process or such substances are removed. Using such products gives targeted positive physiological effect for the human body. Functional food satisfies the requirements of healthy nutrition, physiological needs of the body and maintains optimal health and well-being”, quoted Alvija Šalaševičienė, research associate of Food Institute at Kaunas Technological University. According to her, the qualities of functional food are acquired by adding one or several additional substances to the food products: dietary fibers, vitamins, minerals, probiotic bacteria, polyunsaturated fatty acids, peptides, proteins, antioxidants and other. In many foreign countries functional food is not something new and special labeling of such products has been approved. In Lithuania, the list of functional food has been prepared and it is still to be approved. The experience of European countries shows that major part of functional food consists of dairy products – 60%. 25% of functional food market consists of fat-based food, 10% - bread and grain products, 5% - drinks. “One of the most frequently used probiotic cultures is of Lactobacillus (LAB) type. It is also called bio-protective culture. Probiotics are live food ingredients of biological origin characterized by positive physiological effect. They regulate and restore the micro flora of the body, fight infections, improve the immunity,” told Mrs. Šalaševičienė. Such well-known food producers as Valio, Nestle, BioGala, Probi and others use probiotics in their production. Towards healthier food One can already find Lithuanian-made products, which could be attributed to the category of functional food. “There are a number of reasons encouraging us to develop and produce healthier food; one of them is the increasing demand for such food. Consumers came to like our products with reduced fat contents, additive-free products or those with fewer additives. Our “Probio” sausages are becoming increasingly popular,” tells Egidija Vaicekauskienė, director of ŽŪB Nematekas. “Probio” sausages with probiotic cultures are attributed to the category of functional food. According to Mrs. Vaicekauskienė, these sausages first appeared in the stores five years ago, but they were initially called “Bio” sausages. Since July 1 this year the name of this product line was changed, following the requirements of the European Union. “Probio” is an abbreviation of “probiotics”, “probiotic cultures”, the manager of Nematekas comments on the new name. According to her, the technologists of the company consulted with the researchers of Food Institute when developing this product. This cooperation continues – scientists analyze the contents of omega-3 acids in various meat products, they will prepare new technologies of meat products, which will enable Nematekas to expand its range of functional products. “We started producing the products of “Bifido” line three years ago. “Bifido” diary products are very useful for the health because they contain probiotics – lactulose, which balances gastrointestinal activity,” Liutauras Našliūnas, business analyst of AB Rokiškio Sūris tells about the healthy products of the company. He admitted that the technologists of this company also consulted with the scientists of the Food Institute when developing these products. Both Mrs. Vaicekauskienė and Mr. Našliūnas tell that investments into the production of healthier products have not paid back. Healthier products account for merely 1015% of the total production of Nematekas, “Bifido” line accounts for 2% of the sales of Rokiškio Sūris. Under photographs: DIETICIAN DAIVA PIPIRAITĖ CLAIMS THAT HEALTHY FOOD WAS IMPORTANT IN THE TRADITIONAL LITHUANIAN CUISINE AS WELL EGIDIJA VAICEKAUSKIENĖ, DIRECTOR OF ŽŪB NEMATEKAS: “OF COURSE, WE ARE NOT GOING TO SELL SAUSAGES IN THE PHARMACIES BUT HEALTHY FOOD HELPS US FEEL BETTER.” THE MARKET WAS FAST TO RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF THE SOCIETY AND FOOD PRODUCTS, WHICH OFFER SOME ADDITIONAL BENEFITS, APPEARED ON THE SHELVES OF THE STORES. PROBIOTICS: LIVE FOOD INGREDIENTS OF BIOLOGICAL ORIGIN CHARACTERIZED BY POSITIVE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECT. EUROPEANS WITH HIGHER INCOME LEVEL WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR HEALTH HAVE ALREADY EVALUATED THE BENEFITS OF FUNCTIONAL FOOD.