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Family and LifeStyle

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December 2009

Contents

Page

13 Food Product Development

13.1 Types of Food Industries
13.1.1 Types of food industries in Hong Kong 2 2

13.1.2 Examples of leading local and overseas food 6 companies in Hong Kong

13.2 Factors to be considered in research and development of food products

13.2.1 External Factors 13.2.2 Trends in the marketplace 13.2.3 Internal Factors 13.2.4 Designing and Developing Food Products 13.2.5 Stages in the production of a food product

10 10 10 15 18 29

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13 Food Product Development

13.1 Types of Food Industries
13.1.1 Types of food industries in Hong Kong
There are different types of food industries around the world and in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, the most active category in food industry is trading. Currently, some major food importers or traders in Hong Kong include Dah Chong Hong, Four Seas, Asia Pacific (HK) Ltd, EDO Trading Co., Kwan Hong Yuen Trading Co. Ltd., Yu Kee Trading Co. Ltd., Sun Shun Fuk etc. Large Hong Kong manufacturers have expanded their global network and set up offices or factories in major markets. For example, Lee Kum Kee has factories and regional offices in Chinese cities, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), and Vitasoy has factories in Shenzhen, Shanghai in China, and the United States (US) and Australia. Apart from trading, there is a considerable scale of food production in Hong Kong. Most of the production is for local consumption. Major food products from these industries include instant noodles, pasta, biscuits, pastries and cakes. Others include canning, preserving and processing of seafood, dairy products, seasoning and spirits. Following are different types of food products including (A) beverages, (B) confectionery, (C) dairy foods, (D) bakery products, (E) dessert, (F) sauce, dressing and soup, (G) processed meat and (H) nutraceuticals.

(A) Beverages
The main category of beverages includes: (i) alcoholic, e.g. liquors like brandy, whiskey etc, wine (red, white, rose), Chinese wine, and beer (ii) non-alcoholic, e.g. carbonated soft drink, fruit juice, cordial (iii) health beverages (functional drinks) Main components of beverages are water, sugar, acid, fruits, and vitamin C. For soft and functional drinks, water is the most important if not only the vehicle. Sugar usually presents at about 12%. Acids like citric and malic acids are used to adjust pH to 2.5-4. Fruit juice, concentrate or pure are the main forms of fruits in the drinks, enhanced with flavour (as emulsion or straight flavour). The role of sugar should be noted. It functions as a bulking agent which provides viscosity (for mouth feel), this is more important than the function as a sweetener in food processing. Sweetness can be perceived at 3 different ranges: (i) less than 8% (not sweet as sensed) (ii) 8-18% (proportional sweetness) (iii) over 18% (very sweet)

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As over-consumption of sugar is one of the causes of obesity which may increase the risk of diabetes mellitus and syndrome X etc., many drinks presently contain sweeteners instead. They are polyols like xylitol, sorbitol, isomalt as bulking agent (sweetness 0.4 0.5% relative to sugar), and intense artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose etc. to adjust to the right sweetness level. For carbonated drinks, the main ingredient is flavouring, which is usually dosaged at 0.1% in carbonated and sugared water. The flavours for orange and citrus drinks are emulsified citrus oil droplets, while others like coca-cola are straight flavours. Phosphoric acid is a common acidulant in cola drinks, with caramel being the colour provider. Fruit juice is not carbonated. If fruit juice level is low, it is known as fruit drink. Cordial is a concentrate, which contains also sugar syrup and / or pectin. It is to be diluted with 3-4 times water before consumption. There are many functional drinks that are made up of herbs extracts or traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Drinks are packaged in glass bottle, plastic container or tetrabrik. Pasteurization or sterilisation (ultra heat treatment (UHT) or high temperature short time (HTST)) is performed to stop bacterial growth.

(B) Confectionery
This section covers hard boiled, soft gummy, toffee and nougat, fibre candy and chewing gum. Hard boiled is formed by solidification of super-saturated sugar solution. Flavour and acids are blended into super hot sugar solution which is still plastically soft. By multi-folding while cooling, an individual candy is formed in moving moulds. There is another type called deposited candy formed by depositing dissolved syrup at 150 - 160 to stationary moulds. It is transparent and has a much better taste. Examples are herbal drops. Various soft candies are formed by gelation of various concentrated solution: starch candy from amylo-pectin starch plus xanthan; gelatin candy from gelatin (source: beef skin or bone, pork skin); rubber candy from gum acacia. Like beverages, sugar replacers are employed to make healthy candies. The one mostly used is isomalt. Xylitol, sorbitol, aspartame and sucralose are also used. Toffee is a soft gelatin candy with the addition of milk, being pulled and cut into form. Nougat is a set sugar syrup added with nuts and milk, then solidified and knife cut. Chewing gum and bubble gum are gum base which is made of rubber, plasticiser (glycerin), sugar, acid and flavour. Ingredients are blended well, cooked, stirred, sheeted and cut, or moulded instead of sheeting for sugar coating. A healthy version of it is no sugar with sweeteners.

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(C) Dairy products

Dairy industries in Hong Kong refer to milk, ice-cream and yoghurt. Soya milk is not dairy but only a dairy substitute. The composition of milk is protein (casein and whey lactoglobulin), fat, lactose and water. In the market, fresh milk is sold under silver seal; the milk is obtained from cow, pasteurised and packaged. On the other hand, gold seal milk is a reconstitution from milk protein or powder, milk, fat and water, with stabiliser added. When fresh milk is disturbed, a layer of fat that floats on the surface is butter. When the pH of the aqueous portion is lowered to 4.2, casein coagulates to become cheese. Lactose and whey protein remain in water. Whey protein can be isolated and concentrated to whey protein concentrate (WPC) which is a valuable healthy ingredient. Ice-cream is made from solvating milk solid, milk fat and sugar to form liquor, usually added with flavour, food colour, acids, fruit pieces and stabilisers. After homogenisation, the liquor is chilled and whipped at freezing temperature to form the product. The amount of air incorporated is called overrun; overrun 110 means 110 parts of air are incorporated to 100 parts of liquor. When some good bacteria (culture) is added to milk, lactose is consumed and turned to lactic acid. At its isoelectric point (pH 4.2), casein coagulates, and yoghurt is formed. In industry, extra milk powder is usually added to the product during bacterial fermentation. The culture grows in population, known as probiotics, which is healthy to our large intestine. There are spoonable sturdy yoghurt and drinkable yoghurt like Yakult. Soymilk having nutritional composition similar to milk except casein and lactose is a dairy substitute nowadays. Soya oil, soya protein and soya sugar (called stachyose) can be isolated to be used for various food processing. Soya isoflavone in soy milk is a plant female hormone, which has attracted a lot of attention because of its biological functions such as cancer prevention.

