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Tag: food

  • Bran as a food supplement

    Bran as a food supplement

     

    Used to its full potential, bran can help cure conditions such as obesity, diabetes, or cancer, thanks to the synergistic effect of fibres and of antioxidants, which are bioactive compounds. This is the topic of research conducted for her Ph.D. thesis by Lavinia Mureșan, a lecturer at the Department of Food Science and Technology with USAMV Cluj-Napoca.

     

    Lavinia Mureșan teaches food chemistry and special biotechnologies. She is a member of a research team of the Food Science and Technology Department with the Institute of Life Sciences (USAMV Cluj). The team is headed by Prof. Dan Vodnar, Ph. D., and received the “Gheorghe Ionescu-Șișești” award for biotechnology at the 2024 Romanian Research Gala, for the innovative nature of the research, at national and international level.

     

    Lavinia Mureșan: “My Ph.D. work concerns food biotechnologies, particularly thermal treatment and fermentation on solid substrate in order to increase the bioavailability of various phenolic compounds from grain by-products. This was basically the topic with which I started out as a Ph.D. student, and it proved to be quite versatile in terms of continuity, taking into account the research project that preceded this research topic and which is called “In situ fortification of grain products with vitamin B12 using fermentations on solid substrate”.

     

    But what does this mean for non-specialists—for us? What is wheat or oat bran?

     

    Lavinia Mureșan: “These grain by-products strictly mean wheat and oat bran. These were the ones we researched. They practically include the entire spectrum of vitamins and minerals found in the wheat grain, namely phenolic compounds. The inside of the wheat grain is basically used only as a source of starch. Other than that, the minerals, vitamins, phenolic compounds are found in this outer shell that is actually this rather thick, brittle layer, the bran. Of course this entails difficulties from a technological point of view. That is why it is removed when grains are processed into flour. But actually there is this entire spectrum of microelements and bioactive compounds there. Phenolic compounds, in addition to being recognized in the last 5 years as an important source of food for microorganisms, a source of prebiotics, have extraordinary antioxidant activity in the human body. The problem, and what we proved in the doctoral thesis, is their low availability. When we ingest this bran, we are unable to truly enjoy the antioxidant effect of these phenolic compounds. Why? Because they are biochemically bound in a complex matrix, in a complex fibre. And the solution that we found was to use various microorganisms that are safe for consumption, such as yeasts used in various industries, such as the baking industry or the brewing industry. These microorganisms are able to produce enzymes that can cut these bonds and release those phenolic compounds before this bran is ingested, so that when we eat they can go directly into the intestine, and into the bloodstream.”

    Although the research is successful, the product is not yet available on the market. Lavinia Mureșan explains:

     

    Lavinia Mureșan: “The focus, as far as bran is concerned, was on fibres. Bran is an extraordinary source of fibres. That is right. And the structure of grain, with the entire amount of fibre located in the bran, enables it to provide these effects in various pathologies, but it is a synergistic effect. It is not just about these antioxidant compounds, as much as it is about the synergy between antioxidant compounds and fibres. And all the studies on the effects on health, especially in the field of medicine, have proven these effects against cancer, against obesity, diabetes and many more that have been proven and we have written a review on this topic.”

     

    The next step is for this bran fermentation process to be taken up on an industrial scale, so that consumers may benefit from everything bran has to offer. And this could also be the beginning of its use as a food supplement. (AMP)

  • Lower prices for basic food stuffs

    Lower prices for basic food stuffs


    Romania is one of the European countries which has this
    year put a cap on some basic food stuffs. An emergency ordinance came into
    effect on August 1st to enforce a temporary measure of fighting
    price hikes in some farm and food products. The ordinance, which is valid for
    three months, is focusing on capping prices in several food products such as
    bread, milk, meat, vegetables, fruit with a view to boosting the population’s
    purchasing power.


    The discount, which had been previously discussed with
    processors, distributors and traders, was initially envisaged for 14 products.
    According to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
    Development, a survey on prices in supermarkets shows that significant price
    cuts are registered in several products such as, bread, edible oil, potatoes,
    cheese, maize, flour and sugar


    Agriculture minister Florin Barbu has recently said the ordinance on capping the
    trade markup will be extended. Barbu added that funding is presently available
    for projects both in the field of processing and the producers’ energy
    independence.


    Food and farm products
    in Romania have a VAT of 9%. Producers aren’t going to lose because the VAT on
    production expenses is higher, as there is going to be compensation the
    minister went on to say.


    The Ministry’s project
    points out to the government’s summer decision, which had a positive impact,
    explaining why an expansion is needed in the upcoming cold season, with higher household
    expenses and consumption during the winter holidays.


    According to Prime
    Minister Ciolacu, the cap on food prices contributed to bringing inflation
    under 9% last month. The new ordinance should be endorsed by the end of this
    month when the former provisions are going to expire.


    Seven food categories
    should be added on the list of those with a provisionally capped trade markup.


    With the expanded period
    of three months by the end of January 2024, of the 14 capped prices, other food
    products will be added such as pound cake, tomato sauce, some types of light
    sour cream, margarine and yeast. According to the authorities, the decision to
    add more subsidized products to the list has been made jointly with processors
    and retailers. Failure to comply with the provisions of the aforementioned
    ordinance is considered offence and punishable with fines between 100 thousand
    to 2 million RON.


    (bill)

  • Tourist assets in Buzau county

    Tourist assets in Buzau county

    Buzau County is renowned because of its
    tourist assets, but mostly because of its wine cellars. Slow Food Travel offers
    a new model of tourism, made of encounters with farmers, cheese makers,
    shepherds, bakers and vine growers who, jointly with the cooks who cook their
    produce, will be the narrators of their local areas and sole guides for the
    local traditions. Our guide for today’s journey is Thorsten Kirschner, a founding
    member of Buzau Slow Food Community, the realm of legends and savors. Thorsten
    arrived in Romania 13 years ago. He spent two years in Bucharest, then he
    retired to Buzau. There he bought a mansion and founded an association
    promoting traditional craft produce.

    Thorsten Kirschner:

    Slow food is a global
    movement that has been gaining ground in more than 160 countries, providing
    access to healthy food. It is an alternative to fast-food, created in Italy in
    the 1980s. As we speak, it is very active in Transylvania, in Brasov, Sibiu, Cluj, and Buzău. We’re more like an NGO, bringing
    together farmers, food producers, agro-tourism guesthouses, restaurants and
    lovers of healthy and sustainable food. The idea we have come up with what that
    of creating a platform for the promotion of craft products, of the quality food
    in Buzau County. To give you an example of that, we have a honey producer with
    an innovative technology. He mixes fresh fruit into the honey and creates a new
    produce you can have for breakfast. Tourists
    can also find the produce in the souvenir shop and can thus go back home with
    something new. Furthermore, we also have craft beer. We have a young entrepreneur
    who started up with mead. It is a honey-based beverage, with a low percentage of
    alcohol.


    The Buzau Land Geopark has
    been a UNESCO site since 2022. It comprises 18 communes, with 40,000 inhabitants
    and lots of tourist assets, one-of-a-kind around the world. As for the visit to
    the tourist assets, that can be combined with gastronomic experiences, says the
    founding member of Slow Food Community Buzău, Thorsten
    Kirschner.


