Traditional Finnish squeaky cheese hits tastebuds overseas
MEKThe Finnish cheese manufacturer Lapland Foods has started negotiations on the possibility of manufacturing the traditional Finnish squeaky cheese, Leipäjuusto, in China. The manufacturing capacity of the already existing Chinese factory would exceed the current squeaky cheese production in entire Finland.
Lapland Foods has already signed a preliminary contract with the Chinese cheese manufacturer Lvdu Dairy Fushu. The contract unites the two cheese producers with the aim of producing millions of kilograms of Finnish squeaky cheese for the Chinese markets.
- China is certainly far, but there is a demand for a product such as this. The Chinese people have learnt to drink milk and eat yoghurt, so I believe that the next step will be taken towards slightly stronger cheeses, notes the CEO of Lapland Foods, Veikko Jukkola in an interview of the business daily Kauppalehti.
Veikkola believes that the milk scandal a year ago has made the company's entry on the Chinese markets easier. Because many operators have left the market there is now space for new cheese products. The Chinese dairy industry suffered a big blow in September last year, when information of the use of toxic melamin in local dairy products leaked into the media.
Lapland Foods has a production unit in Latvia. The construction of another, bigger cheese factory in Poland will be finalized later on in the year. The company's next step is to start selling Finnish squeaky cheese in large-scale retail chain stores in Germany.
Finnish squeaky cheese is a fresh cheese traditionally made from the milk of a recently calved cow. Also reindeer and goat milk have been used. The commercially available squeaky cheese is made from regular milk. The cheese originates from Ostrobothnia, Northern Finland and Kainuu. The squeaky cheese has a mild flavour and its name comes from the way the fresh cheese squeaks against the teeth when chewed.