(D) Bakery
A matrix is formed by hydration of flour, which is a mixture of protein (gluten) and starch. According to the amount of protein, there are high, medium and low gluten flours. Main bakery goods are bread, cake, biscuit, cookie, etc. Chinese cakes like Ma Lai Go or Sung Go are not bakery products because the gas-raising is caused by steaming and not baking. However, there are certain parts of the mechanism which are in common. Bread is made of high gluten flour raised by yeasts. There are various types of yeasts: active, dormant and deep-frozen. The flour is wetted with water together with yeast and butter as well as sugar or egg added depending on the types of bread. They are kneaded to form a dough. By standing at room temperature, yeasts grow and produce carbon dioxide to form air cells in the gluten / starch matrix. After shaping into small pieces of dough, they are placed in oven. The baking process produces additional volume of air cells, starch being hydrated, surface is roasted to become brown and then bread is formed.

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Cake is made of low gluten flour, carbon dioxide is generated by the action of leavening agent, like soda. When heated, carbon dioxide is produced. Examples are chiffon cake with various flavours such as vanilla, chocolate, lemon, strawberry etc. Various biscuits including cookies are formed by flour with various gluten levels, added with various amount of fat and sugar levels, formed by different methods, then resulted with a variety of texture, taste and mouthfeel.

(E) Dessert
This section describes only the gel types like fruit jellies and puddings. Jellies are formed by gelling agent in water, and puddings are gelation in milk. Two types of conventional gelling agents are agar and gelatin, the former is plant hydrocolloid and latter, more popular, is animal protein. Usually 2.5-5.0% gelatin is dissolved in hot water or milk, then is cooled down to form jelly or pudding. It is not stable with some melting at room temperature. By replacing all gelatin with 1.2% carrageenan, similar texture of jelly and pudding is obtained that does not melt at room temperature and is convenient for mass retail. Nowadays, the carrageenan is further replaced by 0.6% of a mixture of kappa carrageenan and konjac glucomannan. Again, similar textured desserts such as the small jelly cup type products are extremely popular.

(F) Sauce, dressing and soup

There are many varieties of sauces, both oriental and western, like soya, oyster, chili, mustard, worchestershire, etc. They usually do not use oil or fat but have starch being used as thickener. Todays sauces contain xanthan, a hydrocolloid to replace some starch. Gravy, a western concept, is the chef sauce formed immediately after cooking meat. It is the exudate of meat during cooking, flavoured with additional salt, sugar, spices and wine, then thickened with starch or flour; for serving meat dishes. Dressing is mainly for salads containing high portion of oil. Egg-containing mayonnaise belongs to this class. Todays dressings contain some hydrocolloids to replace some oil for healthy purpose. The so called dip is a dressing designed for snacks. It is thicker than ordinary dressing so that the snack can be picked-up during dipping. Soup products are canned or pouched in liquid or powder form. Besides meaty extracts, salt and/or sugar, the meaty flavour is extended with hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP) and yeast extract. For soup powder, salt, monosodium glutamate or malto-dextrin are adsorbed (coated) or spray-dried. 5

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(G) Processed meat

Processed meat mainly includes ham, meat loaf and sausage. These foods contain high fat and cholesterol, which are unfavourable to health if consumed too much. In fact, they are very tasty, and thus, individuals are tempted for over consumption. For health benefits, many healthy versions of processed meat can be found. For example, sausages contain texturised vegetable protein (TVP) as meat replacer; small amount of soya protein concentrate (SPC) and hydrocolloids such as carrageenan and konjac are added to imitate the juiciness of meat. HVP and yeast extracts as well as other flavouring agents are added to provide the meaty flavours.

(H) Nutraceuticals
Functional foods are foods which are supplemented or re-enforced with healthpromoting ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), fibre, natural vegetable extracts, etc. Nutraceuticals are pharmaceutical forms, containing extracts or concentrates of functional health ingredients. They are neither medicine nor foods, and they usually come in the forms of capsules (hard and soft), tablets, syrup, sachet powders, etc. The production of nutraceuticals is relatively simple, but the product development involves formulation of functional ingredients, which involves extensive studies of the literature and selection of complimentary food extracts for particular health functionality.

13.1.2 Examples of leading local and overseas food companies in Hong Kong (A) Beverages
(i) Alcoholic beverages San Miguel Brewery Hong Kong Ltd. San Miguel Brewery Hong Kong Ltd. derived from San Miguel Corporation Philippine was found in 1948 and reached 400,000 litres by volume in sales in the first year. Its plant in Sham Tseng had expanded four times in the past 50 years before closing down in 1996. The company has been listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 1963. It had its first own brand beer, Mon Lei, in overseas market in 1970. In the 1990s, sales and production of San Miguel beer started to extend to the mainland China. The most popular product is San Miguel Pale Pilsen. The other Hong Kong local products are San Miguel Light, Blue Ice Beer, Lwenbru. San Miguel Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverage, IKINAMA Happoshu and HofBrau are manufactured for exporting to other countries. Several other different products are also being produced in the factories in Guangzhou and Shunde for the market of mainland China. Company website: http://www.sanmiguel.com.hk/main.html

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(ii)

Non-alcoholic beverages Vitasoy Group Traditionally, soybean drink is a nutritious, high-protein beverage. Dr. K. S. Lo tried to bring soybean drink with added milk protein into Hong Kong market in 1940. Initially, Vitasoy was delivered fresh door-to-door on bicycles. The business was interrupted by war in 1941 and the sales volume was only 1000 bottles a day during that period. Vitasoy was relaunched after the war and started to be sold through retail outlets. Sterilisation process was established to the production of Vitasoy in 1953. After this advancement, Vitasoy could be kept at room temperature without refrigerating and hence the sales volume increased so great that a new plant was set up in Kwun Tong in 1962. Tetra Brik packaging and ultra heat treatment (UHT) processing was introduced in 1975 and the quality and flavour could then be kept for months. About the same time, Vita was born on the market as a new brand and a series of fruit drinks and tea products was launched. Today, Vitasoy products can be found in over 30 overseas markets and it has big market shares in the world. Company website: http://www.vitasoy.com/en/cs_welcome.asp The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is one of the world largest beverage companies manufacturing nonalcoholic drinks. Asa Candler established the Coca-Cola Company in 1892 in Atlanta, USA. It is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola which was invented by a pharmacist called John Stith Pemberton in 1886. The company operates a franchised system where the Coca-Cola Company only produces syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world. It currently offers nearly 400 brands over 200 countries including Coke original, Coke Light, Coke Zero, Lemon Coke, Vanilla Coke, Sprite, Fanta, the Schweppes range of soft drinks, the Hi-C range of juices etc. In Hong Kong, Swire Beverages has the franchise to manufacture, market and distribute products of The Coca-Cola Company in the factory in Shatin. Company website: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com

(iii)