    For instance, the tourist
    arrives in the commune of Berca and finds himself in front of the tourist info
    center. There he can find out what he can visit in the Buzau land. He can go to the Muddy Volcanoes or to the cave
    settlements in Bozioru and after that, the tourist can have a stopover at a guesthouse,
    a restaurant or a local producer where he can have a tasting of this and that. We
    for instance, offer cheese tasting as well. We make goat cheese made of raw
    milk, which best goes with a Dealu mare sort of wine, for tasting. It is a network,
    basically. We do not promote our products alone. Also, in the area we have growers
    of bio wine. You can go to them, you can visit their cellars, you can see for
    yourself how the wine is made and then a tasting follows, of three wine sorts. Another
    event we stage in Buzău is the truffle hunting. We go into the forest with
    specially trained dogs, we look for truffles, and, on our way back, we have an
    all-truffle tasting menu.


    Slow Food Buzău targets
    anxious and responsible travellers who are eager to know for real the Buzau
    area’s local cuisine culture, without overlooking food sustainability and
    biodiversity. For instance, after one such trip, you can get to know the Babik
    and its story. It is a spicy salami, presented as one of the best salamis according
    to the TasteAtlas, and being 15th-placed according
    to a world ranking. You can also find the
    babik on a traditional produce map, created by Thorsten
    Kirschner.


    You can access our platform at slowfoodbuzau.com, in Romanian and
    English. There you can get all the info on local producers, restaurants and tourist
    guesthouses, in Romanian and English. You can find all the info you need about
    local producers, about restaurants and tourist guesthouses that are part of our
    network. We also have a visiting hours schedule. Our work on the platform is
    still in progress and we hope that, until the nest season, in 2024, we can have
    a much more generous offer.


    An event in the area has come to an end, recently.
    It was a celebration of good food, being also an excellent opportunity to socialize,
    for the participants. Also presented as part of the event were the most recent
    rural and adventure tourism offers.

    Thorsten Kirschner:

    We staged the third edition
    of the events titled the Craftsmen’s Market. It is an innovative concept, by
    means of which we get the consumer come closer to the farmers and the local
    food producers in the Buzau Land UNESCO Geopark
    It is Romania’s first such project by means of which the small local producers
    and tourism services providers collaborate, in a bid to create such a fair. For
    example, all the stands were made from recycled material. We call all the
    producers, urging them to collect woos and we worked on the stands. In two days
    alone, we had more than 2,000 visitors from all over Romania. It is a mix of a
    craft and farm produce, street-food, live cooking
    show, a craftsmen fair and creative and educational workshops for children. The
    feedback-ul we had was a very good one. It is a festival-fair, staged with the
    purpose of socialization. Foreign tourists came as well. 90% of them were surprised and said they did not know
    what they would come across in Buzau. They only heard about the Muddy Volcanoes
    but they did not know anything about Geopark, about the culinary offer. So
    promotion has not been efficient enough, just as yet. We, through the slow-food,
    provided some sort of marketing through collaboration, with no budget whatsoever.
    We did everything through the socializing platforms. Those who participated
    shared their experience and that is how we managed to have 300,000 views a
    week.


    You may not have reached the craftsmen’s annual event, yet socializing
    opportunities do exist. The founding member of Buzau Slow Food Community Buzău,
    Thorsten Kirschner, says that, if you schedule a visit
    to the UNESCO Buzau Land Geopark, you can have the chance to find the legends
    of the people, of the culinary recipes, but also those of the numerous tourist
    assets in the region.


    Apart from the Muddy Volcanoes we’re all
    too familiar with, we have cave settlements, a salt mountain, the Amber Museum,
    we have old monasteries. Then there is also an offer for active tourism, such
    as rafting or cycling with electric bikes. Also, we have two interesting areas.
    In Dealu Mare there are interesting wine cellars and there also is this slow
    food network, comprising producers of craft beer of honey. You can have a taste
    of the produce and you can take them home.


    One of the targets the Slow
    Food movement has set for itself is that of preventing cultures and traditions
    from disappearing. Furthermore, opting for that kind of tourism also means we can
    enhance the interest in the food we eat, in its origin and in the way our food
    choice impacts the world around us.

  • June 22, 2023 UPDATE

    June 22, 2023 UPDATE

    TALKS Prices in the main food products in Romania could go down in
    the following period, the country’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has announced
    after the Executive talks on Thursday. Ciolacu says he has received answers
    from the main supermarket chains on the scheme to cutting down on the markup in
    the main food prices. The list includes staples such as bread, dairy, meat,
    eggs, flour, hominy, oil, vegetables and fruits. The Romanian government will
    continue to hold talks with the producers and suppliers of food products on the
    aforementioned scheme of curbing the markup. The Romanian ministers have also
    tackled another support scheme for the local producers of building materials so
    that they may produce good materials at competitive prices, which would result
    in lower imports. Roughly 70% of the materials used at present are imported and
    Bucharest wants to curb these imports. The support scheme’s budget this year
    could stay around 150 million euros, but the decision is with the Finance
    Ministry.






    VISIT Economic cooperation and handling the crises caused
    by Russia’s war in Ukraine were the main topics on the agenda of the talks held
    in Chişinău on Wednesday by the PM of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, and of Moldova,
    Dorin Recean. The latter thanked Bucharest for the support given to Moldova in
    its EU accession efforts, and mentioned that bilateral relations are
    consolidated through the construction of roads, bridges and energy networks.
    During his visit to Chișinău, Marcel Ciolacu was accompanied by the Senate
    speaker Nicolae Ciucă.






    GAS The
    manager of OMV Petrom, Christina Verchere, Thursday said that in 2027 the first
    amounts of natural gas would be extracted through the Neptun Deep project,
    turning Romania into the largest natural gas producer in the EU. The statements
    were made at the government’s headquarters in Bucharest, where OMV Petrom and
    Romgaz made an announcement concerning the development of Neptun Deep, the
    largest natural gas project in the Romanian part of the Black Sea. Spanning 2
    decades, the project is expected to generate a gas output 30 times higher than
    the annual demand, which covers 4.3 million households. The estimated revenues
    to the Romanian state will be around 20 billion Euros. Neptun Deep is a major
    step for our 2030 strategy, aimed at supporting Romania’s and the region’s
    energy transition, the OMV Petrom executive added.




    INVESTMENT
    The European Investment Bank Thursday announced new funding for Romania. The
    total 675 million euros will go into transport, urban development and small
    enterprises. 600 million euros will be earmarked for the transport sector, to
    add to the EU recovery and resilience funding. The EIB Group and Romania mark
    30 years of partnership, with over 17 billion euros granted by the bank in more
    than 170 financing projects since the start of its operations in the country.
    Given the progress of Romania’s economy over the past 30 years, I am proud that
    the EIB Group was able to help, providing financing for better schools,
    hospitals, public infrastructure, universities and transport, and supporting
    climate action and small enterprises, said the EIB vice-president, Lilyana
    Pavlova, in an event in Bucharest. In turn, Marjut Falkstedt, chief executive
    of the European Investment Fund, emphasised that so far the EIF provided
    financial support to more than 56,000 Romanian enterprises.


