Norway’s Food Control Authority (SNT) has ruled that the country’s most popular canned food, “Joika-kaker” – is not misleadingly labelled as “Reindeer cakes in game sauce”, despite fierce charges that the product was an offence to reindeer meat and the Sami culture.
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Sami activist Arne Nilsen Anthi filed a complaint about the classic product, which is packaged and named with Sami cultural icons, criticising its overall 10.5% reindeer content and ingredients that include beef, lamb and fish fat.
The SNT, however, will be focusing on products from major producers Gilde, Spis, Norsk Kjøtt (Norwegian Meat) and Prior for similar reasons, and newspaper Nationen reports that the authority is planning rulings that could revolutionise Norwegian labelling.
A wide range of burgers, sausages and canned prepared meals are all under SNT investigation, and the body wants more and stricter regulations as consumers become aware of the disparity between label image and product content.
“In 1975 it was considered laughable when the SNT banned a “lemon soda”, but today consumers demand much more of food labelling. We are heading towards descriptions like ‘Reindeer flavoured meatballs’,” said SNT divisional head Åse Fulke.
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By GlobalData
