The Interesting Journey of FreshValu Mayonnaise from Washington - Research Proposal Example

 The Interesting Journey of FreshValu Mayonnaise from Washington, USA to my Kitchen table in Ontario, Canada 　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Introduction This report investigates the exciting journey of a processed product, FreshValu Mayonnaise produced by Bahman Fine Foods in Tacoma, Washington in the United States to my kitchen table in Ontario, Canada, taking into consideration some factors like the company’s practices, the company’s production procedures and the effects of Canadian laws or policies on the smooth or hindered passage of this particular imported product into Canada. A peek at the Company and the product Bahman Fine Foods isn’t a new entrant as far as food business is concerned. The company has been producing a line of foods products since 1977, exporting its products to as many as 20 countries worldwide, including Canada. FreshValu Mayonnaise is a unique product of this company, and it has been shipped to several homes across the globe, including mine. This product stands out among many because of its outstanding taste and flavor. 　　　　　　　　　　　Overview of Bahman Fine Foods’ Practices Bahman Fine Foods operates with great commitment to quality. The company has an onsite laboratory where products are tested and graded for quality. The products are also tested for microbiological, chemical and physical standards. The manufacturing processes are controlled by Food and Drug Administration’s policies, certified HACCP schemes and guaranteed United States Department of Agriculture’s constant inspections. Both the laboratories and the personnel are duly certified by U.S.D.A. How is Mayonnaise manufactured? To better understand the processed product, FreshValu Mayonnaise, it is important to study how this product is manufactured. Generally, Mayonnaise is a cold, emulsification that is used as sauce or as a condiment (Coyle, 1982). This is produced by blending egg yolks and oil, and then add flavor to them using different proportions of mustard, herbs, spices and vinegar. This product is also useful as a base for creamy-kind salad dressings Raw Materials The following are the complete list of raw materials that are needed to produce mayonnaise (Trager, 1995). And U.S Food and Drug Administration’s Standard of Identity control these materials. Mayonnaise must contain 65% oil by weight, vinegar, egg pr egg yolks. It is possible to add spices and other natural seasonings in the course of the blending. Also, Food and Drug Administration’s Standard of Identity requirements for mayonnaise that would be used as salad dressing are 30% vegetable oil, 4% egg yolk, vinegar or lemon juice and spices. Soybean oil is the commonest kind of oil used in the manufacturing of mayonnaise. One could obtain vinegar by distilling it from a distilled alcohol. Water is used to dilute lemon or lime juice. Sources of raw materials for Bahman Fine Foods Bahman Fine Foods get its raw materials from local US farms: and the raw materials are obtained freshly from the farms and taken to the company for pre-manufacturing tests. Some raw materials that are kept for future uses are routinely checked for quality and usability, in order not to pass bad taste and quality to the mayonnaise that would be made from them. Mayonnaise manufacturing procedures Preliminarily, the eggs would undergo the process of pasteurization by heating them but not really cooking them. To make a low-fat type of mayonnaise, egg whites are used. It is also possible to remove the fat contents of the egg yolks. One could do this by adding food starches made from corn, agar agar and gums to the yolks and produced a creamy texture and the real thickness of mayonnaise. To produce nice flavor, salt is added. This amount should be approximately 1/16 teaspoon of salt per tablespoon serving of mayonnaise. However, the actual production of mayonnaise occurs in stages as highlighted below: Stage 1. Making the emulsion: It is important to continuously blend the raw materials so that it could achieve a nice degree of emulsification. An emulsion (also known as colloid) is created when two liquids are blended together to produce a sticky solution. In this situation, oil and vinegar make one of the liquids to appear in small droplets that are scattered throughout the other liquid. This blending process would go continuously through some positive replacement pumps. The mechanism of the pumps’ function is that the pumps have a hole and set of holes fitted with rotating impellers so that when the pump is regulated, it could fill the hole and empty continuously. Stage 2: Addition of ingredients Ingredients that have already been measured are added through openings in the sides of the pumps or from spigots overhead. Stage 3: Packaging This is an important stage in the process of producing mayonnaise. High quality is required here, and Bahman Fine Foods has all the necessary equipment in its laboratories that operate under managed quality control. For packaging (bottling), mayonnaise is moved through the pumps to the bottling station. Jars that have been sterilized are carried on conveyer belts and mayonnaise that has been measured before is poured into them. The jars are covered with screwcaps without sealing with vacuum Shipping to Canada This section of the report would look into the processes required to ship a manufactured good from the United States to Canada. And this would involve analyzing the trade issues between the two countries and the import/export policies and laws that guide such a matter. United States and Canada have a lot of trade agreements between them, however, Canada, as a sovereign nation has the exclusive rights to prevent an import it deems harmful to her citizens from entering the country from the United States. In the case of importing mayonnaise, which is categorized as a “Processed product” by Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the following Acts and regulations would be considered before allowing the product to be imported into Canada (CFIA, 2008). (a) Canada Agricultural Products Act: This Act is enforced to make sure that the agricultural products or bye-products that are to be imported into Canada do not breach Canadian agricultural laws. For instance, when Canada hasn’t supported GMO foods, bringing a GMO food or its bye-product into Canada would be deemed illegal (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2004). (b) Processed Products Regulations: These regulations are meant to guarantee that the processed products imported into Canada are of good quality and harmless to Canadian consumers. (c) Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act: This Act makes sure that products are correctly labeled and their contents clearly indicated so that consumers would not be misled into buying products that wouldn’t be useful for them, or might even harm them as they consume the products. (d) Food and Drug Act: This Act takes care of the quality of food and drug that are imported into Canada. However, the trade agreements between the US and Canada give some exceptions to the products made in the United States. That is to say, not all US-made products would be made to pass through the above-mentioned checks and quality assurance tests. And when the food product has been sanctioned eatable and of good quality, the products are available to be sold into the market, where I could buy one from a supermarket or small condiment shop (Health Canada, 2006). And I could be assured that the product on my kitchen table has passed through several quality assurance tests before I bought it. On the other hand, if the food product that was imported from another country which Canada may suspect the quality of its product, or if the product itself fails the above-listed tests, Canadian Food Inspection Agency would refuse to let such good be sold into the market. And this is the area where Canadian policies, laws and regulations could hinder the availability of certain products in Canada. . 　　　　 Pictures of FreshValu mayonnaise Diagram of mayonnaise production Flow chart of all the processes Raw materials to produce mayonnaise Blending and emulsification Bottling of mayonnaise Passing through CFIA Distributed to supermarkets My home References 1. Coyle, L. Patrick Jr. (1982), The World Encyclopedia of Food, New York; Fact on File. 2. Trager, James (1995), The Food Chronology, New York; Henry Holt. 3. Canadian Food Inspection Agency. (2007). Food. Ottawa: Author. Retrieved June 6, 2008, from http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/fssae.shtml 4. Bahman Fine Foods (2007). Food. Washington: Author. Retrieved on November 10, 2008, from http://www.bahmanfinefoods.com/default.htm 5. Health Canada. (2006). International activities. In Food and nutrition. Ottawa: Author. Retrieved June 6, 2008, from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/intactivit/index_e.html 6. Food Quality and Safety Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. (2004). Canadian food safety and quality program: Delivering safe, high-quality food at home and abroad (Cat. No. A22-382/2004E). Ottawa: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Retrieved June 6, 2008, from http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1178190465718〈=e Read More