A glimmer of hope after the 9% minus in 2003 - premium quality and good service secure market shares

In 2003, artisan bakers suffered a severe drop in sales. The reason for this was a further increase in competitive pressure and intensive price dumping by the discounters. But the negative trend could be stopped. According to the first figures from 2004, the sales and employee numbers of the market leaders in the baked goods market seem to be stabilizing at the current level.

In 283.100, 2003 employees in 17.500 companies generated sales of 11,85 billion euros. Compared to the same period of the previous year, this corresponds to a decline in sales of nine percent. The number of employees fell by 17.000, which corresponds to a loss of jobs of 5,7 percent compared to 2002. The number of bakeries also fell again by 589 companies. However, there seems to be an end to the negative trend. Compared to the same period of the previous year, the first half of 1 shows a significantly smaller loss in sales (-2004 percent). In the federal states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg, the number of companies increased again for the first time.

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Support from Saxony-Anhalt's Ministry of Economic Affairs

Only a few weeks after the opening of insolvency proceedings, the continued existence of Wolfgang Sack Köthener Fleisch und Wurstwaren GmbH Köthen and Mahler's Fleisch und Wurst Handels GmbH Klostermansfeld is secured. This was announced by the Halle attorney Dr. known to Volkhard Frenzel. This saves around 215 jobs. With the financial support of the Ministry of Economics and Labour, backup solutions were found for the 53 production and administrative employees who were not taken on in both companies.

minister dr Horst Rehberger acknowledged the quick restart from the insolvency as "good news, especially for the employees and their families". Companies rarely found a new start from insolvency as quickly as in these two cases. "This shows that these are solid companies that will maintain their place in the market." An insolvency administrator who is not concerned with breaking up the company, but with the continued existence of the company, will always find cooperative partners in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, according to Rehberger.

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Künast: breakthrough for consumer protection

Federal Consumer Minister Renate Künast welcomed the fact that the Bundesrat passed the general administrative regulation on food control, which she submitted to the Bundesrat in December 2003: "We finally have an overall concept for official food control. This is a major contribution to greater food safety in Germany ." According to the minister, the federal government has made its contribution to improving food safety by restructuring federal ministries and setting up the Federal Office for Food Safety and Consumer Protection and the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment.

Among other things, the administrative regulation specifies requirements for monitoring authorities and official testing laboratories, principles for official company audits, provisions for official sampling and testing, and for the installation of a nationwide monitoring plan. There should also be uniform rules for the monitoring programs of the federal states and the official communication channels.

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1st reading in the Bundestag - government promises security from "trough to table" - debate documented in full

This week, the federal government introduced the draft law for the reorganization of the food, consumer goods and animal feed law in the Bundestag. In the debate, the opposition attacked the government for the ominous linking of different areas and feared the birth of a bureaucratic monster.

You can read the minutes of the debate here in a pdf document.

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The German World Hunger Aid welcomes the breakthrough in the negotiations of the FAO, which for the first time internationally establishes the right to food. After two years of negotiations, the FAO Committee on World Food Security passed voluntary guidelines late on Thursday evening, according to which all states must ensure that their populations do not suffer from hunger.

"This is an important normative step by the international community on the way to a world without hunger," says Jochen Donner from the German World Hunger Aid, who was a member of the German delegation in Rome.

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The frozen food market in Germany is growing strongly again. Based on market surveys, the German Frozen Food Institute (dti) expects a total increase in volume of 2004 percent by the end of 4,2. This means that Germans would have consumed a total of 2,98 million tons of frozen food this year. The industry expects sales growth of 3,8 percent to a total of 9,27 billion euros. This is reported by the dti in the run-up to the InterCool International Trade Fair for Frozen Food, Ice Cream and Refrigeration Technology in Düsseldorf. dti Managing Director Manfred Sassen is very satisfied with the available data: "The frozen food product range is very good in comparison and especially in view of the ongoing economic downturn in retail and gastronomy."

In the food trade, including home services and discounters, the consumption of frozen food is expected to increase by five percent by the end of the year. There is particularly strong demand for frozen baked goods, which can expect almost double-digit growth in sales and turnover this year. Rolls, cakes, croissants and dough pieces in particular apparently meet customer requirements. Frozen fish is also developing well, alongside the potato range. This range is gaining particularly in the specialties in the snack area. These include, for example, potato pancakes and potato pockets with different fillings. There is continued strong demand for frozen pizzas, which have been showing a stable increase in volume for years.

