Noon International: Food Trading Import Export

With all the China food bashing I feel it is appropriate to give some in sight into the frozen food factories in China. How do they operate? I will only be speaking for factories that I have visited while on my trips to China. Hygiene is of utmost importance in food factories in China and this is evidenced because of the presence of the Japanese, who are paranoid about their food, whom are the natural trading partners for China because of the proximity. I always find it amazing that if a new concept is introduced by the Japanese to a factory, how quickly it spreads to the other factories in China, its like Divine Intervention.

First of all workers (and guest) must change cloths into smocks or something similar. They then have to change shoes and put on rubber boots. Now most of the factories require that the workers use a protective sock over their sock to avoid contamination, this is relatively new and something that most all factories are doing now. Then they will be required to put on a hair net, a cap and a mask to prevent spreading of germs. After they are changed and ready to go into the factory they must wash there hands, dip their hands in a strong disinfectant and wash again. They also have toothbrushes to scrub under the fingernails. Then the workers must queue up and are individually inspected to make sure their clothing is correct, all hair is under the hair net, mask are on correctly, and not wearing any jewelry or other items that could potential get into the food. In one factory I visited they had this gestapo lady checking each persons fingernails and if they were too long then clip clip, just mabye the next time your looking for a free manicure go visit a China food factory. From here they have to enter a foot bath to disinfect the boots and then usually go thru a dark corridor because the insects don’t like to enter thru the dark and then finally into the factory. Upon entering the factory the hands are sprayed with an alcohol solution again. Once in the factory they are permitted only in the particular area they are working in.

Some factories go to extremes monitoring there employees. I remember once seeing a cartoon showing a man coming out of the restroom and the alarm going off making an announcement, DID NOT WASH HANDS. I have actually seen in one China factory the equivalent of this with the restroom being glassed instead of a wall so the workers could be monitored to make sure they washed their hands. I am sure that in the future they will develop some electronic monitoring to make the announcement DID NOT WASH HANDS (how cool would that be?).

The end result is that one element of the freezing process, the workers, are well monitored and inspected to avoid any contamination from germs, colds, hair etc.

As we have mentioned in the past the important thing is to know from whom you are buying. We at Noon International are constantly visiting and monitoring the factories we work with to make sure they are meeting the standards of our customers, Although this is only one aspect of the factory it is important to understand that controls are in place for monitoring the workers. The other elements raw materials, sanitization of the factory, control check points etc we will discuss at a later time.

Technorati Tags: noon international, china food bashing, frozen food factory, sanitization, wash hands

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It looks like CIQ China (China Inspection and Quarantine) has decided that a way to tackle the China Food Safety Crisis is by forcing all producers approved by CIQ to place stickers containing its official logo in all master cartons, some producers in China say the CIQ logo must also be imprinted on the retail packs.
Please note that by Chinese law only approved CIQ producers are able to export edible products overseas.

My point here has to do with effort / reward meaning the effort is going to be considerable and I honestly have to say the rewards would be questionable. In other words I don’t think they are solving the real problem.

Why are they not solving the real problem? Because plant X which is CIQ certified and has all sorts of different international certificates could still be buying product from factory Y which doesn’t have any of the aforementioned. The only thing factory X has to do is to spare a couple of cartons stickered with the CIQ logo for factory Y to pack the product, same scenario will apply to retail packs.
So the final objective which is to stop noncertified facilities from packing products for export might not be totally achieved.

My long time mentor once told me customers you can always find however good reliable suppliers are hard to get a hold of. Here at Noon International, we have spent more than 30 years developing our suppliers in China and to this day we keep working with them on how to do things in a better fashion trying to exceed our customers’ demands.

Does this mean we are old fashioned traders in a world where reverse internet bid is a common way to do business?
What I think this means, is that we really CARE and have a high level of TRUST with our suppliers in China other might call this TRUE RELATIONSHIPS.

Does this make our products from China be safer? You bet it does.

As for the CIQ logo, the saga will continue…

Technorati Tags: Noon International, ciq logo,   china food safety

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What’s happening with China Food Safety? 

I cannot comment on all aspects of China Food Safety but I do have a little knowledge of what is happening in the frozen fruit and vegetable business.  Being an importer for many years of product I have witnessed many changes in the production facilities in China.  Today with the help of the Japanese, Europeans, US and others the Chinese factories have learned and raised their standards to the highest international level.

 But more importantly what is happening today in light of the petfood recall, toothpaste recall etc?  Today the suppliers that we as a company use most have at minimum an HACCP program in place, certified by the China authoritites.  We do prefer that the suppliers have a third party audit such as AIB, BRC or others along with the full report and recommendations.  The suppliers that have taken the 3rd party audit have all passed, meaning they have controls in place to monitor the products being produced.  They have incorporated traceback systems to trace product,  they all have HACCP in place to monitor for foreign material, metal detection and microbiological counts are maintained.  Most all of the facilities now have their own equipment for testing for pesticides in house.   Others will send their samples to private or public labs for pesticide testing.  

