EDIBLE-NEST SWIFTLET (EBN) RANCHING AND ITS RELATED INDUSTRY

Edible-bird's nest (EBN) : Anti-Aging Food. The general guidelines for the anti-aging diet are: keep your calorie consumption and saturated fat intake down; eat plenty of wholegrain, oily fish , fresh fruit and vegetables; and cut down on salt and sugar. In addition to these general guidelines, there are specific foods that have a role in anti-aging and that you should regularly include in your diet such as edible bird's nest soup.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

World class Edible Bird's Nest Processing Plant

A world class processing plant to meet CNCA requirement will be built in Miri Sarawak and subsequently for export of high quality bird's nest to China.

The production of more than 6 tonnes annually from natural caves in Borneo and the company owned 30 units of swiftlet houses nation wide with annual production of 100 kgs justified this establishment.

The establishment must comply with standard set by DVS and MOH, registered all the premises for traceability and get all the certification done such as GMP, HACCP and VHM.

Lastly, an integrated marketing plan/strategies should be drown to avoid over dependance on China market. I have seen company manage export to Japan, USA and middle east.

Another strategies would be mass bird's nest drink production for local market. I have tried Kopi Sarang Burung, etc. Go for big retailer such as Giant etc and franchises these concept for local consumption.

Processors and ranchers need to consolidate effort to meet the stringent requirement for export, public confident and self regulated industries for long term business survival and benefit.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Swiftlet farming drives demand for properties- NSTP

Vertical farming as a concept is certainly not limited to plants or vegetables. According to Yasmin and Qhawarizmi of MDRXA, vertical farming is defined as cultivation of plant or animal life within the confines of high-rise buildings. Therefore, swiftlet farming can be said to be an early example of vertical farming.

The swiftlet is a unique type of bird found mostly in Southeast Asia. The production of edible bird’s nest is by breeding these birds by providing them with a conducive environment which can take the form of the interior of multi-storey buildings.

The bird’s nests are produced from the swiftlets’ saliva. There are many birdhouses in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and other coastal areas in the Southeast Asian region.

Huge appetite

The huge appetite of the Chinese community all over the world for bird’s nest as a health food has generated a billion ringgit swiftlet farming industry in Malaysia. The local swiftlet farming industry has grown exponentially, especially since the Asian Economic Crisis in 1997. During that time, numerous small- and medium-sized businesses and enterprises (SMEs) had to close down due to financial difficulties.

Consequently, many premises were left vacant. Property owners were left with idle units and a number of them started to convert them into swiftlet farms.

There has been tremendous growth ever since. Prior to 1998, there were only about 900 swiftlet farms in Malaysia. By the end of year 2006, there were about 36,000 swiftlet farms all over Malaysia, with Hong Kong and China as the primary export markets.

It was recently reported that Malaysia is expected to have 63,000 swiftlet premises by 2020, producing 870 metric tonnes of bird’s nest worth RM3.5 billion. Naturally, demand for shophouses to house these birds has gone up as well with some small-time developers building shophouses specifically for this purpose. By Khairul Khalid

MPSP officers raid illegal swiftlet hotels

NIBONG TEBAL: About 30 illegal swiftlet hotels operating at the Seri Aman Business Centre here in Sungai Jawi were raided by the Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) on Tuesday.

For many months, residents in the surrounding area had complained about the annoying bird call used to attract swallows to the birdhouses blaring throughout the day.

Many complained that the sounds exceeded the 40-decibel limit allowed to be played between 8am and 7pm. It is believed that the operators had turned up the volume to attract more swiftlets into the building.

In the 9.30am operation, over 25 council officers broke open metal doors to the shop lots, removing 36 sound systems used to imitate bird calls to lure swiftlets to nest and mate in the building. The operators had installed several loudspeakers on the roof of the building, with some facing a residential area.

MPSP president Maimunah Mohd Sharif said swiftlet farming in the area was illegal, as it was done near a residential area. Maimunah, when contacted, said the council had served the operators with a notice in March and gave them 30 days to evacuate, but they had ignored the notice. By Predeep Nambiar

Bird's nest operators eye Middle East halal market

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian bird's nest operators are hoping to penetrate other markets, including the Middle East, after a temporary ban was lifted by China on Thursday.Selangor Bird's Nest Merchants Association president Mah Swee Lye said bird's nest products were being accepted by more countries.

