1015/012/2015 FINLAND S SCHOOL MILK STRATEGY 26 June 2015

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1 1015/012/2015 FINLAND S SCHOOL MILK STRATEGY 26 June 2015 VISION 2020 Finnish children and young people eat tasty, well-balanced, varied, sustainably produced and safe food, with milk and milk products included in the diet. Pupils and students are capable of making knowledge-based food choices and they are aware of the production chain of milk products. 1. Introduction In accordance with Article 26 of Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) No 1308/2013 Member States participating to the school milk scheme are required to have at national level a prior strategy for its implementation. In Finland there has been a statutory obligation for local governments to offer appropriately organised and supervised and well-balanced meals for all pupils attending basic education in compulsory schooling establishments free of charge for more than 60 years (section 31 of the Basic Education Act). School meals have an important role in the teaching and upbringing task of the schools and in promoting the pupils wellbeing and health. The school milk scheme supported by the EU complements the Finnish school meals very well. Finland has participated in the EU school milk scheme since Today about 90% of the children and young people in schools and daycare are covered by the scheme. Milk products are a good source of energy nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Their regular use as part of a varied diet ensures a sufficient intake of, for example, calcium, iodine and vitamin D. According to the recommendation concerning school meals of the National Nutrition Council (2008), a balanced school meal includes fat-free or low-fat (maximum fat content of 1%) milk or buttermilk to accompany the meal. 2. Objective of the school milk scheme The objective of the school milk scheme is to promote well-being, healthy living habits and health and food education among children and young people. Further aims include better appreciation of Finnish food culture and learning about the production of milk and its significance as part of a healthy diet and Finnish agriculture and food economy. The school milk scheme aims to enhance the information and knowledge on milk in the teaching, guidance and upbringing in schools and daycare institutions. The 1

2 provision of the milk products covered by the scheme should also serve as a model for constructing healthy and balanced meals in daycare institutions and schools. Information is also given on the EU s role in the school milk scheme. 3. Legislation The school milk scheme is based on the following EU regulations and national statutes: - Article 26 of Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) No 1308/ Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) No 1306/ Sections of the Act on the Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural products 999/2012 with subsequent amendments (in Finnish) - Section 32 of the Act Amending the Act on the Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products 1194/2013 (in Finnish) - Commission Regulation laying down detailed rules for the aid (EU) No 657/ Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1047/2014 supplementing Regulation 1308/ Government Decree on Products Eligible for the School Milk Aid 314/2013 (in Finnish) - Order of the Finnish Agency for Rural Affairs Concerning School Milk Aid 1/09 (in Finnish) 4. Current situation milk consumption in Finland Milk has an important position in the Finnish food culture. In 2013 the annual per capita consumption of liquid milk products (milk and buttermilk) was 175 litres. The annual consumption of cheese is 25 kg per capita. (Natural Resources Institute Finland, 2015.) The majority of Finns use milk and milk-based foods as part of their daily diet. Milk is consumed as such and in products like cheeses and soured dairy products such as buttermilk, yoghurt, quark, etc. Milk and milk products are also used as raw material in various traditional Finnish dishes. (Ruokatieto, 2009.) Milk is an essential element of Finnish school meals, with both nutritional and educational significance. As a beverage Finnish pupils consume daily the average of 1.5 dl milk (Maito ja Terveys, 2015). Besides milk the school meals include cheeses as well as soured and lactose-free milk products. Of the Finns 15 20% are lactose intolerant. This is taken into account by providing lactose-free products during school meals (Terveyskirjasto, 2015). Milk and milk products are the most important sources of calcium, iodine and vitamins B and D in the diet of Finnish children and young people (National Nutrition Council, 2014). Thanks to the fortification of milk with vitamin D the intake of this vitamin among the Finns has reached the target level in all age categories (National Institute for Health and Welfare, 2012). 2

3 The revised Nordic nutrition recommendations were completed in The Finnish nutrition recommendations of the National Nutrition Council currently in force were published in The recommended nutrient levels in Finland are mainly based on the Nordic nutrition recommendations, with the scientific groundwork for these done in a working group composed of Nordic experts. The recommended daily use of liquid milk products is 5-6 dl and that of cheeses 2-3 slices. Milk products that contain fat have a lot of saturated fat as two-thirds of the milk fat is saturated. This is why using fat-free or low-fat milk products is recommended. The inclusion of fat-free milk in the EU school milk scheme increased the consumption of fat-free milk and milk products at school meals considerably. Today more than 60% of the milk consumed at school meals is fat free. This has positive impacts on public heath because the use of low-fat and fat-free milk products reduces the nutritional intake of saturated fat. During the school year more than 17.7 million litres of milk was delivered to Finnish schools and the number of pupils eligible for this aid was (Finnish Agency for Rural Affairs, 2015.) The pupils get used to fat-free products and this habit is then easily transferred to the adult years, which is highly significant with regard to public health. 5. Budget In the school milk aid for milk as beverage at meals totalled million euros per school year and the aid for other product categories totalled million euros (Table 1). The budget is expected to stay about the same until

