Quality Control is important for a Food Manufacturing plant

Food safety is very important to food manufacturers.

Any careless in raw materials, production or packaging may endanger human health.

Since inception, E.Excel has always placed great emphasis on food safety! 

Let's see below for steps and measures E.Excel has taken to commit to your safety.

Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) which is a basic and stringent guideline for all pharmaceutical (drug) companies to comply to in order to begin production. It emphasizes product quality, hygiene and safety during production processes. However, it is not required for food manufacturers.

E.Excel manufacturing plants are proud to announce that they have obtained GMP certification to maintain their high quality and safety for 30 years.

Multiple safety tests are also conducted.

1. Comprehensive Microorganism Tests (Bacteria E.coli, Salmonella spp, Yeast & Mold etc) on raw materials, production processes and finished products to ensure product safety.

2. Heavy Metals Tests (Mercury, Copper, Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium) to ensure products are free from these harmful component contamination.

3. Pesticides Tests on raw materials to ensure crops are not polluted by pesticides in water used for irrigation or from neighbouring farms.

4. Poison Tests on 1822 different types of poisons including narcotics (eg. cocaine), steroid drugs (eg. cortision), banned drugs (eg. Fenfluramine) and human growth hormones.

5. Microscopic Test on raw materials for foreign objects like dust, hair, wires.

6. Finished Product Testing to detect accurately objects like metals, glass, plastics, stones, hairs in the products.

7. Stability Testing on finished products to ensure a product's quality does not change during the validity period stated on the product's label.

Additional unique specific tests are also conducted for certain products.

1. Gene modification tests conducted on Soy. Besides organic ingredient, E.Excel uses only non-genetically modified soy that is high in protein.

2. Antibiotics Tests done on all honey, royal jelly and pollen to ensure no presence of antiobiotics before use in production.

3. Caffeine Tests on Aromantic and triflora for caffeine content of green tea leaves to ensure green tea leaves selected are of lowest levels of caffeine.

4. Melamine Tests. E.Excel is proud to announce that melamine has never been detected in E.Excel products.

5. E.Excel processes ginseng immediately after harvest and hence does not go through sulfur-smoke process which will cause serious harm to health.

6. Careful selection of packaging material to meet international safety standards.

Safe and Clean Production Environment based on the below aspects to prevent contamination of raw materials, production processes and packaging to ensure product safety.

1. Humidity

2. Dust

3. Temperature

4. Bacteria

5. Water

6. Automated Production

I appreciated a lot the effort E.Excel has put in to ensure product quality and safety after watching it especially my previous job background was from pharmaceutical plant design line. 

E.Excel always places product quality as top priority. The product quality control is of highest standards. 

• They constantly consult own professional research team, scientists, university professors and experienced experts from various industries for the product reliability and safety.

• They also have in-house lab in every manufacturing plant (Singapore, California, Utah in US & Shanghai) to do the product quality testings.

• In order to fulfil the principle of Nutritional Immunology, E.Excel has invested heavily on research, ingredients and production.

• E.Excel takes pride in its clean record in product safety for 30 years since 1987. 

Hence, you can always rest assured in its continued efforts to keep the products safe and hygienic so that you and your loved ones can enjoy the wholesome goodness of Nutritional Immunology products!! =)

Best Regards, 

Joselyne
Nutritional Immunology Consultant

+65-9090 9942 

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Food Safety Excellence Award by Singapore AVA

Many people asked why am I so confident with the safety of E.Excel Healthy Food?

The answer is as below!

E.Excel food manufacturing Singapore has received FOOD SAFETY EXCELLENCE AWARD (Grade A) from Singapore Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) for consecutive 10 years! Congratulations! 

The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) plays an integral role in food safety by putting in place standards and legislation. As the gatekeeper, AVA implements and enforces these regulations to ensure that high food safety standards are met.
 

