One million Baltic herring fish fingers will be eaten on Baltic Sea Day - Apetit’s new frozen food product is smart fish choice of this fall

Apetit Oyj, press release 24 August 2021 9.00 a.m.

Apetit’s new frozen food product for this fall is Baltic Sea Fish Fingers, made from Finnish Baltic herring fillet. Baltic herring is a sustainable fish choice, and it decreases Baltic Sea’s nutrient load. Over 1 million Baltic Sea Fish Fingers will be eaten on Baltic Sea Day 26 August, when fish fingers are on the menu in many schools and nurseries. The product will be available in retail in September-October.

Apetit Baltic Sea Fish Fingers are made from Finnish MSC-certified Baltic herring (56%). The fish fingers have a gluten-free battering and mild taste of lemon and black pepper. High in protein, gluten- and dairy-free, Baltic Sea Fish Fingers are suitable for many diets. The product has also received the Heart Symbol.

Mild tasting Baltic herring hasn’t always been a fish favourite among consumers, due to its bony texture. Some home cooks might find Baltic herring difficult to make into a dish. Baltic herring isn’t also always readily available in supermarkets.

“Apetit Baltic Sea Fish Fingers provide a solution for these food problems. The fish fingers are made from domestic Baltic herring fillet. It’s a tasty and sustainable choice that works wonderfully in busy everyday life”, says Apetit’s Product Category Manager Hanna Pere.

Food in general has a significant impact on carbon emissions. Domestic wild fish is not only a climate friendly choice, but also has other positive climate impacts.

”By eating two bags of Baltic Sea Fish Fingers, you remove phosphorus from the food chain - that phosphorus would grow a kilogram of algae should it stay in the water. Thus, we can help the Baltic Sea by consuming Baltic herring”, says Pere about the concrete significance of everyday food choices.

More sustainable fish on Finnish dinner tables

Fish consumption has doubled in Finland since the 1980’s. However, the growth is mostly attributed to imported fish, that makes up about 80 %* of all fish consumption. According to a survey* by Pro Fish Association, over 90 % of Finns eat fish and 75 % of them would like to increase their fish consumption.

”Finland’s lakes and the Baltic Sea are a home to several wonderful and tasty fish species, that are notably more ecological than imported fish. It’s important to eat many different fish species, and to take a moment to think about the origins of the food we eat. Earlier, Apetit has created the popular fresh water fish products, to which Baltic Sea Fish Fingers are a logical next step. Baltic Sea Fish Fingers are a sustainable food choice, and we hope that it increases the amount of domestic local fish on Finnish dinner tables”, Apetit’s Corporate Communications and Sustainability Director Sanna Väisänen sums up.

* Survey: Consumer Compass Oy, commissioned by Pro Fish Association in September 2019, N = 1066.

Apetit’s Algae calculator concretizes the positive effect of choosing local fish - the fish fingers eaten on Baltic Sea Day remove over 62,000 kilos of algae worth of phosphorus from the Baltic Sea

One of the reasons for the Baltic Seas poor condition is the high amount of nutrients in the water. These nutrients accelerate eutrophication, which manifest e.g. in algae growth. Roughly, a gram of phosphorus in the sea water grows a one kilo of algae.

With Baltic herring fishing, nutrients, including phosphorus, are removed from the water. By removing these nutrients, we can decrease the number of algae created in the future. Every gram of nutrients and algae removed supports the healing of the Baltic Sea by decreasing eutrophication. The Baltic Sea Fish Fingers eaten on Baltic Sea Day remove over 62,000 kilos of algae worth of phosphorus from the Baltic Sea.

Apetit’s Algae calculator, available in Finnish on apetit.fi, is an easy way of concretizing the significance of everyday fish choices have on our domestic water systems. Algae calculator gives a referential guideline on the effect of local fish consumption on the phosphorus and algae load of water systems.

Input the amount of Apetit local fish products you use and see how much phosphorus and algae those products remove from the water systems. Different species of fish contain varying amounts of phosphorus. Read more: apetit.fi/levalaskuri.

For further information, please contact:

Sanna Väisänen, Director, Corporate Communications and Sustainability, tel. +358 10 402 4041

Apetit is a food industry company firmly rooted in Finnish primary production. Our operations are based on a unique and sustainable value chain: we create well-being with vegetables by offering tasty food solutions that make daily life easier. We also produce high-quality vegetable oils and rapeseed expellers for feeding stuff, and trade grain on the international markets. Apetit Plc's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. In 2020, Apetit Group's net sales were EUR 293 million.