He said operators were eyeing Middle East countries as the product was deemed "halal" with nutritional benefits. "Post China's ban, many operators are seeking out other countries. This includes larger markets such as Taiwan and Hong Kong. "We have received a heightened interest from Middle East countries."

As for the selling price, he said it was between RM6,000 and RM7,000 per kg before the ban, and it was between RM3,000 and RM4,000 per kg now.

In July 2011, a ban on local bird's nest products was imposed after results showed they did not comply with the permissible nitrite level.

Federation of Malaysian Bird's Nest Merchants Association president Datuk Tok Teng Sai cautioned the nine companies that had received the green light to export bird's nest products to China to comply with China National Certification and Accreditation Administration's requirements.

Only then, he said, would they be able to export to China. Tok was referring to the companies that were given the "passed with condition status" after multiple audits from the Malaysian and Chinese governments in April.

Monday, June 24, 2013

吕保材 B N: MediaCorp Channel 8 - Edible Bird's Nest (燕窝)

Friday, June 21, 2013

Bird's nests ban lifted with condition

Personally, I think the industry had learned a lot from this audit. The next 2nd audit would be easier, because we know what kind of standard China want an EBN processing plant would be. Listed below are the findings and my recommendation.

1. Plant must must be constructed according to GMP

2. Full understanding of HACCP & implementation

3. Good traceability system in place

4. Effective ways to eliminate nitrite during processing.

5. Well prepared for the audit & good documentation system.

Here is the report from News Straight Times on nine EBN plant passed the audit by China recently.

PUTRAJAYA: The temporary ban on Malaysian bird's nests has been lifted by China, but with conditions.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the resumption of the export came after nine companies had been given the "passed with condition" status.

He added that two other companies were granted the "only passed after modification" status and four companies failed the audit that was conducted by China.

The nine companies are Sunshine Region Sdn Bhd; PT Swiftlet Marketing Sdn Bhd; Tian Ma Bird Nest Sdn Bhd; Kuan Wellness Sdn Bhd; Wing Shen Food Industries Sdn Bhd; Fucifagus Agritech Sdn Bhd; Yan Ming Resources Sdn Bhd; Golden Mah Bird's Nest Sdn Bhd; and Yen Pao Lai (M) Sdn Bhd.

The two other companies are Multiform Food Supply Co. Sdn Bhd; and Biogrow Resources Sdn Bhd, and the remaining four that failed the audit were Dama Jing Yi Yanwo Sdn Bhd; Amity AKF Enterprise Sdn Bhd; Sai Kim Enterprise Sdn Bhd; and Swallow House Enterprise.

"The condition given in the efforts to restore the exportation of bird's nests to the country is a compulsory registration with the China National Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA)," Ismail Sabri said yesterday.

The temporary ban on local bird's nests exported to China was placed in July 2011, after having found that the quality of the bird's nests imported to the republic did not comply with the permissible nitrite level.

The red coloured nest or cave nest was found to contain more than 1,000 parts per million (ppm) level of nitrite which was unsafe for human consumption.

He said for the first batch, 20 processing plants had submitted their applications and with the filtering done by the Veterinary Services Department, 15 applications were sent to China on March 6, this year.

Following the submission to CNCA, Ismail Sabri said an audit team comprising of six auditors from the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) came to Malaysia on April 9 and conducted a 10-day audit on the 15 processing plants.

"On Tuesday, a report from the AQSIQ authorities outlined the results from the audit process and the nine companies (passed but with conditions) had to further improve their plants and the approval of the rectification conducted by the companies was done by the ministry and sent to China."

As for the two other companies with the "only passed after modification" certification, he said the companies must take corrective actions before they are re-audited.

"A report on the improvements that have been done will be presented to China and another round of auditing will be conducted before approval status is given to them."

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Result from CNCA auditors

Finally the result of the CNCA audit had came out. Nine approved with corrective action request ( CAR) which the establishment may need to rectify it and DVS will send the report back to China. Congratulations!