    (bill&AMP)

  • Customs duty waiver for Ukraine

    Customs duty waiver for Ukraine


    In order to support Ukraines economy, severely hit by the Russian invasion, the EU trade ministers Thursday approved the Commissions proposal to extend by another year the trade facilities granted for Ukraines exports. All import duties are therefore lifted until June next year.



    By renewing the measure, the EU continues to prove its unwavering political and economic support for Ukraine, Brussels explained, and added that this form of support, concurrently with the military, financial and humanitarian aid, is vital for the countrys long-term recovery. The EC said the further lifting of safeguard measures will help mitigate the difficult situation facing the Ukrainian producers and exporters following the Russian invasion.



    The measures apply to fruits and vegetables subjected to the entry price system, as well as agricultural products and processed products subject to tariff quotas. And because certain effects of this decision have a dramatic impact on several economic sectors in Member States, the package also includes measures to protect these sectors.



    The EU leaders call for solidarity from the European society, and argue that while EU countries are paying to help war-hit Kyiv in money, Ukrainians are paying for this conflict caused by Moscow both financially, and in human lives.



    The suspension of import duties triggered complaints from farmer associations in 5 EU member states, including Romania, on grounds of the unfair competition with the exports of grains from these countries, which are subject to duties and restrictions. The discontent culminated with the decision made by Poland and Hungary last month to ban certain grain imports from Ukraine.



    Moreover, early this week, several hundred farmers from EU countries neighbouring Ukraine, Romania included, protested in Brussels, demanding measures to avoid the bankruptcy of thousands of European farmers. Romanian farmers, for instance, argued that traders and producers in the agrifood sector prefer the grains imported from Ukraine to the ones produced locally, due to the lower prices. In this context, the European Commission approved an additional EUR 100 mln in aid for the farmers in the 5 most affected countries-Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia.Romania is set to receive nearly EUR 30 mln of the total amount. (AMP)


  • Romanian tastes on Canadian vloggs

    Romanian tastes on Canadian vloggs

    Pakistan, Jakarta (Indonesia), Brazil, are just
    some of the places visited and featured on the vloggs created by two Canadian
    youths calling themselves the JetLag Warriors. They visited Romania as well,
    and produced a series of 90 videos recommending several unusual traditional
    recipes, as well as outstanding areas, including buildings of great historical
    value in our country.


    JetLagWarriors, the Canadian couple made up of Steve
    and Ivana, have travelled for several years, especially during the Canadian
    winter, so that got the taste of traveling and decided to spend their life on
    the road indefinitely. They post information on low-budget travel, Airbnbs,
    street food and many others. In the series devoted to Romania, the tripe sour
    soup is not necessarily a surprise, but the clip recommending palinca or plum
    brandy with black pepper as a sickness cure is a lot more exciting. It is in
    Romania that the Canadians seem to have discovered this universal remedy, which
    cures everything from a hangover to a sore throat.




    We talked about this tradition of old folk
    remedies in Romania and elsewhere with Chef Relu Liciu, and we found out that
    hangover remedies are very different:




    Relu Liciu: These remedies vary from one
    region to another and, around the world, from one country to the other. When I went
    to Germany I found out they used bananas, given the lack of potassium in your
    body during a hangover. Usually, in 90% of the cases, people get a hangover
    because they mix drinks.




    And still, can ţuica or palinca be used as sickness
    cure?




    Relu Liciu: Some use it as an appetiser, to
    drink before the meal, while others regard is as a digestive, to be had after a
    meal. A lot of nations, including Italy or Austria, use spirits as a digestive.
    But go to Transylvania, and you’ll never get ham and palinca at the end of a
    meal, this is what you start with. And it does have to do with the stomach. I remember
    I went to Serbia many years ago and I saw a bottle in a drugstore, the label
    read Stomakia, and it was a local brandy with leaves of wormwood in it.




    Our guest also told us why some of the
    best-known Romanian sour soups, especially the giblets and the tripe soup, are seen
    as hangover cures:




    Relu Liciu: Just before a hangover, you get
    dehydrated and you desperately need liquids. But after that you get really
    hungry, and you can’t have anything solid. A tripe soup serves both purposes,
    and it’s a meal in itself, you don’t really need a second course after that.
    But if you ask me, the giblets soup is THE hangover cure. I first heard about
    it when I was 7, it was served at weddings after the party or the next day, you
    couldn’t have a wedding without giblets soup!




    As for the tripe soup, Steve and Ivana, who
    have learned to cook it as well, not only to eat it, call it life! The vloggers
    across the Ocean were so delighted with what they found in Romania, that they
    celebrated their return home with a plate of mici. Other culinary
    recommendations they make include the pálinka / pălinca, various vegetable
    spreads, the Cluj-style cabbage which they compared to sweet lasagna, and
    various traditional desserts. But Romanian food, they say, is so good and
    filling that you don’t really need a dessert.




    Chef Relu Liciu tells us more about what we
    should eat or drink after having local drinks:




    Relu Liciu: Many people use coffee, many
    others use pickles, yet others eat sweets or use carbonated drinks. People
    planning to drink usually do a little preparation first, in the sense that they
    have a fatty meal or drink some olive oil, to make sure the stomach is lined
    and the alcohol doesn’t go straight into the blood stream.




    The Romanians who saw the video in which Steve drinks
    a shot of ţuică with black pepper seem to have enjoyed it, while some found it
    funny and said the brandy should have been hot and the pepper shouldn’t have
    been ground. But beyond the jokes and criticism, the fact is that a growing
    number of Romanian recipes are getting viewed and appreciated around the world.
    (AMP)

  • Food restrictions, but not junk food

    Food restrictions, but not junk food

    Lent
    has begun, in Romania. Lent is a period of time of special importance, when
    the soul and the body prepare for the feast of Our Lord’s Resurrection. Everybody
    is familiar with food restrictions, but today we shall tackle a relatively
    recent issue – the unprecedented invasion of the poor-quality fasting food. We’re
    speaking about the vegan junk food, as nutritionists call it. Junk food dishes have
    a delicious taste, yet very few of us question the ingredients of such food, with a potential which is as dangerous as the other type of junk food we’re so familiar
    with, the ordinary fast-food. We fast, we have no problem with that, but let us have a closer look at how noxious a ready-made vegan burger can be, which we stir-fry for five
    minutes before we eat it. For that, we sat down and spoke to Claudia Buneci, a Functional
    Health Coach.

    Claudia explained what fasting junk-food is, and why we’d rather
    avoid it.


    The major flaw of the fasting junk-food is that, in
    effect, we do not stand to gain if we fast on that specific sort of food. This vegan junk-food, as I call it,
    is made of some food supplies having preservatives, they have all sorts of
    dubious ingredients, so those are not ingredients as we understand them, they also
    have colouring agents that are in no way healthy, also, they are a source of trans
    fats, the most noxious fats for the cardiovascular system, and for our health
    in general. Sometimes they have sugar content or very much salt, precisely because
    salt or sugar cover they basic taste. So, practically, what these processed
    products bring is a lot more inflammation, a lot more strain for our body to
    digest them, rather than nutrients, rather than food for our cells.


