Top Editors ... The most important event of the year for food sector the exhibition "Riga Food 2006" is ap

Title: The most important event of the year for food sector the exhibition "Riga Food 2006" is ap
Date: 09/08/2006
 
Very soon, from September 6 to 9, the most important food sector event of the year, the 11th international food exhibition “Riga Food 2006” will take place at the International exhibition
center at Kipsala, gathering the industry professionals from 33 countries.

International exhibition of food, drinks, food processing, technologies, packaging, public catering, hotel and store equipment and servicing “Riga Food” is the leading and the widest food exhibition in the Baltic States. More than 500 par ticipating enterprises from 33 countries have already applied for participation at the exhibition till the end of July, numerous national joint stands will be displayed – 14, transforming the exhibition into a festival of foods and drinks of the world. L a s t year 5 6 5 participants from 34 countries participated at the exhibition, it was visited by 34 983 interested persons.

Events will be organized for the industry professionals

The events of the exhibition “Riga Food 2006” for the industry professionals provide a successful platform to discuss and resolve issues impor tant for the Latvian market of foods and drinks. The
exhibition “Riga Food 2006” will also provide a dynamic environment for meeting of potential cooperation partners.
In order to promote and develop cooperation between industry specialists of different countries, during the exhibition the International exhibitions organizer BT 1 in cooperation with “Diplomatic Economic Club” organizes the 7th international business forum for food sector “Riga Food
2006 Meeting Point”, in which food sector professionals from the Baltic states, CIS and European countries will meet during p re s e n t a t i o n s, wo r k i ng g r o up s, discussions and negotiations, related to development of the food sector and cooperation between countries for the development of the industry within two days.
“IRC Latvia” (the Center for Promoting Innovation) organizes the Brokers’ event already for the second time during the exhibition ‘Riga Food’ the purpose of which is organizing of prescheduled individual me e t i n g s o f L a t v i a n a n d f o r e i g n participants in order to resolve issues
related to technology acquisition or negotiate sales.
Seminars and discussions about the economic situation and development of the Latvian food sector, the role and position of science in the food sector of Lat via, consumer performance, as well as the most up – to - date technologies in food and packaging sector etc. organized by “IRC Latvia” and “Diplomatic Economic Club” will also take place during the exhibition. The representatives of food enterprises of Latvia, industry associations, business people will present during the seminars, business people and diplomats from abroad will exchange experience.

The best food and drink products are being evaluated already for the tenth year

In order to promote the production of high quality goods and offering of it to the users, several prestigious product contests of ‘Riga Food’, the medals of which have earned international recognition, will be held already for the tenth time. This year the contest of wines, the contest and
sampling of meat products, yoghurt and unmatured cheese will take place.
Until now at the international and national contests of prominent quality food products for ‘Riga Food Prix’ and medals various producers of drinks, bread, biscuits, cheese, curd, sour cream, kefir,
butter, mayonnaises, ketchups, canned cucumbers, candied fruit, berry products and canned fish have competed.

The best cooks, pastry cooks, bartenders and coffee making specialists will be determined

In order to promote professional development, exchange of experience and mutual cooperation of cooks and pastry cooks of Latvia, during the exhibition ‘Riga Food 2006’ the contests ‘The Chef of Latvia of the Year 2006’ and ‘The Pastry Cook of Latvia of the Year 2006’, organized by the
‘Chef Club’ in cooperation with the International exhibitions organizer BT 1.
During the exhibition ‘Riga Food 2006’ the Open barista championship of Latvia, in which the best cappuccino, espresso and signature drink or drink of fantasy makers will be determined will also take place. At the International exhibition center of Kipsala also ‘Latte Art’ contest and the
‘World Coffee in Good Spirits’ contest will take place on September 7. The mentioned championships are organized by the Lat vian depar tment of the European Association of Elitist Coffee Producers (SCAE) and the International exhibitions organizer BT 1. International accredited
j u r y f r o m S CA E w i l l e va l u a te t h e performance of contest participants.
During the International Contest of Bartenders virtuosity and professionalism will be displayed by the best bartenders of Latvia and foreign countries, who will compete for the rewards of the contest.

