MIDTERM REPORT OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT list all the departments to which you have been guided during the tour state clearly the function of those departments

8 Question 3: How does Yakult effectively monitor food safety for their products?. Furthermore, not only details the production operation management of the factory in Vietnam but also an

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University of Economics and Finance

Faculty of Economics

MIDTERM REPORT OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT - MGT1127E

Semester 2B (2021 – 2022)

No Full name Student ID Tasks

% contribution

of the task to the overall task

Evaluation

of task results

1 Tran Ha

Phuong Anh 205142000

- Synthesize information

- Finalize the report

2 Nguyen Thi

Linh Chi 205141797

- Search for information 25% G

3 Le Thanh

Nhi 195100023

- Search for information 25% G

4

Tran Thi

Nam

Phuong

205140031 - Search for

information 25% G

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

I COMPANY BACKGROUND 4

II CASE STUDY 5

Question 1: List all the departments to which you have been guided during the tour State clearly the function of those departments 5

1 Breeding department 5

2 Fermentation and mixing department 5

3 Bottle making department 6

4 Milk filling department 6

5 Packing department 7

6 Quality management department 8

Question 2: What quality standards are Yakult currently aiming to achieve? Briefly describe the criteria that each quality standard aims at 8

Question 3: How does Yakult effectively monitor food safety for their products? List and describe each of their food safety and quality control activities 9

1 Conducting performance inspections 10

2 Comparing inspection outcomes to set standards 10

3 Establishing Quality Requirements to achieve 11

CONCLUSION 12

REFERENCES 13

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The following report is a contemplation of ANCP team's visit tour to the Yakult factory and our observations of Yakult's substantial production system, machinery, and organizational structure Furthermore, not only details the production operation management of the factory in Vietnam but also an overview of the company's quality management systems and how they were applied to the manufacturing process Finally, the team gained a thorough understanding of the beneficial bacteria as well as the process of creating probiotic goods in general or fermented milk as a result of the field trip

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I COMPANY BACKGROUND (Yakult, n.d.)

Yakult Honshu is a Japanese firm that has a long history as one of the first and most popular probiotic brands Minoru Shirota is the founder and originator of Yakult, a probiotic nutritional drink He pioneered and discovered lactic acid bacteria could eliminate harmful bacteria dwelling in the colon while surviving gastric juice and bile during his Doctor of Philosophy in Medicine Since then, Lactic acid bacteria were given the name Lactobacillus casei strain shirota after Shirota as a result of this research

Yakult Vietnam is the 30th member of the Yakult group The Yakult Company began operations in Vietnam in 2007, and the company's facility in Binh Duong was formally opened in 2008 Yakult has not only retail stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores across the country, but they have also enforced their exclusive distribution strategy, the Yakult Lady The Yakult facility in Vietnam has also achieved stringent quality standards such as HACCP, ISO 22000, and ISO14001 by adhering to the product quality assurance strategy

Figure 1 Yakult Vietnam Factory (Yakult, Yakult Vietnam Factory)

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II CASE STUDY

Question 1: List all the departments to which you have been guided during the tour State clearly the function of those departments (Vu, 2021)

1 Breeding department: culture, bacterial biomass multiplication

Figure 2 Research into probiotics (Yakult Honsha, 2016)

2 Fermentation and mixing department:

- Mixing: Water used is filtered by reverse osmosis method to remove trace minerals Then sterilized by ultraviolet light and stored in large tanks before use in the production process Mix skim milk powder, grape sugar, and water together, then filter aseptically in a large tub

- Sterilization: The milk solution is pasteurized at a high temperature for a short time to kill any bacteria that may be present The solution is then transported through a series

of sealed pipes and valves to the large fermenter

- Fermentation: L casei Shirota strain has been cultured and tested in the laboratory and put into fermentation tanks After the fermentation time, the fermentation tank contains billions of live bacteria and at this time the liquid in the tank is thick Then this mixture is homogenized

- Storage tank: After homogenization, the product will be transferred to a large tank containing a sugar solution The purpose of this stage is to neutralize the sour taste

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of the product after fermentation, and the sugar solution will be a source of nutrients for L.casei Shirota bacteria living during the storage period The fermented milk solution is mixed with a unique flavor and transferred into a large container of chilled sugar syrup

- Mixing tank: Before bottling, the concentrate is diluted with sterile filtered water (treated with UV light)

Figure 3 Heating liquids with heat exchange plates (Yakult Honsha., 2017)

3 Bottle making department:

- Bottle making: The uniquely-shaped plastic bottle Yakult is manufactured on-site from three types of food-grade polystyrene 6 Pellets can be recycled by a bottle blowing machine Polystyrene beads are heated and molded into a Yakult bottle shape Then, they are transferred to large sterile tanks for the next stages

