The Local Sweden

Why it's Sweden's best year for bilberries in decades – but no one's around to pick them

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 18:00:29 +0200

Walk through any given pine forest in Sweden these days and you'll stumble across an endless expense of bilberry shrubs.

Swedish recipe: quick and healthy redcurrant smoothie

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 11:54:52 +0200

Food writer John Duxbury shares his recipe for redcurrant smoothie with The Local.

Ica removes 'hep A risk' frozen strawberries

Wed, 03 Jul 2013 19:05:00 +0200

Swedish supermarket chain Ica announced on Wednesday that it was removing all frozen strawberries from its shelves, due to the risk of them being a source for the spread of the hepatitis A virus.

Frozen raspberries could spread vomiting bug

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:16:00 +0200

Imported frozen raspberries should be boiled before eaten according to new advice from Sweden's National Food Agency, which warns that the berries may carry the novo virus that is more known for causing winter vomiting disease.

Swedish frozen-berry hepatitis outbreak widens

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:26:00 +0200

Health authorities say as many as 12 additional cases of hepatitis discovered in Sweden can likely be traced back to the same virus strain that epidemiologists have linked to frozen berries first discovered in Denmark.

Hepatitis outbreak blamed on frozen berries

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:39:00 +0200

Swedish authorities announced on Thursday that frozen berries may have been the cause of over 20 Hepatitis A infections in Sweden since December.

Wanted berry trader arrested in Thailand

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 15:18:00 +0100

Ari Hallikainen, the Swede who left 149 Thai berry pickers stranded after emptying his firm Lomsjö Bär of cash and fleeing the country, has been arrested in Thailand.

EU rules leave migrant pickers out in the cold

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:41:00 +0200

Over the last decade migrant workers scouring the woods of central Sweden for berries have become a common sight. However, after reports of poor conditions and violence, contributor Jacob Sommer heads to a campsite in eastern Sweden to find out more.

Berry picker groups clash in Gävle street brawl

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 10:13:00 +0200

Two groups of berry pickers were involved in violence in central Gävle in northern Sweden over the weekend as tensions reached boiling point following the poor berry harvest.

Stranded pickers to be bussed home: official

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 09:48:00 +0200

Bulgaria has agreed to bring home hundreds of its nationals stranded in Sweden by false promises of jobs as seasonal berry-pickers, the city of Stockholm said Wednesday.

Bulgarian berry pickers heading home

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 13:08:00 +0200

Most of the Bulgarian berry pickers stranded outside the country's embassy in Stockholm in recent days had returned home by Sunday morning with officials hoping that the remainder will have been helped by Monday.

Bulgarian berry pickers camp out in Stockholm

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 19:09:00 +0200

Some 200 Bulgarian berry pickers have gathered outside the Bulgarian embassy in central Stockholm after promises of work bore no fruit.

Man held for smuggling berry pickers to Sweden

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:22:00 +0200

A man was arrested and detained by police Thursday on suspicion of people-smuggling after berry pickers in eastern Sweden claimed they were tricked into coming to the country.

Berry pickers targeted in rock-throwing attack

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:30:00 +0200

Berry pickers at a makeshift camp in eastern Sweden were forced to call police on Wednesday night after unknown assailants threw rocks at them in the latest round of escalating tensions between locals and the migrant workers.

New 'blingon' berry found in Sweden

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:20:00 +0200

A new type of berry has been found in the forests of western Sweden and has been given the name "blingon" - a result of the natural union of the lingon and blueberry.

'Lazy' Romanian berry pickers in wage protest

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:02:00 +0200

A group of Romanian berry pickers staged a protest on Wednesday, arguing that have been brought to Sweden on false premises and after their employer in Värmland in western Sweden rejected their claims and accused them of being "lazy".

Berry picker plight examined by rights group

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:16:00 +0100

After several years of scandals involving guest workers imported to Sweden to pick berries in the north of the country, the Swedish human rights and corporate social responsibility watchdog Swedwatch has opened an investigation.

Farmers look to curb right of public access

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:46:00 +0100

A Swedish famers' association wants to set limits on Sweden's cherished right of free access for berry pickers, skiers and horse riders.

Berry pickers had invalid contract: Swedish union

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0200

The employment agreement covering 290 Vietnamese berry pickers who worked in Swedish fields last summer, dozens of whom still remain in Europe, should never have been approved, according to a Swedish union.

Berry pickers in new strike in northern Sweden

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:56:00 +0200

A group of Vietnamese berry pickers have left their place of employment in Baggård south of Umeå in northern Sweden in protest against their pay and working conditions and have expressed a wish to go home, local media have reported.