The best meat products will be determined
What’s new at “Riga Food 2006”?

On August 22 the International Exhibitions Organizer BT 1 in cooperation with Food and Veterinary Service organizes an international meat product contest and sampling by taste, which will take place in two groups: the hot – smoked salami sausage and the lightly smoked country / home sausage.
The announcement of the contest results and the rewarding of winners will take place during the opening ceremony of the 11th International Food Exhibition ‘Riga Food 2006’ on September 6.
The purpose of the contest is to promote the production and selling of high quality sausages. All exhibition ‘Riga Food 2006’ participants, of ficially acknowledged producer s of meat produc t s, may participate in the international contest of meat produc ts with their produce.
Enterprises which are not participating in the exhibition, but have paid the participation fee of the exhibition, may participate in the contest as well.
In order to participate in the contest the applicants have to submit a written request and documentation to the International Exhibitions Organizer BT 1, at the address of 8, Kipsalas street till August, 10.
The samples have to be submitted on August, 21 at the National Diagnostic Center of the Veterinary Service at the address of 3, Lejupes street. The participants of the contest have to pay the participation fee until August, 20; participation fee for one product denomination constitutes Ls 60.
The participants of the contest, who are not taking part in the exhibition, have to pay participation fee of the exhibition in the amount of Ls 69.62, obtaining the rights to present the contest samples on the stand of the contest.
The complete rules of the International Meat Product Contest – Taste Sampling may be obt ained from the internet www.bt1.lv/rigafood or by contacting the manager of the exhibition ‘Riga Food 2006’ R o l a n d s N e z b o r t s ( e - m a i l : rolands.nezbor ts@bt1.lv, tel.: +371 7067550).
A jury consisting of sampling experts from different countries will evaluate the samples, submitted for the contest. The products will be evaluated according to such qualities as taste, smell, structure in the c u t , origina l appearanc e and consistency. Also the design, packaging, accordance of labeling etc. will be evaluated. The analysis of the samples will be carried out also at the laboratory of the National Diagnostic Center.
In every contest group one Grand Prix, one gold, silver and bronze medal will beawarded.
Up to now various beverage, bread, biscuit, cheese, cottage cheese, frosted cake cheese, milk fat paste, sour cream, kefir, butter, mayonnaise, ketchup, canned cucumber, canned fish, candied fruit and berry producers have competed for ‘Riga Food Grand Prix’ and medals at the international and national excellent quality food product contests.

During the 11th International Food Exhibition “Riga Food 2006” together with the contest “The Cook of Latvia 2006”, the International Contest of Bartenders and the Open Barista Championship of Latvia, the contest in which participants will compete for the
title of the best pastry cook will take place for the first time. The contest “Pastry Cook of Latvia 2006” is organized by “The Chef Club” in cooperation with the International Exhibition organizer BT 1.

The purpose of the contest is to promote professional development, exchange of experience and mutual cooperation of the pastr y cooks of L at via. In order to participate in the contest the participants have to complete a home assignment – to submit a recipe for a sweet dish from mascarpone cheese, using nuts and gelatin. The snapshots of the meal have to be supplemented to the home assignment as well.
An independent competent jur y, estimating the submitted compounding and pictures, will nominate 10 contest finalists, who will be invited to participate in the contest finals in Riga.
The finalists will have to implement the home assignment, to cook a dessert as a sweet dish of a restaurant. Skilled foreign chefs and cooks will evaluate the dish according to certain criteria: the decoration of the dish, taste and product harmony, technical mastery and work organization, as well as the manner of serving the dish. All participants of the finals will receive diplomas, the first, second and third winners will be awarded medals.
Additional information on the procedure and rules of the contest as well as the application form may be obtained at the home page of “the Chef Club” www.chef.lv