Health beverages (functional drinks) Recently, Healthworks, Hoi Tin Tong and Hung Fook Tong Holdings Ltd. produce a series of so called health drinks which are claimed to be produced according to traditional Chinese herbal formulation. Apart from Chinese herbal tea, they also produce other products including soup, scented tea, etc. Company website: Healthworks: http://www.health-wks.com/ Hoi Tin Tong: http://www.hungfooktong.com/aboutus.php Hung Fook Tong: http://www.hoitintong.com.hk/ch/about.php

(B) Bakery
(i) Garden Company Limited Garden Company Limited was established in 1926 by Mr. T. F. Cheung and his cousin Mr. W. O. Wong. In 1931, the central branch moved to a larger storey in Sham Shui Po. The factory ran 24 hours per day producing biscuits in the daytime 7

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and bread and cakes at night. An additional plant was constructed in Sham Tsang in 1974 for the production of buns and sandwich breads. The products of Garden Company can be divided into five categories: bread, cake, biscuits, snack and candy. The most famous household brandname product of Garden Company is Life Bread which was first introduced in 1960. It is claimed to have high nutritional value, long-lasting freshness and hygienic packaging. Company website: http://www.garden.com.hk/web/index.html (ii) Wing Wah The business of Wing Wah was started by the setting up of Wing Wah Restaurant in 1950. It then revamped to a company and set up its own manufacturing plant in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Wing Wah established outlets all over Hong Kong. It has also expanded its business internationally by selling mooncakes in United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other Southeast Asian countries. It provides over 400 products including mooncakes, dried meat, Chinese wedding cakes, wife cakes, wholesome food (e.g. Guilingao, health drinks), instant food (e.g. birds nest, Royal Soup) and assorted noodles (e.g. shrimp noodle, spinach noodle). Company website: http://www.wingwah.com/pp_big/WingWah.asp

(C) Dairy Products

(i) Nestl Nestl is an international food company with headquarters in Switzerland. It resulted from a merger in 1905 between the Farine Lacte Henri Nestl Company set up by Henri Nestl to provide infant food products and the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company for milk products. Since then Nestl has acquired a number of companies and develop many famous brands to produce various kinds of food and beverage including Coffee (Nescafe), lemon tea (Nestea), powder drink (Milo), bottled water (Perrier), oat meal (Nesvita), chocolate (Kit Kat) and milk powder (Nan; Neslac; Nespray; Klim), etc. Company Website: http://www.nestle.com Kraft Foods Inc. The company was established by James L. Kraft in 1903 with wholesale cheese business. It is headquartered in USA. It has then acquired and merged with many other companies. Nowadays, Kraft Foods is one of the largest international food and beverage companies. It has more than 180 manufacturing and processing facilities worldwide. Kraft Foods' core businesses include coffee, cheese and dairy products, biscuits, chocolate and quick meal. Some of their famous brands include Kraft Cheese, Kraft Miracle Whip, Oreo, Danone Chips Ahoy, Pacific, Ritz, Toblerone, Maxwell House etc. Over 40 of their brands are more than 100 years old. Company website: http://www.kraft.com

(ii)

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(D) Seasoning
Lee Kum Kee The founder Mr. Lee Kum Sheung started his sauce production business in Nam Shui Village in Guangdong Province, China in 1888 which is located at the South Sea coast, with a rich supply of oysters. This was advantageous for Mr. Lee to produce an oyster sauce that became very popular. After the plant in Nan Shui Village was ruined in a fire in 1902, Lee Kum Sheung moved to Macau and rebuilt his business. Lee Kum Kees headquarter was relocated to Hong Kong in 1932 and started to develop overseas Chinese market for its product. Today, production plants of Lee Kum Kee can be found in Hong Kong, Mainland China, USA and Southeast Asia. The modern production facilities of Lee Kum Kee are computerised to maintain the standard quality of its sauces. In addition to oyster sauce, there are many other sauces produced by Lee Kum Kee Company. Soy sauce, XO sauce, chili sauce, convenience sauces, cooking and dipping sauce and seasonings are some categories of its condiment products. Company website: http://www.lkk.com

(E) Dim Sum and Noodles

(i) Winner Food Products Limited The main brand of Winner Food Products Limited is Doll. The company was established in 1968. It was the subsidiary Nissin Food Products Co. Ltd. and therefore it has incorporated Japans advanced processing technology and product management methods so as to maintain a high quality of food hygiene and safety. Under the brand name Doll, it manufactures various types of food products including instant noodles with various flavours, frozen dim sum, frozen spaghetti and chilled foods (e.g. meat balls). Company website: http://www.doll.com.hk:8080/doll_jsp-bin/main_eng.jsp Amoy Food Limited At first, Amoys predecessor, Tao Fa was founded in Xiamen, Fujian Province and produced milk and soy sauce in 1908. Amoy was set up in Hong Kong in 1928. It started to produce frozen food including dim sum in 1993. In 2001, Amoy first developed a very popular instant congee called Ding Ding Congee and then continued to develop a series of Ding Ding Soup Noodle. It became a whollyowned subsidiary of the French multi-national group Danone in 1991 and was acquired by Ajinomoto, which is a multi-national organisation based in Japan, in 2006. Company website: http://www.amoy.com/main.html

(ii)

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13.2 Factors to be considered in research and development of food products

13.2.1 External Factors
The following external factors determine the type and nature of company and the products to be developed.

(A) Economic environment

Whether our society is a rich or poor one, gaps between different income groups exist. These affect consumer demands for luxury or necessity foods, convenient or sophisticated preparation for particular culinary art and taste, in the case of food products.

(B) Ecological environment

People are generally more health conscious than ever before and therefore we seek safe and healthy food. Organic food is the safer, healthier and as a result the demand for organic food is ever growing. Promotion of organic agriculture minimizes the health problems and also results in no capital investment to clean the environment. There have been concerns over the potential for harm from genetically modified (GM) foods and crops. Most national authorities consider that specific assessments are necessary to determine the safety of GM foods.

(C) Technological environment

Modern technology is now an integral part of the society today with high-end package usage increasing rapidly. Sophisticated or advanced machineries and equipment are available for food production and manufacture, e.g. non-heat sterilisation technique, nano-technology etc. Attention should be paid to basic issues like collection, segregation and reuse of synthetic packaging material and observation of regulatory requirements.

(D) Specific purpose

Some food products are not developed for commercial purpose but rather for some specific purpose like space mission, military, etc.

13.2.2 Trends in the marketplace

10 Trends in the market place determine the final outcome of research and development (R & D) so as to maximise the effect of the environment. A product model is thus generated. Following are the current trends that appear to be having a significant impact on the research and development of food products.

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(A) Emerging technology in food production, manufacturing and packaging

(i) Biotechnology like enzymatic conversion, biotechnology in genetically modifying foods. The availability of biotechnology in genetically modifying foods provides the opportunity to develop foods that help optimise health status. For example, potato tubers containing increased amounts of starch. The starch is distributed more uniformly, resulting in more efficient processing, lower fat absorption and improved texture.