The Food Factory Grading Scheme was introduced to encourage food manufacturers to achieve excellence in food safety. Since E.Excel products are wholesome plant foods, NOT vitamin supplements/ medicine, hence E.Excel factory's safety is regulated under AVA Food Factory Grading Scheme, not Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

For more details about which health products under HSA regulation or AVA regulation, can refer to the below link:

http://www.hsa.gov.sg/publish/hsaportal/en/health_products_regulation/complementary_medicines/product_tree.html

Under the AVA Food Factory Grading Scheme, food factories are categorized into 4 grades: A, B, C, D based on their food hygiene and food safety standards. Grading criteria cover aspects such as structural designs, process flow, cleanliness and hygiene practice, as well as implementation of quality assurance systems, including Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and food safety training for staffs.

Hence, everyone can rest assured to consume E.Excelfood products including pregnant ladies and infants & children.

Fore more details about the AVA Food Grading System, you can refer to the below link:
http://www.ava.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/A912E1E8-9384-46C0-A065-A91514FEF44B/13066/Attach1_GuidetoFoodFactoryGradingSystem1.pdf
 
http://www.ava.gov.sg/FoodSector/FoodSafetyEducation/SafetyAwardsSchemes/AboutExcellenceAward

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Joselyne

9090 9942

joselyne99@gmail.com

Simple rules when buying health foods

After years of being in health industry, there are few tips for us as consumer to take note in choosing a right health food. 

I feel pity when seeing friends spending a lot of money of health products just because of advertisements but not really knowing the ingredients, safety.. We have heard of cases of people including celebrity who ended up harming their health after taking certain slimming products. 

As a wise consumer, when we select health food in the market, the below are some simple steps we need to do: 

1. Check the ingredients - what is it made of? It's important to have the ingredients from wholesome plant food, not vitamin supplements to ensure no side effects. 

2. Check who is the manufacturer and the distributor - it's important to have the manufacturer and distributor the same to ensure quality consistency and safety, price controlling. A company which self-produce, self manufacture and self-distribute is a reliant company. 

3. Check on the bar code. The bar code is like a birth cert of the product which stores the information of all the process steps from raw ingredients to the final products. 

Do start doing so whenever buying any products in the market. The pruducts can tell many things to us. 

Joselyne 

90909942

Why Choosing Soy Milk instead of Cows Milk?

Why Soy Milk is getting more preferance from Parents compared to Cow's Milk nowadays.

I personally prefer soy milk than cow's milk for the below reasons:

What's the hidden risk/ danger of cow's milk? 

1. Cause Allergies

• Dairy milk protein is the most likely cause of allergy-related asthma.

• Read more: http://healthywholesomefood.blogspot.sg/2015/06/what-is-allergy-how-to-prevent-allergy.html

• Casein (a protein in cow's milk) and lactoprotein (a protein in breast milk) are completely different proteins. 

• The human body can digest, at most, 50% of animal protein (Casein), the remaining is left in the body and cause allergy, whereas our body can digest up to 90% of breast milk. 

• Research shows that compared to children who grew up on breast milk, a higher percentage of children who grew up on cow's milk have allergies. 

• A child who grow up with allergies will be affected in many areas due to side effects of medication used, e.g. inhaler, steroids. These medication will affect their normal growth. The itchiness and absence from school will affect their learning process also. 

2. Cause Calcium Loss - leads to Osteoporosis (instead of strengthening the bones) 

• Animal protein is acidic, hence the body will dissolve BONE material to provide calcium and phosphate to neutralise the acidic protein. This causes calcium loss from the bone. 

• Animal proteins have a very high content of sulfur-containing amino acids such as methionine and cystein, which have a powerful effect on the kidney's calcium excretion. 

• Thus, animal protein is MORE likely to cause calcium loss than plant protein. 

3. Excessive animal protein intake is linked to cardiovascular diseases and cancer. 

• Cow milk contain animal hormones that increase the risk of getting cancer such as breast cancer and prostate cancer. 