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16 companies from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are represented at the three trade fairs InterMopo, Inter-Cool and InterMeat in Düsseldorf from Sunday to September 29th. The trade fairs are among the leading trade fairs for the areas of frozen goods, meat and dairy products. The companies Rügen Feinkost, Blömer Fleisch, Mecklenburger Fleischwaren, Mecklenburger Backstuben and De Maekelboerger are new and taking part for the first time this year. Five companies from the Agricultural Marketing Association will present themselves with a state joint stand at the InterMeat. The Ministry of Agriculture supports the companies' presentations at all three trade fairs with around 100.000 euros.

"The food industry is one of the most important sectors in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The trade fairs are of great importance for the presentation of local companies and the opening up of new markets beyond the state borders," emphasizes Minister of Agriculture Dr. Till Backhaus (SPD). In Düsseldorf, the companies are showing specialties from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, from meat, fish and game to milk and cheese specialties and baked goods.

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Bavarian consumer protection ministry warns against eating salametti from Chiemgauer Naturfleisch GmbH - EHEC bacteria detected

Bavarian Ministry of Consumer Protection warns against eating salametti from Chiemgauer Naturfleisch GmbH - EHEC bacteria detected

The Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety has detected EHEC bacteria in "Salametti air-dried", sold by Chiemgauer Naturfleisch GmbH.

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Two presentation areas for InterMeat and InterCool

For fibrisol-MUSCALLA the Düsseldorf trade fair trio with InterMeat, InterCool and InterMopro is the "leading trade fair 2004". As the previous "Inter" fairs have shown, the InterMeat is characterized by an intensive and concentrated dialogue between exhibitors and fair visitors. The industry's decision-makers gather information at high-ranking exhibition stands. With the target groups of the meat products industry, ambitious butchers and the manufacturers of convenience products, fibrisol-MUSCALLA reaches the key customers in the meat industry and in the InterCool environment in Düsseldorf.

A major trend in the meat market is the market shift from the counter to the self-service area. For the counter, high-quality products with convincing performance are increasingly playing a role, while in the self-service area, in addition to the price-sensitive mass market, dosage forms tailored to the target group are gaining in importance: Small households expect appropriate pack sizes, people in a hurry rely on complete meals, such as the meat snack plus side dish in one pack or prepared for your own finish in the kitchen at home.

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At the end of the financial year, the result must be right. But what are the decisive factors and how can they be better recognized in order to positively influence the operating result in good time? How can business figures be used as a targeted control element to promote sales? The CMA Centrale Marketing-Gesellschaft der Deutschen Agrarwirtschaft mbH and the DFV Deutscher Fleischerverband eV address their seminar "Better recognition of opportunities - more effective influence on sales, costs and margins" to business owners and employees with managerial responsibility in the butcher's trade. In the two-day seminar, the speaker Manfred Gerdemann, himself a master butcher and a trainer for the meat industry for more than 25 years, provides competent answers to these and other questions. Because only those who know the numbers and know how to interpret them can identify problems at an early stage and act in good time in the future - instead of just reacting.

On November 01st and 02nd, 2004 everything revolves around sales, costs and margins in Nuremberg. The contents of the seminar are based on practical cases from the butcher trade. It is important to analyze the figures, data and facts of your own company precisely, because an exact company analysis is the basis for optimizing the sales result. In the seminar, the participants work out in a practical way which business data they can use to meaningfully compare the operating results of several years. You will learn which conclusions can be drawn for the future in order to better position your own butcher's shop in the market. If desired, the speaker will treat the data of a participating business owner anonymously.

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Minister Backhaus: The central facility has proven its worth

The State Veterinary and Food Inspection Office MV (LVL) in Rostock has proven to be the superior institution for all investigations in the areas of veterinary affairs and food monitoring. "The facility is a central instrument for ensuring food quality and combating animal diseases in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania," said Minister of Agriculture Dr. Till Backhaus (SPD) at an event on the occasion of 100 years of food testing and animal disease diagnostics in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Rostock. With the establishment of the LVL, the state was one of the first federal states to create an integrated office that uses synergy effects from the investigations in the food and animal disease areas.

Due to the increasing demands on the laboratory tests, the concentration and cooperation within Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, but also the cooperation with other federal states, will continue to play a role, according to the Minister of Agriculture. "Existing collaborations with research institutions in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein are to be expanded and new ones set up and expanded."

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