(ii) Nanotechnology is an enabling technology that has the potential to revolutionise the food industry. Nanotechnology can be applied to develop nanoscale materials to controll delivery systems and contaminant detection, to create nanodevices for molecular and cellular biology. (iii) Biodegradable packaging material, usually based on renewable-resource materials such as plant starches.

(B) Ecologically sustainable production methods

Organic farming can produce food in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner and better protect our farmlands and countryside. It does not use synthetic chemical pesticides and fertilisers, relies on shifting cultivation and compost to keep the soil fertile. Organic farming promotes and enhances health of ecosystem, soil biological activity and soil fertility.

(C) Health-enhancing foods

The following products surely enjoy excellent market niches: (i) High-fibre foods have a variety of benefits to our health and therefore an adequate amount is recommended to be ingested daily. There are 2 types of fibre: insoluble and soluble. Insoluble fibre is the type of fibre that cannot be digested by our bodies, but it provides bulk to the stool to help prevent constipation. It also helps create a sense of fullness, thus it is us ed i n slimming food products. Our bodies can partially digest soluble fibre. It may help lower blood cholesterol and the risk of colorectal cancer. A functional food is a food that has been manipulated to provide additional health benefits. The health-promoting substances are commonly added to an existing food. For example, iodine is added to salt, grains are enriched with iron and B-vitamins, orange juice is fortified with calcium, or milk is enriched with extra calcium. 11

(ii)

(iii) Probiotics is a viable microbial food supplement which beneficially influences the health of the host. Lactobacillus and bifidobacterium are the most common types of microbes use as probiotics. Probiotics have been used in sour milk and dairy products. Yakult is an example for probiotics.

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(iv) Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients selectively increase the population of probiotics bacterial which are beneficial to the health of the body. Nondigestible oligosaccharides, lactulose, raffinose and xylitol are examples for prebiotics. (v) Synbiotics is the food supplements combining probiotics and prebiotics to form a synbiotic relationship.

(D) Value-added convenience foods

Value-added convenience foods are worth to be considered to be sold in Hong Kong markets, including TV dinner including frozen dishes that are popular in western world, assorted soup packs, and instant noodles with soup sachets but must carry certain innovative ideas such as new technology to preserve food quality and nutritional value.

(E) Food product marketing practices

The food producer must consider the effects of nutritional labeling on the consumers, which has been established in May 2008.

(F) Form of business of the food industry

Various forms have their own reason of survival, but the trend is advantageous to bigger business operation scale. At present, the forms of business in the local business environment have different characteristics: cottage industry, office in Hong Kong with factory in China, multi-national operation, stock market listed public company. The form of business can be generally divided into sole proprietorship, partnership or private limited company, multinational food company. (i) Sole proprietorship It is a business owned and operated by one person. One can establish a sole proprietorship business by obtaining the needed licenses and then beginning operations. This is a widespread form of business for small food companies like restaurants, small bakery stores, snack shops etc. Partnership Partnership is an association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners of a business for profit. Many food companies seek partnerships all around to build up their business and establish more different markets.

(ii)

12

(iii) Private limited company A private limited company is often set up for the purpose of conducting a small business. It is a common form of business in Hong Kong. There are about 500,000 private limited companies in Hong Kong. There are several advantages of setting up a private limited company: The liability of the shareholders for the company is limited to the amount of their respective shareholdings only. Any change of shareholders will not affect the existence of the company.

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A company may obtain finance by creating a floating charge, which means that a company can charge all its assets in accounts as security to the bank for a loan granted to the company. A company is treated as a separated person in law which is not affected by a change in shareholders. A company is said to have the characteristic of separation of ownership and management. Many large food companies are in the form of limited companies such as Lee Kum Kee Company Limited, Vitasoy International Holding Limited, Lam Soon (Hong Kong) Limited etc. These companies are also operated in a multi-national level. (iv) Multinational food company Many Hong Kong local brands have successfully entered overseas markets. The local leading brands including Garden, Doll, Vitasoy, Amoy, Lam Soon and Lee Kum Kee appoint distributors and establish overseas offices to promote overseas sales as well as to receive increased international recognition. For example, Vitasoy Group has spread far beyond Hong Kong and is now selling its products in more than 30 markets throughout the world including the US, Canada, China, Europe, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, Trinidad, Venezuela and Israel.

Figure 13.1

Percentage Sales of Vitasoy in Hong Kong and Overseas Markets between April 2006 to March 2007 VB PB
Hong Kong North America Australia & New Zealand

NMB

NSB SOB

Mainland China Others

Adapted from Annual Report of Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd. 2006-2007. Available at: http://www.vitasoy.com/

(G) Globalization of food trade

Many food companies are targeting at marketing their products to the outside world. Some large firms accomplish their marketing goal by making their products well known worldwide, like Lee Kum Kee, Nestle, Vitasoy, Kelloggs etc. Their products can be found in many countries. For example, products of Lee Kum Kee is selling in over 60 countries including the US, China, Australia, Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Vitasoy Group has spread far beyond Hong Kong and now sells its products in more than 30 markets
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throughout the world including the US, Canada, China, Europe, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, Trinidad, Venezuela and Israel. According to a survey of the top 100 global most valuable brands in 2006 (Business Week Online, http://bwnt.businessweek.com/brand/2006/), there were 12 brands related to food. These brands can be found almost all over the world. Table 13.2 summaries the rank, brand name, country and brand value. Table 13.2 The 12 brands related to food on the 100 top most valuable brands list

2006 rank 1 9 22 23 40 54 60 63 66 67 79 91

Brand name Coca-cola McDonalds Pepsi Nescafe Kelloggs Heinz KFC Nestle Pizza Hut Danone Kraft Starbucks

Country United States United States United States Switzerland United States United States United States Switzerland United States France United States United States

Value (US Million) 67,000 27,501 12,690 12,507 8,776 6,223 5,350 4,932 4,694 4,638 3,943 3,099

14

Figure 13.3 shows the increase of food and drinks exported from Hong Kong domestic food industries. Global food trade also increase tremendously in the past few years. China has opened its door to the world in the past few years. This motivates the global trading including food and beverage. The food trade between China and Hong Kong would certainly benefit from Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). CEPA is the first free trade agreement between the Mainland China and Hong Kong. All goods originated from Hong Kong importing into the Mainland can enjoy tariff-free treatment, upon applications by local manufacturers and upon the CEPA rules of origin being agreed and met. The tariff-free policy helps increase the competitiveness of Hong Kong food products in the Mainland market when compared with goods imported from other places.

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Figure 13.3

Local food and beverage export from Hong Kong during 2006-2008

HK $ million

Year (Data adapted from Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR)

In global food trade, attention must be paid to the following, including national food laws, food and nutrition labels in different countries, permission of food additives, quota of food trading amongst countries, etc. These would directly affect the production cost of the food product and the success of the food product to be sold in different countries. Expansion of global food trade in the past few years raises the problems of food safety. Codex Alimentarius Commission has established a set of international standard. Adopting Codex can eliminate the necessity of one country having to provide other countries their rationale of the necessity of a measure for protecting human health. This simplified the global trade of food. Other international standards, for example, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system and International Standard Organisation (ISO) are also needed to be incorporated in order to build up the trust internationally.