    Nobody
    says we need to be too hard on ourselves, in a bid to to comply with culinary restrictions at all costs from this moment
    on and until Easter. Nutrition experts value the idea of having a simple meal, which
    can be at once nourishing and tasty. Fasting food, or vegan food, if you will,
    is simply yummy and also a gift we make to our body. After all, mens sana in
    corpore sano,     a healthy mind in a healthy body, as they say. Here is Claudia Buneci once
    again, this time explaining how our food needs to be thought out so we don’t
    starve ourselves and we don’t deprive ourselves of the most relevant nutrients.


    Healthy fasting food is also tasty. I want our listeners to bear that in
    mind, the fact that we do not have to put ourselves through so much strain and
    also, it is important to bear in mind it is plentiful. I should like to emphasize
    the fact that each fasting meal should have a source of vegetal protein and at
    this point, let me give you some examples: newt, lentils, peas, beans and even
    mushrooms, buckwheat, chia. It is important that our meal should be thought out
    around a source of vegetal proteins so we can have energy, feed our muscles at
    this time of the year, lest we starve ourselves and have appetite for eating every
    ninety minutes. It is important for our
    meal to be thought out around this healthy vegetal protein. I’m not saying soy
    is not a healthy vegetal protein, yet I should most recommend fermented soy,
    then secondly, the non-fermented bio soy, while third-placed comes the non-MGO
    soy, the traditional soy, if you will, but we need to make sure it was not
    genetically modified, it is a form of protein I should not like to recommend it
    processed, but as close to its natural state as possible soy beans you should
    boil, then there is the all too familiar tofu. Then, of course, I recommend we
    eat lots of vegetable. It is not by happenstance that fasting periods occur when
    they are set, throughout the year, in the peak period for us to purify our organisms,
    when we should support our liver, where very many fresh leaves are available, very
    many vegetables, so, if we want to make the most of fasting, at all levels, the
    spirit included, a purified body is needed. I recommend we eat lots of
    vegetables and fruit, but we should lay emphasis on quinoa. We want to enjoy
    our fasting in every respect and we want it to be a period of thoroughgoing
    purification of our body. Also, we have the pseudo cereals at our fingertips,
    which are extremely valuable, nutrition-wise and which also provide a protein, millet,
    quinoa, buckwheat. They have a protein, but they also have a complex, quality
    carbohydrate: oat is very precious, but we want it in its integral version, and
    not some flakes we eat with a lot of sugar.


    Apart
    from all that, a handful of nuts, every now and then, provides healthy fats to
    our body, rapidly inducing the sensation of satiability.

    Functional Health Coach Claudia Buneci:


    We should also have nuts,
    seeds, yet we should not make them our staple food, we must have them in small
    percentages, they need to be quality stuff. And if it were possible to crack
    those nuts the very moment we intend to eat them, that would be perfect. I should
    like to mention the pumpkin, the chia, the sesame seeds or the linseed, with
    the latter three being ground or poached, when we have them, so we can digest
    them. We need to have variety and colour on our plates and we should not forget
    the fasting meals must be thought out as plentiful meals. We’re in dire need of
    protein, of the carbohydrates I’ve mentioned earlier, provided by the pseudo
    cereals and the vegetables, such as the potato and the sweet potato, for
    instance, then we also need the fats we take from nuts, from seeds, but also from
    the quality olive oil, from avocado and linseed oil. We need complex meals with
    all their macronutrients and with as many micronutrients as possible. (EN)



  • May 11, 2022

    May 11, 2022

    INFLATION The year-on-year inflation rate in Romania went up to
    13.76% in April this year, as against 10.15% in March, according to data made
    public today by the National Statistics Institute. Non-food prices rose by
    16.35%, foodstuff prices by 13.54%, and services are 7.11% more expensive.
    Yesterday, in order to curb the inflation rise, the central bank announced a
    new increase in the key interest rate, which will trigger a rise in consumer
    and inter-bank loan interests. The National Bank of Romania expects the
    inflation rate to surge this summer more than previously forecast, and says the
    rate is not likely to return to under 10% until the second half of next year.


    VISIT The Speaker of the Senate of Romania, Florin Cîţu, is on an
    official visit to Poland today, at the invitation of his counterpart, Tomasz
    Grodzki. The main topics on the agenda are opportunities to consolidate
    bilateral relations between the 2 countries, the war in Ukraine and the
    economic fallout of the Russian aggression. Florin Citu announced that after
    his visit to Poland he will travel to the Republic of Moldova.


    DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister
    Bogdan Aurescu takes part today in a ministerial meeting of     the Global
    Coalition against Daesh, held in Marrakesh, Morocco. According to the ministry,
    the meeting will be co-chaired by the USA and Morocco, with over 75
    representatives of the member states and international organisations expected
    to attend. Most member states are NATO and EU members, partner states in the
    Western Balkans, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, as well as the EU, NATO, and
    INTERPOL. The main topics will include the security
    situation in Iraq and Syria, as well as terrorism-related developments in
    Africa and Afghanistan.     Bogdan
    Aurescu will highlight Romania’s contribution as a Coalition member, including
    its participation since 2016 both in the Coalition Forces (as part of Operation
    Inherent Resolve and of the NATO mission in Iraq), and in the stabilisation and
    reconstruction efforts in the countries affected by ISIS activities.


    GOVERNMENT A draft emergency order to prevent
    speculation is being discussed today by the government of Romania. The decision
    comes after fuel, sunflower oil or masks and disinfectant prices skyrocketed
    overnight, in the context of the war in Ukraine or before that, during the
    pandemic. Speculation was criminalised before in Romania, shortly after WWII
    and after the fall of the communist regime in 1990.


    NATURAL
    GAS A bill to amend
    the Offshore Act, which will green light the development of natural gas
    reserves in the Black Sea, is discussed as of today by the Senate of Romania.
    According to the ruling coalition, which has tabled the bill, this is a much
    more balanced text than the one drafted 4 years ago. Tax facilities have been
    introduced for the companies interested in taking part in the development
    project, and in a few years’ time Romania’s reliance on Russian gas is expected
    to become significantly lower. The energy minister Virgil Popescu emphasised
    that by amending the current legislation onshore investments will also be
    encouraged, supply security will be ensured in case of an energy crisis and
    Romania may become a provider of regional energy security. Under the bill, the
    Romanian government will have pre-emptive rights in purchasing the natural gas.
    Romania’s biggest public natural gas producer, Romgaz, and the Austrian
    company OMV will extract the natural gas in the Black Sea in the coming years.

    COVID-19 The 4th COVID-19 vaccine dose will be available on
    request in Romania, in vaccination centres and family physician practices, as
    of May 16. According to the health ministry, only Pfiser vaccines can be
    administered, to people over 18 who have received 3 doses of mRNA vaccines, and
    at least 4 months after they have received the 3rd dose. Meanwhile, the
    health ministry announced 705 new COVID-19 cases and 7 related deaths in 24
    hours. 144 COVID patients are currently in intensive care.

