Training for Traditional Food Producers
Focus on the Polish Hub
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| Dr. Catherine Halbert, Dr. Andrzej Fetliński and representatives from the Polish Hub Sub-Network. |
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In preparation for an intensive round of training activities in the autumn and during 2015, Dr Catherine Halbert visited Poland in June to meet the Polish Hub Advisor Dr. Andrzej Fetliński, Hub trainers and Hub members.
SMEs and representatives from the National Association of Food Industry Engineers, Agriculture Advisory Centre for the Podlasie region and the Polish Organisation of Commerce and Distribution attended the meeting. An overview of the Polish food industry was provided, with interesting statistics; 70% of the market is controlled by chains (retail multiples) with 350,000 stores and 500,000 food companies. There is a respect for traditional foods nationally and the traditional sector is competitive, with increased exports and strategies for competing at retail level.
Discussions addressed SME training needs and the support opportunities within TRADEIT. There was a clear motivation to engage, both for the training and to connect with other regional traditional food producers. It is the first time the companies have had an opportunity to engage with an EU-funded project targeted directly at their sector, and they welcomed the opportunity.
A number of aspects of traditional food production were discussed, including the challenges associated with enforcement of EU or national regulations, the demands of running a small family business, networks as enablers of change and progress upgrading; regional supply chains and logistics for market expansion. The younger generations of these family based traditional food enterprises, with more diverse language and business skills were identified as the key to the sustainability and growth of the companies.
The TRADEIT project will run training events covering 9 topics key to the competitiveness of traditional food producers.
Module No. | Module Title | 1 | Food safety and quality management for the small-scale traditional food sector | 2 | Competitiveness, cost models and pricing strategies for the traditional food sector | 3 | Food labeling and marketing for geographical indications and traditional specialties | 4 | Supply chain management and distribution networks for small scale food producers | 5 | Environmental management and performance of traditional foods* | 6 | Consumer-led product development strategies for traditional foods | 7 | Optimised facility design and production protocols in traditional food manufacture | 8 | Smart use of IT in traditional food production systems | 9 | Innovation, IPR and related legal issues for the traditional food sector |
The Polish Hub will deliver Modules 1, 2. 4 & 7, the training will be applied and focused upon the provision of key tools and practical recommendations to the food producers. The events will blend training content with key insights, for example veterinary inspectors will explain the regulatory requirements and inspection of a traditional cheese plant, representative from a retail multiples will explain the food safety and quality requirements for listing or issuing contracts, supply chain management optimisation when dealing with the retail multiples will also be addressed (register here).
| Module No | Module Title | Poland Dates | | 1 | Food safety and quality management for the small-scale traditional food sector | 4th September 2014 | | | | | 2 | Competitiveness, cost models and pricing strategies for the traditional food sector | 5th March 2015 | | | | | 3 | Supply chain management and distribution networks for small scale food producers | 29th October 2014 | | | | | 4 | Consumer-led product development strategies for traditional foods | 9th September 2015 |
Each of the other 8 TRADEIT Hubs will also deliver a selection of training events, starting from September 2014, all are detailed here on the TRADEIT website.
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