13.2.3 Internal Factors

The following internal factors may influence the research and development of food products.

(A) Personal expertise

The success of a new product development is highly dependent on the expertise of the whole team members. There are generally three major levels of team members in food production companies that exercise influence on food product development: (i) management level, (ii) technical level and (iii) sales/marketing level. Management plays the leading role, providing guidelines to all other staff by correctly judging and weighing all external, internal and marketplace diameters for achieving the right end result, i.e. develop the right food product. Technical personnel conduct research trial, monitor the development process, produce the new products and ensure the quality. Sales and Marketing personnel conduct survey to collect consumers feedback and launch the new product to full commercialisation.
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(B) Production facilities

In order to introduce a new product, the company has to consider whether its production facilities are sufficient to support the manufacturing of the product. Production facilities include machineries, electricity, water supply, storage and warehousing facilities etc. The equipment required for product development at different stages varies from benchtop research to pilot plant trial and then finally to industrial scale. The company should clearly identify all the necessary equipment needed for developing the new product before the development plan is proceeded. If the product can be produced in existing installment and facilities without much disruption of regular production, then the new product would have higher chance to be introduced. Innovative products usually require more advanced techniques, so new equipment and plant facilities has to be purchased, thus increases the capital expenditure of the company. Also, the time used for ordering and delivering the new machines and the time used for the staff to get familiar with the operation of new machines must be taken into account when planning the development progress.

(C) Financial situation

Food research and new product development is a big investment in food industries, so the financial situation of the company must be clearly evaluated before any new product development plan is proceeded. The company should consider its profit/loss position so as to assess the amount of money available for research and development. The budget and resources required for carrying the new product development activity should also be estimated. Budget is a critical factor affecting both the time used to develop the new product and the extent to which the new product is pre-market tested. Although the rewards for a successful product are great, the cost for failure is also very high. In 1989, it was estimated that US$54 million is needed to introduce a new product. For soft drinks, the cost might even be as high as US$100 million. Failure to develop a new product could be a risk to the company, so it is very important for a company to set the appropriate level of budget and estimate the level of risk they can bear based on their financial situation. Financial measures are usually the profits and return on investment, which include the time required, would it be over in one, five or ten years is the question that should be considered.

(D) Company image

Company image implies the peoples impression of the company. Company can create a specific image for itself by establishing its mission, vision and values. Company image belongs to the psychological asset of the company, which helps build brand loyalty of targeted consumers. It is the usual practice in product promotion by emphasising its image rather than the products. Certainly good image favours the potential marketing and enhances the opportunities for new product development. The company and distribution environment give its new products an image to the customers. New products often adhere to the company image, for example, if the company image perceived by the employees and the customers is about good quality, the new product will be treated as having good quality.

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McDonalds, a fast food restaurant, is trying to promote its image of joy and community care. The company often presents magic and educational shows to children in Hong Kong schools and hospitals. Many children and teenagers feel very happy to eat in McDonalds. They also become the potential market for the new products. McDonalds often produces new happy meal with different toys so as to attract children and teenagers. Besides, McDonalds is trying to develop a more healthy-eating image in recent years, so they offer more food choices with higher vegetable contents and nonfried foods such as salad and corn cup. Moreover, McCafe is opened for people who are more concerned about lifestyle and who want to enjoy a more comfortable and leisure environment. A wide variety of cakes, pastries and muffins, as well as specialty coffee and tea are offered to these customers. Lastly, the food producers consider all the above internal factors and consolidate the favorable ones. Various procedures are underway for product development. Firstly, R&D makes an ideal product based on the initial ideal model. Then, the marketing people will make comments and initiate modification of the product based on their marketplace study and observations. Finally, the management further adjusts the product, by evaluating all the favourable internal factors. The R&D people thus modify the model in various procedures accordingly. As a result, the developed food product is manufactured and a product launch is arranged.

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13.2.4 Designing and Developing Food Products

Figure13.4 shows the flow of designing and developing a new food product. The whole development process may take several months or longer.

Figure 13.4

Flow of designing and developing a new food product

Identify and select opportunities from external, internal factors and trends in marketplace for new product development so as to fill the gap of current market and satisfy customers need.

Generate ideas for filling a gap of the current market or to make improvements or modifications of an existing product.

Carry out market research to find out if the idea meets the needs of the consumers.

Carry out a feasibility study based on technical, marketing and financial criteria.

Develop prototypes based on the selected idea or concept.

Multiple trials of the product to find out if the product can be made in the factory and evaluate the product by sensory evaluation and microbiological tests.

During multiple trials, consumer tests are introduced to help in the modification of the products. A test market can be used to obtain information on the marketing methods and their effects on consumer buying behaviour.

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Launch the product including advertisement, promotional materials and activities.

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(A) Planning
Identify and select opportunities from external, internal factors and trends in marketplace for new product development so as to fill the gap of current market and satisfy customers need.

(B) Idea Generation

Idea generation, sometimes also called concept generation, is a process of creating ideas or concepts for developing new products. Ideas can be generated by studying external and internal factors as well as the trends of the marketplace discussed earlier on, in order to find out a gap in the current market or to find out ways of either improving or modifying the current products. For example, a new sugar replacement which is claimed to have no calorie and aftertaste appear on the market. Companies may consider adding this new food additive in their current products to produce a new trendy product. (i) Brainstorming Brainstorming is a useful tool for generating ideas. It is a problem solving activity by a group of people trying to find out a solution to a specific problem. During the process of brainstorming, many ideas are generated, evaluated and finally a solution will be chosen. Mind Map A mind map is a diagram used to note down words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. It is a useful tool in the process of brainstorming. The elements are arranged according to the importance of the concepts and are organised in the form of groups, branches or areas. The uniform graphic formulation of the semantic structure of information on the method of gathering knowledge, may aid the recall of existing memories.

(ii)

Figure 13.5

Simple mind map for a product of candy Use sweeteners available in food law to replace sugar Suitable, not easy to block the esophagus

Rose flavour

Chrysanthemum flavour

Flora flavour

Low sugar

Safe to eat

Different flavour

Candy

Healthy for elderly

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(C) Market Research

Market research is a process of collecting and analysing information of customers needs. It helps a company to create its business plan and to find out if the new product is marketable. Many companies employ special agencies to carry out the market research for them. There are basically two different ways to carry out market research, i.e. primary and secondary researches. (i) Primary research Primary research involves collecting primary data (firsthand information) about the preferences, buying habits, opinions, and attitudes etc. from the public by telephone, personal and group interviews, tasting and testing sessions and questionnaires etc. Secondary research Secondary research involves using existing data or information from reference books, magazines, newspapers, industry publications, government reports, trade associations, or international conferences etc. Secondary research can be done prior to primary research. For example, a company wants to develop a new healthy candy. Using information gained from secondary sources, the company can learn about the market trend, newly introduced raw materials, buying habits of customers, cost of similar products etc. Then it can collect opinions from target customers to find out if they would buy the new healthy candy at a certain cost. This can help the success of the product.