    UKRAINE The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky
    commented on the situation in Kharkiv, emphasising that the Ukrainian forces
    are repelling the invaders and freeing the region. Clashes continue on the
    Serpent Island as well, 45 km from Romania, with Russia trying to strengthen
    its vulnerable garrison on the island. Meanwhile, Ukraine has shut off the
    transit of Russian gas to Western Europe in Lugansk region, and says the
    occupation of its eastern part by Russian forces makes it impossible to control
    the flows. Over 32 million cubic metres of natural gas are halted, accounting
    for around one-third of Russia’s daily exports transiting Ukraine. In the US,
    the House of Representatives approved an additional 40 billion US dollars in
    aid for Ukraine. The act is to be rushed through the Senate and signed by
    president Joe Biden. The funds will be used for military support and humanitarian
    assistance for the civilians affected by the Russian invasion. (AMP)

  • March 13, 2022

    March 13, 2022

    VISIT The Romanian foreign
    minister Bogdan Aurescu is having talks in Bucharest today with his Israeli counterpart
    Yair Lapid, focusing on the management of the effects of the Russian military
    aggression in Russia. According to a news release issued by the foreign
    ministry, Mr. Yair Lapid’s visit to Romania takes place at the invitation of
    the Romanian minister, prompted by the deepening crisis in Ukraine and in the
    context of the excellent cooperation with the Romanian authorities in the
    evacuation of Israeli citizens from Ukraine. Israel is one of Romania’s main
    partners in the Middle East, and strategic bilateral relations have developed
    steadily over the past few years. According to the foreign ministry, talks will
    also touch on the development of bilateral relations between the 2 countries,
    with a focus on the political, economic and security areas. The 2 officials
    will also assess preparations for the 3rd Romania-Israel joint government
    meeting (G2G) scheduled to take place this year. During his visit to Romania,
    the Israeli foreign minister will also have talks with PM Nicolae Ciucǎ.


    UKRAINE The Romanian transport ministry launched an app for the Ukrainian
    refugees. The app includes information in Ukrainian, English and Romanian on
    the green transport corridors in Romania, covering areas like the road, railway
    and air network, customs offices, train stations, petrol stations and airports. Ukrainian
    refugees may travel free of charge in Romania, based on a government resolution
    in this respect. Moreover, the emergency number 112 and the special children
    emergency number, 119, are available for calls in Ukrainian as well. Additional
    measures were taken in border checkpoints to prevent human trafficking. As of
    Friday, another online platform has also been available, centralising
    assistance offers for displaced Ukrainians. On Saturday, several cities in
    Romania saw various solidarity actions with Ukraine. In Bucharest, the National
    Arena hosted a charity concert for refugees, with over 35 Romanian and foreign
    artists taking part, which raised some EUR 800,000. Solidarity events were also
    organised in Constanţa, Iaşi, Cluj-Napoca, Piatra Neamţ and Roman. Around 400,000
    Ukrainian nationals have entered Romania since the start of the Russian
    invasion. Many of them have already left for western Europe.


    FOODSTUFF The agriculture minister Adrian Chesnoiu has a meeting today with
    representatives of retail chains and Romanian sunflower oil producers, to
    assess stocks and reserves. The meeting comes amid substantial amounts of
    sunflower oil were purchased in recent days for fear that shops would run out
    of this product. Speculations on the topic are fuelled by the fact that
    war-affected Ukraine is the world’s biggest sunflower seed exporter. Romanian
    authorities promised that Romania has sufficient foodstuff stocks, including
    sunflower oil. They also recommend that people refrain from buying more than
    they need, so that everybody may have access to basic food stuffs. Just days
    before, for fear of skyrocketing fuel prices, unprecedented queuing was
    reported in petrol stations. The previous weekend, foreign currency was heavily
    purchased in Romania, amid rumours that the national currency would plummet. Romanian
    authorities warned once again that such fake news is designed to create panic
    among people.


    CENSUS Beginning on March 14, for 4 months, data will be collected for a
    population and household census in Romania. The operation is conducted every 10
    years and is necessary for the production of official national and European
    statistics. The census was originally scheduled to take place last year, but
    was postponed over the COVID-19 pandemic. This year brings a novelty, in that
    self-census options are available. Self-census is done online, based on a
    simple procedure, according to the authorities. Citizens are to fill in an
    online pre-registration form at www.recensamantromania.ro, followed by the
    questionnaires for each member of the household. Those who do not want or
    cannot fill in those forms will be assisted by census operators in door-to-door
    visits. (A.M.P.)

  • February 7, 2022 UPDATE

    February 7, 2022 UPDATE

    COVID-19
    Bucharest extended the COVID-19 related state of alert in the country for
    another 30 days, beginning on Monday, February 7. Face covering remains compulsory
    both indoors and outdoors. In places with infection rates below 3 per
    thousand, cinema and theatre
    halls as well as restaurants may operate at 50% of their capacity, with the
    ceiling going down to 30% in places with infection rates above this level. An
    emergency order also extends the deadline for filling in the digital forms for
    entering the country, from 24 to 72 hours. Nearly 17,000 new
    Covid cases were reported in Romania on Monday, along with 81 related
    fatalities. In the capital Bucharest the incidence rate continues to rise,
    reaching 32.75 per thousand on Monday. The vaccination rate is close to 42% in
    urban communities and around 30% in the countryside. Only 8 million adults are
    fully vaccinated so far.


    RESIGNATION The president of USR party in opposition, Dacian Cioloş, Monday
    announced his resignation. The decision came after the party’s National Bureau
    convened on Monday rejected Cioloş’s plans to change the structure and
    operation of the party, with 14 votes against and 11 in favour. Dacian Cioloş, who
    had been elected to office in October, when the right-of-centre USR and PLUS
    parties had merged, warned his colleagues that he would step down unless his
    restructuring plan was implemented. USR vice-president Cătălin Drulă will take
    over as interim party president.


    DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu said there was no danger of
    Romania being drawn into a military conflict with the Russian Federation.
    Romanian citizens need not worry that we will be dragged into a war close to
    our country, he said in an interview on a private television channel. There
    is at the moment a very powerful security umbrella, which provides all possible
    guarantees for the security and stability of Romania and its citizens, and this
    umbrella is the NATO membership, adding to which is the very strong strategic
    partnership with the US, minister Aurescu mentioned. If Russia attacks
    Ukraine, he added, responses will come both from NATO, which will consolidate
    its eastern flank, and from the EU, which will introduce a substantial set of
    economic and individual sanctions targeting the political decision-makers in
    Russia. In turn, the head of the Information and Public Relations Directorate
    with the Defence Ministry, brigadier general Constantin Spînu, said that the crisis in Ukraine is not a security
    situation that directly concerns Romania or any other NATO member state. Romanians and all other nations in the Euro-Atlantic
    space should not feel directly threatened, gen. Spînu said.


    AGRICULTURE Romania’s agriculture minister Adrian Chesnoiu rules out a
    possible food crisis in Romania and a food rationing scenario. He says the
    authorities are looking for solutions to support both citizens and farmers.
    Chesnoiu also says that authorities are considering the options of introducing
    ceilings on food prices or of stabilising and balancing prices.