4. Intake of Antibiotics from cow's milk 

• Cows are injected with antibiotics to prevent from falling sick. These doses of antibiotics will go to the milk also.
• Children end up consuming sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics in every glass of milk which will lead their body to have superbugs and weaken the immune system. 
• Read more about misuse of antibiotics: http://healthywholesomefood.blogspot.sg/2014/10/misuse-of-antibiotics-caused-sperbug.html

More info below:

1. Milk does not do a body good - massive study says

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/11/03/milk-does-not-do-a-body-good-massive-new-study-says/

2. The sour facts about milk: What every parent needs to know 

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-10998/the-sour-facts-about-milk-what-every-parent-needs-to-know.html

In Summary, Animal Protein:

• High in Fats and Calories
• The human body cannot break down animal protein effectively 
• Excessive consumption burdens and damages the liver and kidney
• Difficult to digest 
• May cause allergies
• High in saturated fats 
• High in Cholesterols
• Long term consumption may increase risk of diseases including atherosclerosis, fatty liver, heart attack, and even cancer
• Excessive consumption increases calcium loss from the body 
• Increases risk of osteoporosis 

Is there a better choice? 

Yes, we can go for soy bean to get the protein source for our children.

Compared to animal proteins, plant proteins such as soy protein are more easily absorbed by the body. 

Plant proteins provide the body with essential nutrients but with less fat and fewer calories. 

Besides, soy is rich in phytochemicals to effectively boost immune functions. 

The American Diabetes Association hails soy as the ideal source of protein for diabetics as soy does not burden the kidneys. Soy protein is a plant protein. Hence, it does not contain any animal hormones or fats, making it the healthier choice.

In summary, Soy Protein:

• Low in calories 
• Easily broken down and absorbed
• Does not burden health
• Easily digested 
• Does not cause allergies
• Cholesterol free
• Can increase bone density and enhances calcium retention 
• Research shows that replacing animal protein with soy protein can lower calcium loss by 50%.

As a convenience to get Soy Protein from wholesome Soy, 

1. Check out NUTRIFRESH food product from E.Excel 

• a wholesome food made by Organic and Non-Genetically Modified Soy Bean and more than 15 different types of fruits and vegetables for plant-based protein and basic vitamins and minerals. 

• Ingredients:
  Soya bean + grape + banana + pineapple + asparagus + barley + broccoli + cabbage + cantaloupe + carrot + citrus peel + honeydew + peas + pear + peach + grapefruit + lemon + rice powder

• No preservatives 

• NUTRIFRESH is one of the most common product among parents to get for their kids.

• How to prepare healthy meal using Nutrifesh:
  

  
  

  Preparing Nutrifresh for your baby

  
  

  
  
  Nutrifresh Puree (Part 1)
  
  
  Nutrifresh Puree (Part 2)
  
  

• More info: http://www.eexcelasia.com/EN/Product/SV/JCYY/product8.aspx

• Some Testimonials:

• http://healthywholesomefood.blogspot.sg/2015/06/nutrifresh-with-nutriact-good-kids.html

• http://healthywholesomefood.blogspot.sg/2014/06/parents-favourite-choice-for-kids.html

Nutrifresh has been my nephew's favourite drink also =) 


2. Check out PHYTOFIT wholesome food product from eLEAD GLOBAL: 

Ingredients:

• a wholesome food made by Organic and Non-Genetically Modified Soy Bean for plant-based protein and basic vitamins and minerals. 

• Ingredients:
  Soya bean + Raspberry + Strawberry

• No preservatives 

• How to prepare the PhytoFit beverage in a minute? Watch the below video 

Contact me at +65-9090 9942 for more information! 


May all kids and babies are growing up healthily! :)

Best Regards, 

Joselyne 

Nutritional Immunology Consultant
+65-9090 9942

What is the best and safest food preservation method? What is Freeze-Drying?

FREEZE-DRYING - the best and safest food preservation for consumers

After learning more about freeze-drying, only I came to know there are so many benefits of freeze-dried food. I appreciate all the manufacturers in providing freeze-dried food for people. 

Freeze drying is a relatively recent method of preserving food. It involves freezing the food, then removing almost all the moisture in a vacuum chamber, and finally sealing the food in an airtight container. 

Freeze dried foods can be easily transported at normal temperatures, stored for a long period of time, and consumed with a minimum of preparation. Once prepared, freeze-dried foods have much the same look and taste as the original, natural products.