 All of the above should give some reassurance of the quality of the frozen fruits and vegetables  coming out of China.

 Now after the recalls the CIQ (Inspection and  Quarantine of China) is inspecting all product being shipped to Japan and USA.  This newly enforced  checking is  causing great delays for shipments and how this will work in the long run remains to be seen.  The key is that the China government is taking action and trying to restore confidence to the international community. 

 Lastly, the most important thing is to know whom you are buying from.  I have been to and seen many factories that  we as company would not do business with but the ones we do work with have the quality standards in place and are continually working  to improve there factories.

Technorati Tags: china food saftey, frozen, vegetable, fruit, import

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Edamame is one of the great snack foods that is taking the US by storm (not only because it is great tasting but also because of its health benefits).

If you haven’t tried them I suggest you do, they are awesome. I personally like to eat them while still in the pod, and still in a semi frozen state. Of course they are great thawed or heated as well. I just take the pod and put it into my mouth and suck out the beans. Yummy and even yummier if slightly salted. Of course you can eat them by just pushing the beans out of the pod and eating the beans but not that much fun. I guess it’s a little like eating peanuts out of the shell, its addicting. Most stores now carry them in there frozen vegetable section or in the fresh produce section (a limited supply).Actually Edamame has been around for years. The Japanese have made it popular here in the states by giving it away as a free Hors d’oeuvre a few years back. From there it has just blossomed. It was the Japanese restaurants that educated the American public and gave us awareness.

Personally I have been eating Edamame for more than 20 years. Because of being in the frozen vegetable business I have traveled extensively to Taiwan and China (the main producers of Edamame) and was exposed to it years before it got to the US. Consequently, I have learned about the different varieties being grown particularly for the Japanese market. In Japan the most popular type is Edamame, with bean in the pod or shell on. The bean itself, called Mukimame, is a by-product of the Edamame. For Japan what is key is the appearance of the Edamame because as they say they Eat With Their Eyes First. It must be a nice green color, no blemishes or defects, and it must have a maximum of 170 pieces per 500 grams of product. If it has more than 170g per 500g then it will catch a lesser price.

At present there are three main varieties grown in China, #75, #2808 (a new variety replacing an older variety #292) and Shanghai Green a local Chinese variety. Of the three the best quality is #75, followed by #2808 and then the China local variety Shanghai green, which is probably the most common here in the States because we just don’t have the sophistication to know the different varieties.

In addition to the variety they also have different processing methods. First is regular blanch, then long blanch and then a salted long blanch. The regular blanch is the cheapest method of processing and is probably the predominate here in the States. The regular blanch would need to have some further cooking by the consumer. The long blanch is a longer cooking time which fully cooks the Edamame and is ready to eat as is (of course you can reheat if you like them warm). And the salted long blanch is just that, it is blanched in slightly salted water and ready to eat.

In addition to the variety they also have different processing methods. First is regular blanch, then long blanch and then a salted long blanch. The regular blanch is the cheapest method of processing and is probably the predominate here in the States. The regular blanch would need to have some further cooking by the consumer. The long blanch is a longer cooking time which fully cooks the Edamame and is ready to eat as is (of course you can reheat if you like them warm). And the salted long blanch is just that, it is blanched in slightly salted water and ready to eat.

The Mukimame being the by product is produced from the Edamame that is sorted out because it had defects or blemishes on the skin or was of poor color or only one pod. It has to go thru a further processing which should make it more expensive but being that it is the by-product it ends up being cheaper. However, in your store you will see them probably selling at a higher price then Edamame.

Maybe in the future if Mukimame becomes more popular and becomes the big seller this relationship at the processing level will change. Not only is it a great snack but it is healthy which makes it all that much better. Check out these sites for some of the health benefits www.fwhc.org/health/soy.htm and http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0854/is_7_27/ai_n17207358.

Edamame is one of the great snack foods that is taking the US by storm (not only because it is great tasting but also because of its health benefits).

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Hello Everyone, this is Noon International’s first blog and we are excited about it. For those of you who don’t know us we are an import export trading company dealing in frozen vegetables and fruits from around the world. Our primary business is dealing with the Pacific Rim and Far East countries. We deal with Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Australian retail stores and most of the major USA customers of retail frozen foods and their suppliers. We have been doing this now for over 25+ years.

We at Noon International, are a group of food freaks, always looking for creative and sustainable ways to bring you healthy, natural and environmentally friendly food to you and since we care about you and what you eat (are) we want to provide you with all the facts about what you are putting down your throat and why it is good for you.

We will be blogging about an assortment of thoughts and ideas revolving around food. What is happening in the Japan? What is happening in China? What is new in vegetables and fruits? Cool facts about food, about organics, about green, about sustainable and anything else we find of interest. We will tell you of our travels and adventures seeking new markets and foods we encounter, and anything else we feel you might find weird or exotic and entertaining. So with that said lets go blogging. And thanks for joining us we love to have you and look forward to hearing from you all.

Technorati Tags: noon international, china, import export, food, frozen foods

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