(ii)

Table 13.6 shows the comparison between primary and secondary researches. More specific information can be obtained from primary research rather than from secondary research, which is very important consideration for launching a new product or service.

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Table 13.6

Comparison between primary and secondary research

Primary research Source of information Focus groups, surveys, field tests, interviews or observation Gain information from a companys target group of customers for a particular new product Tailor-made for the companys particular needs. More accurate and specific for the target market of the company More expensive

Secondary research Local libraries, web, books, business publications, magazines and newspapers Find out market information for extending business into new markets, adding new services or product lines Second-hand information, less accurate, useful and specific, which may not suit the particular need of the company Less expensive

Purpose

Accuracy and specificity

Expense

Table 13.7 is an example of secondary research data from the Census and Statistics Department. It showed that more people of age 25-54 consumed health supplements. This group of people may be willing to pay more for their health. This may become the target group for newly developed health food products of a company.

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Table 13.7

Result of a survey concerning persons aged 15 and over who had taken health supplements during the twelve months before population census during February May 2005 by age and sex

Male Age group 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 Total No.of persons (000) 66.5 74.9 143.1 110.8 60.5 54.7 510.5 % Rate

Female No.of persons (000) 87.3 144.1 227.9 168.5 74.3 78.9 781.1 % Rate

Overall No.of persons (000) 153.8 219.0 370.9 279.3 134.8 133.7 % Rate

13.0 14.7 28.0 21.7 11.9 10.7 100.0 (39.5)

14.6 16.2 24.3 19.5 19.0 14.4 18.4

11.2 18.5 29.2 21.6 9.5 10.1 100.0 (60.5)

20.8 29.4 33.6 29.5 25.0 18.4 27.1

11.9 17.0 28.7 21.6 10.4 10.3

17.6 23.0 29.3 24.5 21.9 16.5

1291.6 100.0 22.8 (100.0)

Remarks: Percentage in parenthesis represents the overall percentage (Adapted from Thematic House Survey Report No.26, Census and Statistics Department, Government of Hong Kong SAR)

(D) Feasibility study

A feasibility study is an evaluation or analysis of the possible potentials of the proposed food product idea. A feasibility study provides information to assist decision-makers to determine whether the idea is feasible or not, or the development process has to be stopped at this stage. The feasibility study is based on an extensive research and analysis on financial and operational impact. Market research can provide much information on the probable sales, the position in the market, the target group of customers, the possible prices, promotion and market channels of the product. Technical study gives information on the production processes, probable cost including new instalment of machinery and production facilities, raw materials, packaging materials etc. and time for development and production of the product. 22 A series of questions have to be answered during a feasibility study: (i) Can the product be produced by existing facilities? (ii) Are new facilities needed?

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(iii) Does the manufacturing process have to be invented for the new product? (If so, other questions have to be considered, e.g. the time, cost, manpower, use of resources etc.) (iv) Are the required raw and packaging materials available? (v) Are there any other operational considerations particular to the project? (vi) What is the capital of the project? (vii) Is the price acceptable by the customers? (viii) Is the selling price of the product competitive enough?

(E) Development of prototypes

After justifying the idea, the first real product, which is called the prototype, is made. A prototype is an example or specimen for trial and market research. Adaptations and modifications can be built in the production process if necessary so as to meet the requirements stated in the product specifications. Product specification should contain all the information and requirements of the product. They are useful in the early development stage as a standard for evaluation and then used for periodic quality checks afterwards. The product specifications should include the following items: (i) types of food (ii) the recipe or formulation (iii) serving size (iv) processing details (v) descriptions on the quality of the product including sensory, nutrition and other relevant details (vi) descriptions on the appearance of the product including size, shape and package The prototype is developed based on the product specification. Judgments can be made during the prototype development period through consumer testing before mass production starts. Figure 13.8 shows a simple flow chart of prototype development.

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Figure 13.8

Flow of prototype development

Elementary product prototype

Basic packaging Consumer testing

Acceptable product prototype

Optimisation Stepwise variable changes in small area Aesthetic product design Complete process design Market study & test

Optimised product prototype

Scale-up production

(F) Multiple trials and sensory evaluation

(i) 24 Products are tested by sensory evaluation, or so called sensory analysis, which is the study of human response to the products, to determine if the products are acceptable or not. Judgments of a trial product is usually based on the sensory qualities including flavour, texture, appearance, smell or sound (e.g. the loudness of the sound when biting potato crisps) of the product. Figure 13.9 shows a simple flow chart for developing a product through sensory evaluation.

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Figure 13.9

Simple flow chart of sensory evaluation stage Concept

Develop samples

modify

Sensory evaluation (sensory testing)

Reject

Accept

In a sensory evaluation, the following questions are usually asked: What is the perception of the product according to its characteristics? Is there any difference between the product and another one? How acceptable is the product or which product people prefer? (ii) Types of sensory tests Discrimination Test Discrimination tests are used to confirm suspected small differences between products and to select potential candidates for descriptive test (i.e. those candidates who have high accuracy rate in discrimination tests). Discrimination tests can be done by many different methods. Paired difference test, duo-trio test and triangle test are the three main methods which are usually used. Paired Difference Test Paired difference test is used to find if there is a difference in a specific attribute between two samples. During paired difference test, panelists are given two coded (usually are three digit random numbers) samples and they are required to choose one of the samples with higher level of a specific attribute. For example, Which sample is darker, sweeter, softer etc. Usually two kinds of questions are asked in paired difference test: 1) which one do you like the most? (preference question) and 2) which one is softer / harder? (specific attribute question). Duo-Trio Test In duo-trio test, three samples are given to panelists. One of the samples is identified as the reference. The panelists are asked to choose between the other two samples which is the same as the reference. 25

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Triangle Test In triangle test, three samples are given to panelists. Two of the samples are the same and the remaining one is different. The panelists are asked to choose the odd sample. Triangle test is better than paired difference test statistically when differences are small because the panelists have only onethird of a chance that can make it correct by guessing while they have a half chance to guess it correctly in paired difference test or duo-trio test. Descriptive Test Descriptive tests are used to measure the type and intensity of particular attributes of a food product. These tests require panelists to describe the product in terms of its characteristics and to measure the intensity of those characteristics using scaling methods. Ranking test Ranking test is used to sort a series of the intensity of a particular attribute of a food product. Ranking test is usually used in market research to ask consumers to sort the order of preference of a food product. In ranking test, a set of coded samples arranged randomly is presented to the panelists. The panelists are then asked to rank them in order according to a particular attribute and a designated sequence. Table 13.10 shows an example of the result of a ranking test. Table 13.10 Result of a ranking test for a candy product