    WASTE
    The number of border checkpoints where waste can be brought to Romania for
    recycling will be reduced to 15, and all shipments will have to be entered in
    an electronic register as soon as possible, the environment minister Tánczos
    Barna announced on Monday. The authorities want to make sure that waste is not
    misplaced or discarded in unauthorised places. Last year alone, more than 500
    offences related to waste imports were identified, and over 15,000 tonnes of
    mixed waste were prevented from entering the country, the interior minister Lucian
    Bode said in his turn.


    OLYMPICS Natalia Ushkina, Romania’s representative in
    the biathlon contest has ended the competition on the 57th place in the
    individual 15 km race at the winter Olympics in Beijing. In
    the giant slalom event, Maria Ioana Constantin also from Romania, has come out
    45th, while another Romanian, Raluca
    Strămăturaru, is ranking 30th after the first 2 legs of the luge event. At the current
    edition of the winter Olympic Games, Romania is being represented by 21
    athletes. (A.M.P., D.B.)

  • Romanians and their food habits

    Romanians and their food habits


    Food waste is one of the most worrying aftermaths of
    today’s consumerism, and Romania is not spared that scourge either. Food waste
    has become really troublesome so much so that in 2016 a bill was passed to
    fight food waste. Unfortunately, the implementation standards of the law are
    yet to be completed. Big quantities of food are being thrown in the litter bin
    by the Romanians, according to recent estimates. Such quantities are large
    enough to load more than 120,000 trucks each year. Food costs account for 40%
    of Romanians’ incomes, but unfortunately, 35 to 40% of the food ends in the
    litter bin. Clearer and more recent pieces of information have recently been
    made public thanks to a sociological survey carried in the summer and autumn of
    2020 by Cluj-Napoca’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary
    medicine, as part of an international project financed by the Francophone
    University Agency. The research focused on three countries, Romania, Republic
    of Moldova and Northern Macedonia. The results were not that much different
    from one country to the next, of the three aforementioned states. For instance,
    taking food habits into account, the vast majority of the respondents stated
    they more often than not made a shopping list, which speaks about prudence and
    precaution. Also, around 90% of respondents said they usually cooked at home,
    which, at least in theory, meant a lower degree of degradation for the food,
    since it was cooked as fresh as possible. However, the study carried by the
    university in Cluj only confirms earlier estimates on food waste in Romania. Cristina Pocol is the coordinator of the research team:

    Irrespective of their country of
    origin, respondents said they throw food away. 83% of Romanian respondents said
    that. A similar answer was provided by 78.8% of the respondents from Republic
    of Moldova, as well as by 67.2% respondents in Northern Macedonia. There are
    quite a few habits related to food waste. We wanted to find our whether
    respondents checked the expiry date of a certain food produce. Most of them
    said they never failed to do that each time they took their consumer’s
    decision. Then most of the respondents are very particular about the way they
    store their food, where and how they do that. And are somehow interested in
    avoiding food waste. Practically, it was very interesting for us to find out
    that, when asked how interested they were in avoiding the waste of food, for
    their most part they said they were very interested, and that it was a topic
    they really cared about. But that comes in stark contrast with their behavior.
    Okay, they are interested in the topic of food waste, but they throw food away.
    These two things just don’t add up. They do no know how to curb waste, they do
    not have the required methods to do that, meaning that for them, education to
    that end is in short supply. Let me just say that once again, most of them
    throw food away. Most of them are interested in the topic of food waste.
    However, we notice such a contradiction did exist. And the explanation I found
    for that was that they try, and have that in mind, but they do not put that
    into practice. They do not put that into practice for several reasons: they may
    have tried and failed in their efforts, and when it comes to that, we also need
    to see the reason why they failed.


    Also, according to the respondents of the survey,
    those who waste most of the food are the restaurants and the individual
    consumers, while economic operators come in third, especially the supermarkets
    where people mainly make their purchase. Cristina Pocol:


    We had a question related to the
    buying habits. We still noticed a behavior pattern which practically comes a s
    no surprise for us. For their most part, people do their shopping from the
    supermarket and the hypermarket. Very few people for the time being, opt for
    the small traders, for the short supply circuits. Most of them resort to the
    hypermarkets, and then they go to the marketplace. Very few of them use the
    short circuits or value the producer’s direct relationship with the consumer,
    which is very important in various respects. Actually, the retail gives you the
    opportunity to consume fresh and genuine products, Romanian products. So I
    believe there’s a lot more work to do when it comes to that, meaning we also
    need to carry education campaigns to that end. Nonetheless, it would be better
    to raise the consumers’ awareness on the importance of buying local.


    The sanitary crisis triggered by the COVID-19 virus
    did not change the buying habits in Romanian and Republic of Moldova. About two
    thirds of the respondents stated they could buy the same quantity of food with
    the same money. However, a change does exist, which occurred during the
    pandemic, but it was not the one we expected. Cristina Pocol:


    The crisis triggered by the
    COVID-19 virus prompted more than 10% of the respondents to throw more food
    away. I expected a totally different result. In my mind, the following
    mechanism was working: I thought that, since we had the lockdown, we were more
    careful about what we eat, how we eat and how we plan our shopping. That is why
    started off from the assumption whereby such a thing would have food waste
    reduction as a result. The outcome of the study has revealed otherwise. 10% of
    the respondents say they throw more during the pandemic. I tried to find
    explanations to that. Much larger stocks may have been made. That could be the
    main explanation. We all know what happened at the beginning of the sanitary
    crisis, when people went wild buying boxes of food, they bought food in very
    large quantities for fear they would be deprived of food supplies. That could
    be an explanation. That food could not be consumed straight away and in a
    relatively short period of time. So, part of it was disposed of. I believe the
    clear explanation for all that is the fact that, eventually, too much storage
    of food lead to waste.


    Meanwhile, some of the economic operators and civic
    associations stage awareness-raising campaigns for a within-bounds consumption
    rate and for the fated consequences food waste has on the economy as well as on
    the environment. InfoCons is an NGO that has staged such a campaign targeting
    the economic costs of food waste. Sorin
    Mierlea is the president of InfoCons. He believes that, if emphasis is laid on
    economic loss, the message for fighting food waste is easier to reach the
    public. Sorin Mierlea:


    First off, when we speak about food
    waste it is not the problematics we discuss, but we also need to consider the
    money we pay each time we buy food products that end in the litter bin
    afterwards. That kind of cost means hours of work while those hours of work
    eventually mean the life of every one of us. In another move, I believe that
    each and every one of us, in our capacity as consumers, need to have all the
    data and the info lest we have no choice other than saying we did not know
    anything about it. Therefore, InfoCons, jointly with other entities in other
    countries, since this it’s a cross-border project, has set out to raise the
    public opinion’s but also the public authorities’ awareness on the impact food waste may have.


    Held in schools, during the homeroom classes, also using digital resources, the InfoCons campaign offers the required tools so that the prospective consumers may be correctly informed on food waste.

    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)







  • The new restrictions are necessary

    The new restrictions are necessary

    The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis Tuesday night spoke publicly in favour of the new SarsCov2 containment measures imposed by the government. After an assessment meeting held with the PM, cabinet members and healthcare experts, the head of state gave a press conference presenting arguments and explanations for the new restrictions.



