Honey queen wants more controls on illegal foods
Co-owner and CEO Helle Reinevald, Jakobsens A/S wants more controls on food fraud in Denmark and the EU. That is why Scandinavia’s biggest honey producer is now a member of the Central Board of the Confederation of Danish Industry.
Helle Reinevald, Jakobsens A/S has just joined the Central Board (CB) of the Confederation of Danish Industry. DIBusiness has spoken to her about the background for running for the CB - and about key issues and Denmark as a place to produce for SMEs.
Why did you run for the CB?
“Denmark has lots of SMEs, we just aren’t always so strongly represented. As the owner-manager of one, I can offer insights from a reality that is that is a bit different from that at major global companies with many specialist departments. For example, I personally am in close daily contact with everyone from clients to quality assurance authorities.”
What are your key issues?
“How we can protect and defend our high Danish quality and standards - and the cost of having them - when we are under enormous pressure from competitors who are not subject to these and can sell products at far lower prices. I myself see it clearly in the food industry, but I also hear about it from colleagues in other industries. There is a whole lot of fraud going on. We are very quality-minded in Denmark, but as a producer at the high end of the scale it is very difficult to bring in money when exporting outside of Denmark.”
Is it too expensive to produce in Denmark?
“I’m glad to produce in Denmark. It’s a good fit with my company, where we’re on top of things and earn money with good conscience. But I have a difficult time accepting why it should be so hard for a thoroughly tested and quality-assured product like ours to succeed in the rest of the world.”
How can DI help?
“I’m a brand new member of DI’s Central Board, so I’m humble and need to learn how things work. But I believe that with its 11,000 member companies, DI can put quality assurance and exports on the political agenda. In my opinion, it shouldn’t be media scandals that drive change, but solid legwork and conversations with politicians, so that all us companies with high-quality products can go beyond catchy slogans and toasts to high Danish quality and instead gain more influence at EU level, for example.”
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