Samples Code Panelists no. 1 2 3 4 5 Rank sums

121

324

231

145

2 2 3 1 2 10

3 4 4 3 4 18

1 1 1 2 1 6

4 3 2 4 3 16

The results show that sample 324 and 145 are similar. Sample 231 is different from samples 121, 324 and 145. Remarks: 26 Ranks 1 2 3 4 5

Extremely sweet Very sweet Sweet A little sweet Not sweet

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Rating tests Rating tests provide panelists with a dimension or a scale to evaluate the magnitude of a particular attribute. The panelists are asked to rate a particular attribute or preference for a food product on a numerical or verbal scale. Numerical scale Circle the number that describes the hardness of the biscuit: Softest 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 hardest Verbal scale Place a check next to the appropriate statement: Like Extremely Like very much Like Moderately Like Slightly Neither like nor dislike Dislike slightly Dislike Moderately Dislike Very much Dislike Extremely

(G) Consumer testing

In consumer test, opinions and attitudes of consumers are collected from a group of representatives chosen from the target market. Useful information is collected for the development of a new product. The design of consumer tests varies according to the type of the new product and the amount of market research carried out in the previous stage. (i) Monadic and paired comparison Monadic and paired comparison product tests are two examples of consumer testing designs. In monadic testing, a single sample is presented to the chosen group. They are then asked to evaluate the product so as to collect information including purchase interest and rating of particular attributes of the product. In paired comparison product tests, the panelists are given two products sequentially. They are asked to rate and state their preferences to the products after tasting the two products. Monadic product testing Monadic product testing is useful in prototype development. It is also preferable when there is no direct or obvious competitor. It provides more basic information and overall appeal of the new product as well as the relative information only 27

(ii)

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according to the respondents personal judgement to the product. Monadic product testing is also regarded as the real world, since it replicates the fact that people consume one product at a time in daily life. (iii) Paired comparison product testing Paired comparison product testing is used to call for a winner from a series of products. It is because more than one product is provided to a single group, differences between products are magnified for easier detection. When information is needed for competition, this test will become useful. This testing design is always used as an advertising strategy. If the information on the effects of the marketing methods on the customer buying behaviour is needed, a test market is required. Local launching of the product in supermarkets, restaurants or other relevant retail outlet is one of the marketing techniques to test the response of the market to the new product. Interviewing the customers who have bought or not bought the product to get information of the acceptance, competitive difference, uniqueness, aesthetic aspect, brand attitude and product value. Questions of whether if the consumers will buy the product again, the reasons why they buy the new product, how they use the new product and their opinions on the new product can also be asked so as to get information on the consumer reactions and buying behaviour in the test market. Table 13.11 Comparison between monadic and pared comparison product testing

Monadic product testing Number of samples Objectives Purpose One To check the acceptability of one product Useful for prototype development

Paired comparison product testing Two or above To compare between test alternatives Useful for planning advertising strategies

(H) Marketing plan

A marketing plan is a written document that lists the details of the necessary actions to achieve one or more marketing objectives. A product should have its own characteristics and specificities to meet the needs of the consumers. Marketing can make use of these characteristics and specificities to attract people to buy the product. When marketing a product, there are four main factors have to be considered, which are known as 4Ps:

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(i) (ii)

Product What kind of product can meet the marketing need? Price What shall be the selling price range in the specific market environment?

(iii) Place Where shall the product be sold? Place involves market segmentation: the market can be segmented according to various differentiation, such as geographic, gender, age, education level, income level, etc of targeted potential buyers. (iv) Promotion How to educate the potential buyers to initial purchase desire? Tailor-made promotional strategy is then assumed, like advertisement. Advertisement can help the marketing of the product. Advertising companies can help food industries to work out ways to promote and advertise the product. Through advertisement, it can tell people the existence of the new product and give reasons for them to buy it. Advertisement should reach the target group of customers through various channels like television, radio, newspapers and magazines, at the cinema and posters. The way of advertisement depends on the target groups and the advertising budget for the whole project. For example, if the product is a snack for young teenagers, advertisements can be placed in teenage magazines, webpages, and televisions which are the media they may reach. During the development of a new product for sale, the following questions about the consumers have to be considered: Who are the customers (the target group)? What are their key characteristics? How are they different from the other group of people? What are their needs and wants? What are their expectations of the product? What are their special requirements and perceptions? What are their impressions to the organisation and its products? What are their attitudes? What are their buying intentions?

13.2.5 Stages in the production of a food product (A) Product life cycle
It is claimed that every product has a life cycle. Product life cycle is the period starting from the initial product design including research and development to the withdrawal of the product from the marketplace. There are five main stages namely development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline in a product life cycle. (i) Development It is the incubation stage of the product life cycle. At this stage, there is no sale and the food company prepares to introduce the product. 29

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(ii)

Introduction It is the period of introducing a new product from the point of conceptualisation to the point of introducing to the market. The food company which invents the product may have a period of monopoly until competitors start to copy or improve the original idea. Sales at this stage are low as the customers are getting aware of the new product and finding out how it will benefit them. Therefore much advertisement has to be used to raise the customers awareness and interest to the product.

(iii) Growth Sales start to grow in the growth period if the product is successful. Customers become aware of the product and its benefits. Once the product becomes a regular need to the customers, the sales will increase further. Competitors will enter the market at the later part of the growth stage. At this stage, there may be price competition and the food company has to find some ways to convince customers that its product is the best among the market. The goal of the company is to attract and gain customers appreciation and try to increase sales. (iv) Maturity Sales climb to a peak at this stage. The sales may continue to grow at this stage, but at a much slower pace. As the brand awareness is strong at this stage, less advertisement is needed. Competition may result in decreased market share or reduced price. The products of the competitors may become very similar at this stage. Therefore, in order to maintain market share and extend the product life cycle, the company has to persuade customers to use its product continuously and not to use that of its competitors. (v) Decline Eventually, the sales of the product may begin to decline due to the saturation of the market, technologically obsolete, or change of customers preference. However, if the product has developed its brand loyalty, it can be profitable for a longer period. For some products, they are very popular on the market for a long period and require only a few adjustments along the period, e.g. oyster sauce from Lee Kum Kee Company Ltd., Vitasoy etc.

The length of each stage varies from product to product. Not all products go through each of the stages. Some may go through introduction stage and then decline. Nonetheless, the product life cycle concept helps marketing managers to predict the challenges they may face and then plan their marketing strategies. It is also useful to monitor the sales from time to time and compare with those products with similar life cycle.

(B) Research and development

30 After recognising the need for developing a new product, the next step is to identify and specify the potential types of product. A product development team is formed at this stage. The team will discuss amongst themselves in order to generate ideas and work out the product specification. A series of researches are conducted to support the specification.