4 Table 1. Product quantities and amounts of aid per category. School year Category (EU) No 657/2008 Annex I I a* I c II III V Product quantity t Aid I a I c II III V I a I c II III V I a I c II III V *Ia) heat-treated milk, Ib) heat-treated milk with chocolate, fruit juice or flavoured, containing at least 90 % by weight of the milk indicated in point a) and containing maximum 7 % of added sugar and/or honey, Ic) fermented milk products with or without fruit juice, flavoured or non-flavoured, containing at least 90 % by weight of the milk indicated in point a) and containing maximum 7 % of added sugar and/or honey. II Flavoured and non-flavoured milk products with fruit, fermented or not, containing at least 75 % by weight of the milk indicated in category I point a) and containing maximum 7 % of added sugar and/or honey. III Fresh and processed cheeses, containing maximum 10 % of non-lactic ingredients. IV Grana Padano cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. V Cheeses, containing maximum 10 % of non-lactic ingredients, and not falling under categories III and IV. 6. Target group The school milk aid is targeted to children and young people attending, on a regular basis, daycare or teaching organised or approved by the competent authority who at the beginning of the term are registered at: Daycare Daycare institution or group family daycare centre with either a permanent or circulating daycare teacher Preschool education Preschool education at school, daycare institution or group family daycare centre 4

5 Basic education Forms 1-10 Secondary education Upper secondary education and education targeting at vocational basic education degree Daycare institutions, group family daycare centres and educational establishments may be run by a municipality, state or a private party. 7. Eligible products The products eligible for the school milk aid (Government Decree 314/2013) are listed in Table 2. The eligible products are in line with the nutrition recommendations (2014) and recommendation concerning school meals (2008) of the National Nutrition Council. The selection criteria of the products include the amounts of fat, added sugar and salt contained in the products. The product list has been compiled in cooperation between the agriculture, health and education administrations. 5

6 Table 2. Products eligible for the school milk aid in Finland. Category CN code Product Aid /kg I a & I c Fat-free milk, heat treated II % milk, heat treated, max fat content 1% Buttermilk, heat treated, max fat content 1% Flavoured or unflavoured yoghurt, quark, etc. incl. those containing fruit juice with at least 75 percentage by weight of milk and max 7% of added sugar and/or honey Lactose-free products of category I Yoghurt, quark, etc. flavoured with fruit and/or berries, with at least 75 percentage by weight of milk and max 7% of added sugar and/or honey III Flavoured or unflavoured unripened/fresh cheeses and processed cheeses, max 10% of ingredients other than those containing milk V Flavoured or unflavoured cheeses other than the above, max 10% of ingredients other than those containing milk In accordance with Government Decree 314/2013, milk, buttermilk, yoghurt, quark, etc. with a fat content of over 1% and cheeses with a fat content of over 17% and/or more than 1.3% of salt are not eligible for the aid. Milk sold directly from farms, milk powder, butter and cream are also not eligible. Lactose-free products of categories I, II and III are eligible for the school milk aid. 8. Accompanying measures According to Article 26 of Regulation 1308/2013, accompanying measures are not mandatory for the Member States. Instead of these, Finland has invested in both national and EU co-funded sales promotion programmes targeting, in particular, the young and schoolchildren. In two EU co-funded sales promotion programmes for milk were implemented in Finland. Maito pitää sut kasassa / Milk keeps you whole was targeted to schoolchildren aged 8 to 13 years and Maito tepsii / Milk works to young women. In three projects with milk as the main theme were implemented by means of funding from Finnish sources: how milk gets from the farm to daycare, more appreciation of school meals by means of youth interaction and tough guys drink milk. In addition, there are other projects currently under way relating to food culture in general, such as RUOKAePELI FOODGAME and Ruokakoulu Matskolan Food School. Since 2008 it has been required in Finland that a poster is placed close to the main entrance of the daycare or educational institution (in practice usually outside the canteen or on the institution s notice board) publicizing the fact that the distribution of milk is subsidized by the EU (Article 26(8) of Regulation 1308/2013). 6