- Label printing: The bottle moves along the conveyor belt to the printing station, where the name "Yakult" and the appropriate labeling information are printed on the bottle

in red ink that dries instantly

4 Milk filling department:

- Bottles containing 65ml of fresh Yakult, covered with foil caps, sealed, and transferred by conveyor to the packing machine The expiration date is also sprayed

on the cap and then closed in the bottle

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Figure 4 Bottle Filling, Capping and Sealing (Yakult Honsha., 2017)

5 Packing department:

- Packing: 5 bottles will be packed into 1 pack in a thin layer of polypropylene plastic And 10 packs are packed into 1 carton Containers are loaded onto pallets by robotic arms The pallets are stacked

- Storage: Finally the finished product will be transported to the 5°C cold storage and the product will be kept in the warehouse for 1 day to check the product quality before delivering

Figure 5 5 packs of Yakult packed in to groups of 50 bottles (Australia, 2017)

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6 Quality management department:

The Yakult test involved more than 120 samples per production, of which a total of more than 100 tests were performed It is a method for the quantitative determination of Lactobacillus casei, checking for potential contaminants, microbiological quality

Question 2: What quality standards are Yakult currently aiming to achieve? Briefly describe the criteria that each quality standard aims at (Yakult Honsha Co., n.d.)

(Dang, 2019)

The standards and quality of a product are critical for a firm participating within the food and beverage sector because any faulty product can seriously harm the company's image As a result, quality standards are a significant decision that must be carefully considered Therefore, certification is useful in establishing a framework for a producing company's standards It isn't only a prerequisite for companies to boost the quality of their products but also aids to form the client trust These certificates are seen in Yakult's report: Hazard Analysis and important Control Points (HACCP) Code 2003 which is often one in all the fundamental criteria for ensuring the protection of food and beverage

- HACCP: A system for ensuring food safety by implementing thorough hygiene management throughout the manufacturing process

- ISO 22000:2005: An international standard for food safety management systems based on HACCP's hygiene management methods

- FSSC 22000: An international standard for food safety management systems that integrates food defense and other issues and is based on ISO 22000

- Occupational Health and Safety Management Certification (OHSAS 18001:2007) is

an international standard that establishes a framework for identifying, controlling, and reducing health and safety hazards in the workplace

- ISO 14001:2004: specifies requirements for an environmental management system

to enable an organization to develop and implement a policy and objectives that take into account legal requirements and others

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- ISO 9001: An international standard for quality management systems

- GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) is an international standard for the management and quality control of pharmaceutical and food manufacturing

Question 3: How does Yakult effectively monitor food safety for their products? List and describe each of their food safety and quality control activities (Vu, 2021)

(Yakult Co., 2022)

The production process of probiotic products in general or fermented milk, in particular, requires high technology to be produced under very hygienic conditions, strict to produce

is safe for users The most important part of the production process is to avoid the contamination of any other microorganisms because the product is very susceptible to microbial growth Those are the reasons why Yakult is produced under very strict conditions with modern technology as described below

Based on the diagram of the Yakult fermented milk production process at the Yakult Vietnam factory, we can see that there are 20 steps in all Step 18 is the Quality Management which is the “Food safety and quality inspection” stage for Yakult's products

To answer this question, our team will detail this step

Figure 6 Checks are conducted using machines and visual inspections (Yakult, 2021)

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To achieve the highest quality for their goods, Yakult constantly recommends establishing

a Total Quality Management Program Yakult's in-house quality assurance processes were found to be effective after testing results encompassing more than 120 samples each manufacturing run and over 100 tests in total It is, in particular:

1 Conducting performance inspections:

- Individual bottles will be evaluated at random along the manufacturing line for unwanted printing, marking, and sealing problems

- For each batch of Yakult manufactured, around 100-200 items will be collected and evaluated

- Before buying in bulk, raw material samples will be inspected for quality

- The quality of each Yakult product is ensured through numerous tests including microbiological, ingredient, and taste testing Once approved, the product is ready to realease to market

- Not only that, in the process of monitoring production activities and product quality, there will always be supervision of factory workers on the working process of machines and equipment If there is a manufacturing error such as an incomplete bottle of milk, or blurred product information, it will be handled according to factory regulations

- And especially, all waste (mainly in liquid form) will be brought to modern treatment lines, treated to prescribed standards before being discharged into the environment

2 Comparing inspection outcomes to set standards:

- In addition to the above-mentioned food safety and hygiene tests, Yakult undertakes

more than 200 rigorous examinations to assure maximum product quality, including:

 Specific Gravity - To measure the density of a liquid, a density meter is employed

 Brix - a refractometer is used to determine the amount of sugar in meals

 Titratable Acidity - is used to track Lactobacillus casei Shirota Strain growth

numbers and evaluates the quantity of acid development in a product

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 Microbiological testing - identifies the number of Lactobacillus casei Shirota strains in the samples and ensures that contaminating bacteria are present at low

to zero levels

3 Establishing Quality Requirements to achieve:

In addition, Yakult has a strict quality management system based on the quality standard certifications that the team listed in the answer to Question 1