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Researches are done before the ideas are put together into a new product. Researches include investigating competitors products, ingredients, recipes, dietary needs, food safety, methods of manufacturing, appropriate packaging, possible additives used, possibility of using new technologies, market trend etc. From a pool of ideas, one to two ideas which are considered to be worthwhile can be chosen for further development. Product development involves constructing a detailed plan concerning the recipe, flavour, texture, size, shape, colour, packaging, manufacturing equipment involved etc. Following are the steps for carrying out research which result in a design specification: (i) Find out the needs of the target group for both the food product and packaging by questionnaires and surveys. (ii) Collect information associated with the product including information on packaging, food and nutrition labelling, industrial production methods, freezing and chilling properties, HACCP, etc. All the information helps in the design of the product. (iii) Evaluate existing food products against the identified needs of the target group. Find out if reconstructing the existing products (disassemble and reassemble existing production facilities and packaging) can meet the needs. (iv) Collect information on processing techniques for large-scale production. (v) Analyse all the research results before developing a detailed specification so as to make sure that quality of the product is under control. After all the information is collected and a design specification is finished, a prototype can be produced. The sample is further improved by successive sensory evaluation until it reaches an acceptable level.

(C) Trial and piloting

After the product is optimised to an acceptable stage, the recipe is scaled-up in quantity for the first production trial run. This is the transfer of production from bench-top to industrial scale. The scaled-up recipe must be the same in proportions as that in the sample made in the development stages. At this stage, industrial machineries are used for the production. Processing details, which are usually presented as a flow chart, and critical control points are put into the specification for the product at this stage. The product must be tested in the trial run for many things like micro-organisms, foreign bodies, acidity levels, weight and proportion of main ingredients, sensory qualities, etc. A hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) matrix is a useful tool for identifying, evaluating and controlling hazards which may affect the quality of food based on the following seven principles according to a guideline from National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF): (i) (ii) Conduct a hazard analysis. A HACCP team is set up to analyse and identify potential hazards that may occur in the production process. Determine the critical control points (CCPs). CCP is a point, step, or procedure at which control can be applied and a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to acceptable levels.

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(iii) (iv)

Establish critical limits for each identified CCP. Establish monitoring procedures for each CCP. Set up procedures for using the data from monitoring to adjusting the process and control under the limit set. (v) Establish corrective actions to be taken when monitoring indicates that there is a deviation from the critical limit occurred. (vi) Establish verification procedures to verify the effectiveness of the HACCP system. (vii) Establish record-keeping and documentation procedures so that records can be tracked for any incidents. A flow chart of production procedure is constructed prior to identifying the CCPs. Figure 13.12 shows a flow chat on how to decide whether a step of the production design is a CCP or not and Figure 13.13 shows an example of a flow chart of beef stew with critical control points. In the procedures of making beef stew, the steps of cooking, cooling and reheating has the chance of getting contamination and is irreversible. Therefore, control is important at this stage. Sometimes, some properties of the product from scale-up production may deviate from the sample. For example, sauce may become too thick after going through the machinery. The process must then be modified to meet the expected quality of the food product. In this case, the viscosity of the sauce should be reduced to an accepted level. The product may be put on a test market before the final adjustment of the product and packaging. That means it can be advertised and put on sale in a small area as a product trial. Results of sales and customers reactions to the product are recorded for evaluation of the potential of the product and for deciding to promote it in other areas. The product may be withdrawn at this stage if poor responses are received from customers.

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Figure 13.13

Decision tree for finding critical control point (CCP)

Q1. Is there any control measures suitable for the identified hazard? YES Q2. Does the step eliminate or reduce the hazard to an acceptable level? NO Q3. Could contamination at this step occur or increase to unacceptable level? YES Q4. Will a subsequent step, prior to consumption of the food, eliminate or reduce the hazard to an acceptable level? NO YES

NO

Is control necessary for safety at this step? YES Modify the step, process of product

NO

YES

NO

Not a CCP

This is a CCP 33

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Figure13.14

Flow chart with indication of critical control point (CCP) in the production of beef stew Ingredients: prime rib, vegetables, beef stock, roux (flour/butter)

Storage: vegetables, beef stock and butter (4 or below) flour (keep dry)

Preparation: Wash hands, wash ingredients, cut ingredients into suitable sizes, saut vegetables, add prime rib and beef stock

Cooking: Add roux when boiling Add seasonings Cook to 74 or above

CCP

Cooling: Cool from 60 to 20 within 2 hours and then to 4 within 4 hours

CCP

Reheat: Reheat to 74 or above

CCP

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Serve: Serve at 60 or above

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(D) Production
After solving all the problems in the trial runs, it can be put to regular production. For a food production system, there are three basic elements denoted as input, process and output. Input is everything that put into the production, which includes ingredients, the specifications, packaging materials, energy, equipment, manpower, etc. Process is the events going on to make the product from the input. Output includes ultimate product, any wastage or by-product materials for recycling. A production system may be broken down into sub-systems. Each sub-system can have its own output which becomes the input of the next sub-system. For example, for a bakery product, the preparation of dough is the first sub-system. The dough then becomes the input of the next subsystem where the bakery product is made. The information of sales should be passed back to the system so that the ingredients and dough preparation can be adjusted to the right amount. This is called feedback. Figure 13.14 shows a simple flowchart for the production of Chinese preserved sausage (Lap-mei). Time charts is useful for planning the whole procedure for food production. Time charts list the order and the time allowance including the start and end of the procedure for producing a food product. This is important to ensure that distribution of the food product is on time. Control and feedback are important in a food production system. This can help ensure the right quantity and consistent quality. This also ensures that the production operates efficiently and any fault can be detected and corrected immediately. Hence anything in the production is kept under the food regulations so that it is safe to be consumed. Some equipment can be used for monitoring the process. Thermometers or thermocouples can be used for monitoring heating and freezing system, e.g. oven, boiler, freezer, etc. Metal detectors can be used for detecting foreign metals that have accidentally dropped into the product. Some sensors are specially designed for checking particular parameters including colour or thickness of a product, size of a product, packaged volume of a beverage, etc.

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Figure 13.15

Flow Chart of Lap-mei Production (Adapted and modified from FEHD, HKSAR Government)

INPUT Pork or duck liver, other ingredients, equipment, energy (people and fuel), specification of products to be made

PROCESS

FEEDBACK

SUBSYSTEMS

Clean and cut Add chopped fat meat Add seasonings and additives Allow stabilisation and thorough diffusion of cutting ingredients Pour into casings

Preparation of chopped fat meat

Preparation of seasonings and additives including salt, sugar, wine and sodium nitrite

Amount of ingredients needed

Puncture Allow open air drying and hot air drying

Sales figures from years

OUTPUT 36

Chinese preserved sausage (distribution and serving)

Special orders from retailers

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Family and LifeStyle