9 enterprises and 3 associations have received state support for participation at the exhibition “Riga Food 2006”
Already for the fifth year the Marketing Council in the framework of the Agricultural Market Promotion Program and thanks to the financial means, allotted by the Ministry of Agriculture of Latvia, assists small and medium size enterprises and associations to cover part of the participation fee for the rent of display space at the international food exhibition ‘Riga Food’.
This year nine small and three medium size enterprises, as well as the Central Union of Dairy Producers, Latvian Bakers’ Society and Latvian Brewers’ Association received support for participation at the International Food Exhibition ‘Riga Food 2006’.
Last year ten food producers and the Central Union of Dairy Producers, as well as Lat vian Bakers’ Society received support.
Any food enterprise or association of Latvia could apply for sponsorship for participating at the exhibition ‘Riga Food 2006’. Enterprises, the net turnover of which in the year 2005 did not exceed 100 thousand Latvian Lats, could obtain 100% support for the payment of the rent for space at the joint stand for small and medium size enterprises as well as 50% support was allotted for the payment of the rent of space for enterprises, the net turnover of which did not exceed 1 million
Latvian Lats, and which operate in the sector of food processing. Also the enterprises with the “Green Spoon” logo could apply for the payments for the stand space not exceeding 9m² with a 50% support.

At the plenary meeting of the business forum
“Riga Food 2006 Meeting Point” important problems related to food and packaging sector will be examined

Events to be held by our partners

On the opening day of the exhibition “Riga Food 2006”, September 6, a plenary meeting, where the most impor tant problems of food and packaging industry will be discussed, it will be held in the
framework of the business forum “Riga Food 2006 Meeting Point”. At the plenary meeting the representatives of Latvian food enterprises, industr y associations, business people, as well as
foreign participants will present different themes.

Themes of the Plenary Session:

1. Modern vision of prospec ts of development of fish branch of Latvia, EU I. Krupnik —
Dr.Sci.Tech., Chairman of board LSEZ SIA "KOLUMBIJA Ltd."

2. Use of genetically modified products in the food industry; Development trends of Latvian food
enterprises on the model of a row of enterprises; State Food Marketing Initiatives considering the
example of Austria Gerd Bommer – Commercial Attaché, Embassy of Austria

3. Contemporar y trends and new materials of the packaging industry A. Stepanenko — director of
association BelInfoPack, Belarus

4. The attitude of the Latvian consumer, to the food stuffs made abroad Frederic Biava – Economic
and Commercial Counsellor, Royal Embassy of Belgium

5. Advertising influence on consumers of food products.

6. Food additives – myths and reality.

7. Financial instruments to motivate development of food enterprises.

Importantly, the participants of the exhibition “R iga Food 2 0 0 6” may participate in all events of the business forum “Riga Food 2006 Meeting Point” free of charge. Participants who are interested to visit the business forum are invited to accredit themselves beforehand by sending an e-mail message to Rolands Nezborts (rolands.nezborts@bt1.lv) or Anatoly Butenko (anatoly.butenko@bt1.lv) until September, 3. Fo r o t h e r p e r s o n s i n t e r e s t e d accreditation at the business forum – EUR 130, for ever y additional enterprise representative – EUR 65.
The following charges are included into the accreditation fee: participant’s card, which is valid for all the period of meetings and exhibition, the copy of the of ficial exhibition catalogue, invitation to the
reception, invitation to the round table discussion af ter-par t y, printing of information in the of ficial catalogue, negotiation area, and settlement of visa related formalities. The deadline for the
submission of the application form is August 1, 2006.

The IRC Latvia organizes a seminar “Business and technology transfer opportunities in Latvian food sector”
The working language of the seminar is English.

