Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea del 2/6/2023 - Comunicaciones e Informaciones
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Source: Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea - Comunicaciones e Informaciones
C 194/42
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
2.6.2023
The Suonenjoki Strawberry Carnival, which has been held in honour of the strawberry in Suonenjoki since 1970, takes place on the second weekend of July. It is one of Finlands longest-running summer events. Originally a strawberry harvest celebration, it has now grown into an event with some twenty thousand visitors. The carnival is traditionally launched with a carnival procession, featuring representatives of entrepreneurs and organisations from the region.
Every year the carnival chooses a Strawberry Girl, who participates in the PR work for the town and companies during their year as the title-holder. A Strawberry Host and/or Strawberry Hostess for the year is also elected every year at the event. The Strawberry Host or Hostess is a person who is closely associated with strawberry growing and who has promoted the Suonenjoen mansikka. The carnival also has other strawberry-related programmes such as a strawberry eating competition and a strawberry cake decoration competition.
A book on the Suonenjoen mansikka Mansikalla maineeseen Strawberry Stardom was published to mark the strawberrys 100th anniversary celebrations in 2016. The frozen-berry producer Pakkasmarja Oy has also produced a video about the local strawberry cultivation entitled Suonenjoen punainen timantti, i.e. Suonenjokis red diamond.
The crop, which originated from a few strawberry seedlings, has evolved over decades, and nowadays strawberry fields form an integral part of the areas landscape. Suonenjoki and its surrounding municipalities Sis-Savo are home to the northernmost concentration of strawberry cultivation in the world. Suonenjoki is also home to the Marjaosaa miskeskus centre for berry expertise and projects to promote the know-how of berry growers in the Suonenjoki region in strawberry cultivation. The farmers in the region have also had their own Suonenjoki Region Berry Farmers Association Suonenjoen seudun marjanviljelijin yhdistys ry SSMY since 1966. Strawberries are also mentioned in the Suonenjoki municipal strategy for 2018 to 2025. The towns vision is to be a strawberry town known for its bold development.
The long, light summer nights and the hilly, permeable, moraine ground typical of the area create good growing conditions for strawberry cultivation and give the strawberries their characteristic aroma and sweetness. The Suonenjoen mansikka is grown in the open or in a defined growing medium in the open, in polytunnels or in greenhouses. The Sis-Savo region produces about one fifth of the entire Finnish strawberry harvest every year. This is due to the large number of farms and the above-average yield in the area.
The years of experience have led to the cultivation of sweet, aromatic and palatable species. However, several different varieties of strawberry are grown under the name Suonenjoen mansikka. The name is area-specific rather than variety-specific. Nowadays Polka, Rumba and Sonata are the most cultivated varieties and main crops in the region.
There are also many other varieties cultivated from early to late, so the harvest period in the open usually lasts from June to September. Over the years, the farmers strawberry growing expertise has been significant in producing a high-quality product.
Reference to publication of the specification https www.ruokavirasto.fi/globalassets/yritykset/elintarvikeala/valmistus/elintarvikkeista-annettavat-tiedot/eun-nimisuoja jarjestelma/suonenjoen-mansikka-hakemus-final-021221.pdf?visitorgroupsByID=undefined