    These include compulsory face covering in all outdoor and indoor areas across the country, the switch to online classes, shops closing at 9pm at the latest, and a night curfew—with some exceptions.



    Europe as a whole is facing a dramatic moment, Klaus Iohannis emphasised:



    Klaus Iohannis: “The virus is obviously spreading at a fast rate, a lot more quickly than this spring. European countries which over the summer had low infection rates are now on the verge of a major healthcare crisis. Until we have an efficient vaccine, there is no other solution but to introduce strict containment measures. This is the only effective strategy and it is used by all the countries where the infection rate is surging. In its turn, Romania is in a very complicated situation, and the restrictions that came into force have one purpose only: to protect the people and reduce the huge pressure on the healthcare system. It is imperative that we avoid having hospitals overwhelmed, and that we give a chance to medical care to all patients, both COVID-19 patients or people suffering from other diseases.



    Iohannis also touched on the controversial topic of the closing of indoor food markets, which he said is an adequate and temporary measure. He accused the Social Democrats in opposition of politicizing the issue, after they endorsed in Parliament, where they have a majority, a bill allowing these forms of trade to continue.



    The Liberals in power described the Social Democrats bill as populist, but several MPs in opposition argued that food markets should have the same status as other indoor shopping facilities. In order to take effect, the bill must be signed into law by president Iohannis.



    At the same press conference, Iohannis reiterated that Romania, as an EU member state, will benefit from a fair number of anti-COVID vaccine doses, when these become available, and that an immunisation strategy is already in place. He also explained that storage and distribution options for various types of vaccine have been analysed, and the institutions in charge with this have been identified.



    In a first stage, the vaccine will be given to healthcare personnel and the citizens at the highest risk of developing severe forms of the disease. The fight against this pandemic is also a solidarity test, which we must pass, Klaus Iohannis concluded. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • Romanians’ leisure moments and their favourite activities

    Romanians’ leisure moments and their favourite activities


    The
    Covid-19 pandemic has reshaped society dramatically. The lockdown, officially
    imposed worldwide, has ascribed our existence to a new paradigm. We became
    closer to one another thanks to the Internet, which literally melt away
    distances of any kind. As for governments worldwide, they globalized the
    protection mask. The downside of it all is isolation, but also the feeling of
    alienation. The good side, though, is the leisure time we have gained so far. We
    have discovered we are free to travel to work from our living rooms and
    therefore we can save no less than three hours a day. But that didn’t happen to
    all of us. According to a sociological survey, a mere 3 out of 10 Romanians
    believe they had more time on their hands than before the outbreak of the
    pandemic, while 4 out of 10 Romanians feel the need to sleep more. We will use
    the aforementioned survey to look at how such a crisis, which has been very
    serious so far, can influence the quality of our sleep. Apparently, the
    lockdown was long enough for us to sleep more, but that is not true. For most
    of us, quite a few problems we had been unaware of have resurfaced during the
    Covid-19 pandemic, at once generating atavistic behavior.




    The
    psychologist Daniela Ionescu:




    Man’s
    greatest fear is the fear of the unknown, and the pandemic has a great many
    unknown points. Information is scarce, often contradictory and menacing, the
    feeling of self-security has been seriously affected, fear and guilt crop up,
    as well as the fight-or-run behavioral patterns. A sneeze automatically
    triggers the question what if ..? in the mind of the person who sneezed, but also
    in the minds of those who happened to be around him. Our brains cannot stand
    uncertainty. The brain supplies the information itself, in the absence of real
    information, even distorting the objective reality, so that a coherent scenario
    can be created mb means of which it may take action in order to regain control.
    That is why, in circumstances pertaining to life’s natural progress, we’re
    often faced with misconstrued, exaggerated, abnormal reactions, since such
    circumstances are viewed in a context which is perceived as being dangerous.






    Now,
    consider such a tendency against the backdrop of the lockdown we had been going
    through this past spring. The outcome? The isolation and the measures imposed
    by the social distancing have tremendous repercussions on the human being,
    while a poor quality of sleep is the first symptom that something goes wrong.

    Sociologist
    Gelu Duminica.






    Sleep
    deprivation occurs in a multitude of contexts, according to specialists. Under
    pressure, in times of crisis, the human body reacts in many ways. It is highly
    likely that in a context of crisis, the tension you feel in your body may
    result in the fact that you cannot sleep any more. If your brain and your body
    did not have enough rest, that may also trigger a certain amount of over-tension
    in your body. It is like a vicious cycle: the tension is the cause of sleep
    deprivation, while sleep deprivation causes the tension. This period of Covid
    crisis has generated tension. Especially during its first part. Tension was
    also enhanced by all the messages we have been exposed to, in society, death is
    closer than you think, something could happen to you and to your nearest and
    dearest, also, tension was enhanced by the lockdown. And that, because lockdown
    was something we had not been familiar with, which wreaked havoc in our lives.
    And then man’s behavior, according to sociologists, greatly depends on
    background and circumstances. The circumstance we experienced was something we
    had not been used to. And then, logically speaking, the amount of tension ran
    high, also resulting in sleep deprivation.


    The
    lockdown was not much of a protection for us, since to all that, the social
    animal the human being is has reacted through depression and anxiety, which
    weaken the immunity system.




    Psychologist
    Daniela Ionescu:




    We’re
    genetically programmed to live in communities. We build our psychological
    balance in, and we progress through interaction, so social distancing is out of
    the question. The stronger you are connected to the others, physically,
    socially and psychologically, the better your physical and psychological
    condition is. Isolation can only engender chronic fatigue. You can experience
    panic attacks, sadness, helplessness, suicidal ideas may occur more often than
    not, overdrinking and drug-taking may also occur. Physical distancing does not
    provide much psychological balance either. We need to get close to somebody, we
    need the physical touch. For us, these are sources of confidence and security.
    It is the first language we learn as soon as we’ve come into this world. The
    most direct and the most complete language, which cannot be replaced by any
    other type of verbal or written communication. Fast and minutely, the touch
    conveys a much wider range of feelings and emotions than, for instance, our
    facial expression or our gestures. Any kind of distancing causes a greater
    amount of aggressiveness, of infliction or self-infliction. It triggers
    abnormal types of behavior, it causes depression, while a weakened immunity
    system is its aftermath, among other things. Or rather, distancing is meant to
    help us better understand the measure of human relationships, it will help us
    praise the presence of the other to a greater extent, their touches, their
    embraces, it will help us develop empathy, compassion, selflessness,
    self-awareness and the awareness of the world around us.




    In the sociological survey, 53 % of respondents admitted that going
    out, to a restaurant, a bar or beer garden are the activities they most missed
    during the lockdown. 42 % of them mentioned going to a concert or to the cinema
    were they activities they have missed. By way of comparison, a mere15%
    responded that doing their hobbies is what they missed most.