7 9. Actors in the school milk scheme According to the Act on the Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products, the national strategy relating to the school milk scheme is prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the implementing authority is the Finnish Agency for Rural Affairs. Incorporating the objectives and measures of the strategy relating to teaching and upbringing in the grounds and implementation of the school curricula is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Culture and National Board of Education together with other organizers of education. Other parties involved in the preparation and implementation of the strategy are the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Government of Åland, municipalities, schools, daycare institutions, milk suppliers and catering enterprises. 10. Application for the aid Aid may be applied for by registered applicants approved by the Finnish Agency for Rural Affairs. There are three types of applicants that may be registered: municipal applicant applying for the aid for an operating unit within the municipality, or self-applicant, i.e. a school/daycare institution run by municipal federation for education, private school/daycare institution or foundation or association applies for the aid for its own operating unit, or supplier applicant (dairies, wholesalers) that the beneficiary has authorized to apply for the aid on the beneficiary s behalf In practice almost half of the applicants are municipalities. Table 3 shows the numbers of applicants and aid decisions from the school year Table 3. Parties that applied for school milk aid in school year Type of applicant Number of such applicants Number of decisions Municipal applicant Self-applicant Supplier applicant Total The applicant declares the information concerning the school year in the beginning of the school year or term (number of pupils, number of persons taking the meal who are not eligible, number of days when meals are served), based on which the Finnish Agency for Rural Affairs calculates the maximum number of litres eligible for the aid. The information given in the declaration concerning the school year is in force either for the term or the school year and the situation on the first day of the period determines the whole period. 7

8 Aid may be applied for with regard to the milk products eligible for the aid only. Registered applicants submit the product list to the Finnish Agency for Rural Affairs for approval annually by 1 August. The products eligible for the aid must come from the territory of the European Union. Aid is not paid for milk products used in preparing the meals and it may only be applied for with regard to the realised product volumes which can be verified from documents of payment. Aid is paid for the maximum amount equivalent to 0.25 litres of milk/pupil/day of operation. 11. Distribution of the products in practice Municipalities and private actors conduct competitive tendering procedures concerning school milk products on a regular basis. The municipal catering manager or a similar person takes account of the products covered by the school milk aid when drawing up the menus for schools and daycare institutions. Milk products are ordered and supplied to municipal central kitchens and from there further to daycare institutions and schools a few times a week according to the need. Self-applicants are often small-scale actors who acquire the products either themselves or, for example, via catering services. 12. Added value provided by the programme for Finland The implementation of the school milk scheme provides various kinds of added value for Finland: i) The consumption of milk and milk products stays at the desired level, which also supports good nutrition. If milk is not consumed at meals, it might be replaced by soft drinks or sweet juices, which are much less healthy alternatives or by water in which case the nutritional composition of the meal may remain weaker. Consumption of milk products in line with the nutrition recommendations has positive impacts on public health. People become accustomed to healthy and health-promoting food choices already in their childhood. ii) Even broader range of products. Besides the increased consumption of milk products the share of various kinds of low-sugar and fat-free milk products increases in particular, which reduces the risks associated with obesity and cardiovascular diseases. iii) Benefits to the agriculture sector. The agriculture sector benefits not only from the increased consumption but also from the growing awareness on milk in general. Children get to know the whole chain from the grass fields to milk glass. 8

9 iv) Finnish food culture is preserved. Milk and buttermilk remain essential elements of Finnish food culture, normal beverages to accompany the meals. It is also possible to give information on the use of milk and milk products in cooking and baking. v) The knowledge on EU actions is enhanced. The involvement of the EU in the School Milk Programme is presented in the teaching, guidance and upbringing and in connection with the meals. 13. Checks and valuation of the scheme The Finnish Agency for Rural Affairs is responsible for administrative and on-thespot checks based on sampling and risk analysis under Article 15 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 657/2008. The school milk scheme is evaluated during the period of validity of the school milk strategy. 14. Period of validity This strategy is in force in and it covers the whole Mainland Finland and the Åland Islands. 9

10 Sources and links: Natural Resources Institute Finland LUKE Finnish Agency for Rural Affairs MAVI Maito ja Terveys / Dairy Nutrition Council Ruokatieto Yhdistys / Finfood Finnish Food Information National Institute for Health and Welfare THL Finravinto 2012 study (in Finnish). 2 June sequence=1 National Nutrition Council VRN Recommendation concerning school meals (in Finnish). 2 June pdf National Nutrition Council VRN Health from Food Finnish nutrition recommendations June i_web.pdf 10