“Riga Food 2006” Events Programme
The seminar has been envisaged for foreign participants and visitors of the exhibition “Riga Food 2006”, as well as the participants of the IRC Latvia brokers’ event.
The seminar will provide an outlook of the economic conditions and development of the Latvian food sector, the role and position of science in the Latvian food industry, participation of Latvia in the European research projects in food industry, as well as the international technology transfer opportunities and the results obtained.
The seminar will be opened by the Deputy State secretary of Ministry of Agriculture of Latvia Aivars Bērziņš, who will present the standpoint on the role of innovations and science in the state economy. The experience of the Finnish entrepreneurs on the cooperation between the enterprises of Finland and Latvia and the obtained results, considerable increase of export for food products to Finland, will be presented at the seminar. The issue of the possible food cluster development in
Latvia will also be discussed during the seminar.
In the second part of the seminar ‘News of the food industry and science’ the visitors will hear and see specific newest results of applied scientific research, which are of fered to the enterprises of the
industry for implementation into their production processes.

Program of the seminar:

1. Opening of the seminar by Aivars Bērziņš, Deputy State secretary of Ministry of Agriculture of
Latvia.

2. Overview of Latvian food market – import/export, new tendencies, results in 20 0 5/20 0 6. Ieva
Krastina, Lat vian Investment and Development Agency

3. Overview of the main trends in Latvian food research. Daina Karklina, Latvian University of
Agriculture

4. Success of IRC Network food related technology transfer in Latvia. Gundega Lapiņa, Latvian
Technological Centre

5. EC FP6 National Contact Point: Information on Latvian success in European food related
research projects. Dace Tirzite, FP6 National Contact Point

6. Food cluster formation in Latvia – utopia or reality? Experience of Latvian Food Enterprises
Federation. Arlita Sedmale, LFEF

7. Finnish experience in Latvian food market. Kari Salin, Finland, Jukkolaan Juustola Ltd

8. Outsourcing – the most efficient and cost-effective way for innovative product development in
Latvian companies. Jukka Lähteenkorva, Finland, Foodwest Ltd

9. Novelties in food industr y and research: Presentations of Latvian and foreign companies,
research institutions (participants of Riga Food, brokerage event, etc.) - L.Dukaļska,
R.Galoburda, Sandra Muižniece-Brasava, Ludmila Savenkova (LLU, LU, RTU): Research of
biodegradable materials suitabilitiy for food packaging. - Dace Kļava, Tatjana Rakčejeva,
Increasing possiblities of wheat bread nutritive value. Cooperation with ”Jelgavas
Maiznieks”(LLU).

“Riga Food 2006” Events Programme *

6–9 September

6 September
- Latvian Open Barista Championship
- Baltic Chefs Shows and Cooking Master Classes
- 7th International Food Industry Business Forum “Riga Food 2006 Meeting Point”
- Awarding of winners of international and national competitions in top-quality food products

7 September
- International Bartenders Competition: Preliminaries
- “Latte Art” Championship
- “World Coffee in Good Spirits” Championship
- Baltic Chefs Shows and Cooking Master Classes
- The contest “Pastry Cook of Latvia 2006”
- International workshop “Business and Technology Transfer Opportunities in the Latvian Food Sector”
- 7th International Food Industry Business Forum “Riga Food 2006 Meeting Point”

8 September
- Bartending Master Classes: Preparation of Non-alcoholic Cocktails and Drinks – with participation of children
- Latvian Chefs Competition “The Cook of Latvia 2006”
- Contest of the “Reaton Golden Ladle” Award
- Brokerage Event for Food and Food Industry Related Technologies

9 September
- International Bartenders Competition: Final
- Chefs Activities – with participation of children
- The presentation of Slovakian products (Entrance with special invitations)
* The programme of events may be adjusted.
Take advantage of the visitor registration system!
Please fill in the inquiry form, send it to us and get one-day entrance ticket to the exhibition “Riga Food 2006” for free!

More information:
Rolands Nezborts
Project group director
e-mail: rolands.nezborts@bt1.lv
GSM: + 371 2 9127662