    Daniela
    Ionescu:




    Man
    is a social animal. One of its fundamental needs is the sense of belonging, and
    achieving something like that means relating to someone. Self-esteem and
    self-confidence are being built through interaction-based experiences.
    Likewise, compassion, empathy, selflessness, socializing, all that also has its
    crucial contribution to our cognitive and affective development, but also to
    the creation od the mechanisms by means of which we adapt to the world and to
    life, they help us manage stress and anxiety. Social isolation may cause
    illnesses but also our losing the sense of reality. It even causes death,
    sometimes. On the other hand, the exaggerated need to socialize may often
    conceal psychological problems the individual can only contain provided they
    focus on the interaction with the others. Socializing in the presence and
    through food, like the one you have in a restaurant, is based on the memory of
    having received affection, comfort, education, way back when you were
    breastfed. Food is a language through which we convey our intensions, our
    emotions, our ability of relating to the others. Eating in the company of
    others is a type of energy exchange, an act of togetherness, of intimacy. Food
    provides physical nourishing for us; similarly, relationships feed us
    emotionally, and satisfaction is complete when we have both types of food.

  • INDAGRA Agricultural Fair

    INDAGRA Agricultural Fair

    The largest agricultural and food event in Romania, the INDAGRA fair, is open until Sunday in Bucharest. According to the organizers, some 65,000 visitors are expected at the fair. Hundreds of companies from 25 countries have come with thousands of products and dozens of events. Among the items on display at the fair are agricultural machinery and equipment, traditional foodstuffs, bio products, seeds, fruit trees and flowers. Also, visitors are given the opportunity to taste food and wines.



    The Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has visited the fair and has stated that the authentic traditional products must be helped become known at international level. She has also stated that concrete solutions must be found to support Romanian producers.



    Also attending the opening of INDAGRA, the Agriculture Minister Petre Daea spoke about the good results obtained by Romanian farmers this year: “The Government, by means of its agricultural policies and budget allocations, has paved the way for farmers to succeed, both in terms of production and earnings. Although it has been a moody year, with many events hampering agricultural operations, the results obtained are however satisfactory. Until now we have managed to render operational an irrigation system that covers a total area of 1.2 million hectares, ensuring free water for farmers. Also, we have managed to protect some 850,000 hectares by building 60 anti-hail launch points, which have protected vineyards and have helped obtaining a grape production of 1.27 million tons, which is a record figure.”



    15 years after the disappearance of domestic production, this year’s edition of INDAGRA presents the first agricultural tractor based on a 100% Romanian concept. 80% of the parts used in the manufacturing of the tractor are made in Romania, and the starting price is 34,500 Euros. The serial production of the tractor is due to start in April, 2019, in Reghin, central Romania. According to estimates, some 200 units are to be manufactured and sold in the first year alone.



    At INDAGRA, the animal husbandry stands are also displaying some of the latest and best performing equipment and installations in the field. For the first time, there are no animal stalls present, as all animal fairs have been banned because of the African swine fever outbreak. So far, some 1,060 outbreaks have been confirmed across Romania, and some 356,000 animals have been culled.

  • How healthy is the food we buy in Romania?

    How healthy is the food we buy in Romania?

    Surveys reveal that in recent years Romanians have become
    increasingly careful about the food they eat. They check the labels on food
    packages and are often ready to pay more for healthier food. People are aware
    that a growing number of producers add all sorts of unhealthy substances to
    their foodstuffs so that their products should sell better. So what and how we
    eat is a hot topic in Romania today.




    Despite food experts warning people to be careful about
    the food they buy and despite the many checks conducted by the authorities, the
    problems are far from being solved. One third of the checks carried out by the
    consumer protection body at produce markets and shops are the result of the complaints
    made by consumers. More than 7,000 such complaints were registered last year
    alone. Here’s what this young woman from Bucharest told us:




    Unfortunately,
    I don’t think the food we buy is quite okay. The content is not the same with
    what you read on the label, you often read one thing on the label, and find
    something else inside. Many food additives are also used and I read that they
    are dangerous for our health and create dependency. Fruit is imported and
    almost tasteless, and no longer tastes like the fruit we used to eat when we
    were children. As for meat, it depends where you buy it. In most cases, it is
    full of spices to conceal the colour of old meat. If you buy a whole chicken,
    you will sometimes notice that its bones break very easily because of the way
    they reared, through intensive farming, not to mention that they contain lots
    of hormones.




    Another
    person we interviewed on the street said she would rather buy her food straight
    from farmers if she had this option:




    I
    have my doubts sometimes. I’m more interested into organic food and countryside
    products but if that’s not available I don’t have a choice, I have to buy it
    from the shops. Cheese, for example, contains all kind of powder. I think most
    of the products we buy are genetically modified. But I have no choice, do I?




    A
    survey conducted by Gfk Romania has revealed that seven out of ten Romanians
    believe a healthy lifestyle means eating fruit and vegetables. Unprocessed food
    is also associated with healthy living. Indeed, more and more Romanians are
    drawn to a vegetarian diet. However, modern food industry has been going
    through a series of changes, says the president of the Consumer Protection
    Association Costel Stanciu:




    Counterfeiting
    in the Romanian food industry appeared in the 1990s, more precisely after 1998,
    when the food production standards that had been in place until then became
    optional. As they were no longer required to comply with certain industry
    standards, food producers created their own standards. There were some who
    continued to use healthy recipes, but their products did not sell very well and
    either went bankrupt or they, too, started counterfeiting the food.




    Wholemeal
    bread is the most counterfeited product in Romania. Instead of ground wheat, it
    contains banned colouring agents. A recent survey conducted by the Consumer
    Protection Association has revealed that 6% of the amount of sliced bread sold
    in Romania is not prepared according to the traditional recipe. With 97 kg per
    person, Romanians are the largest consumers of bread in Europe. Costel Stanciu
    tells us more:




    Counterfeiters
    replace wheat flour with flour of lower quality, such as bean flower and soy
    flour, and add lots of unsuitable additives. In the sample of bread we checked
    we found traces of cysteine, thickening agents and preservatives. We also found
    palm oil and margarine that have nothing to do with the traditional bread
    recipe.




    The
    Agriculture Ministry has admitted that half of the domestic bread production is
    not subject to taxation so bread quality and safety cannot be controlled. Apart
    from a product’s expiry date, Romanians mostly check the list of food additives
    on the label of food packages, but in the end their decision to buy a product
    is based on its price rather than its quality. The president of the Trade
    Unions Federation in the Food Industry Dragos Frumosu, tells us more:




    There
    are the big companies whose products comply with all quality, health and safety
    standards, but there are also producers that do not respect the recipes
    entirely and are more interested in making a profit. What we, consumers, can do
    is not to buy the products that do not comply with the stated recipes and
    product quality standards. Some processed meat producers told me they are
    sometimes asked to make products that shouldn’t exceed a certain cost. Keeping
    the costs down means producers will not be able to respect a certain recipe and
    that they have to put more fat and less meat in the product. This product will
    be less healthy. What I find increasingly worrying is seeing products’
    shelf-life is becoming longer and longer. This is possible because of the use
    of food additives, which, up to a certain amount, are not harmful to people’s
    health. We must be aware, however, that we find these additives not only in
    processed meat, but also in bread and sweets.




    Given that for
    75% of Romanians price is the only criterion used when buy food and that fast
    food is the number one choice for many of the people with low and medium
    incomes, it’s no surprise that a quarter of Romania’s adult population and 10%
    of its children suffer from obesity.