The freeze-drying process was developed during World War II as a method of preserving blood plasma for battlefield emergencies without requiring refrigeration or damaging the organic nature of the plasma. 

The technology was applied to consumer food products after the end of the war. Coffee was one of the first freeze-dried products to be marketed on a large scale. Today, many fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, and food flavorings are freeze-dried.

Freeze-drying has several advantages over other food preservation methods. 

1. Frozen foods retain flesh flavor and nutritional values, BUT require uniform, low temperature storage. 
2. Dehydrated and canned foods are shelf-stable, BUT high-temperature processing can degrade flavour, texture and nutritional content. 
3. Freeze-drying combines the best of these processing methods. It preserves the WHOLESOMENESS, FRESHNESS, COLOR and AROMA similar to frozen food, while providing the shelf-stable convenience of canned or dehydrated food. 

• Taste fresh. Freeze-driein virtually all their fresh-food taste and nutritional content. Freeze-drying removes the water, not the taste and flavour.

• Look fresh. Freeze-dried foods maintain their WHOLESOMENESS, original shape, colour and texture, unlike dehydrated foods, which shrink and shrivel due to high-temperature processing. Freeze-drying removes water under low temperatures (typically a maximum of 100 to 130 degrees F), which keeps intact the moisture channels and food fibers. Just add water, and in minutes every fresh food detail returns.

• Safer. Freeze-dried food is also relatively contamination-free since the dehydration process makes it virtually impossible for yeast and potentially harmful bacteria to survive.

• Weigh less than fresh. Freeze-dried foods have 98% of their water removed. This reduces the food's weight by about 90%. 

• Stay fresh. Freeze-dried foods can be stored at room temperature, without deterioration or spoilage. This is because freeze-drying and packaging remove both water and oxygen - the two primary causes of food deterioration. 

For more details about freeze-drying, refer below:

1. http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Freeze-Dried-Food.html
2. http://www.mountainhouse.com/M/frzdry.html
3. http://www.thrivelife.com/c/university/article/dehydration-and-freeze-drying-two-preservation-methods-compared-and-defined

So, Why E.Excel food products are wholesome plant foods products - although appear in sachet forms?

Because they are FREEZE-DRIED food, hence can be kept longer without adding any preservatives and yet the wholesomeness, and nutritional values are maintained as that in original plant foods.

I value wholesome food personally, with freeze-dried food, it has further added value of convenience to me in getting healthy wholesome food.

Joselyne 

90909942

Vitamin Pills and Calcium Pills may shorten lifespan

According to UK media reports on 28 Feb, the study published in the journal of the American Association showed that 3 types of the vitamin supplements, Vitamin A, E and Beta Carotene could increase the risk of early death. 

Long term consumption of Vitamin C pills may up the risks of oxalate-type kidney stone formation. 

A study by US Harvard University researchers revealed that adding Vitamin A to low-fat milk is not beneficial to health as Vitamin A may lead to osteoporosis, 50% increase in the risks of bone fracture. 

Researchers from Denmark's University of Copenhagen recently discovered that taking 

• Beta carotene supplement produced approximate 7% increased risk of death, 
• Vitamin E pills 4% increased risk of death
• Vitamin A pills  16% increased risk of death.

More info about side effects of vitamin pills:

Calcium Pills Raise Heart Attack Risk by 30%

The above happens mainly because all the above supplements are synthetically made!! 

If we are taking the nutrients from wholesome plant food source, they won't give the above side effects even though we take more than our body requires.  

Shared 

Joselyne 

Nutritional Immunology Consultant 

90909942 

Where do Vitamin Supplements come from?

Where do vitamin supplements come from?

When people think of drugs, most think “artificial.” When people think of vitamin supplements, most think “natural.”

But both drugs and vitamin supplements can be artificial or natural. Many vitamin supplements produced today are artificial. Meanwhile, the world of “natural” isn’t all hopscotch tournaments and fairy dances. Poison hemlock, hallucinogenic mushrooms, rhubarb leaves and sprouted kidney beans are all natural – and potentially deadly.

There are six categories of nutrients used in the manufacturing of vitamin supplements.

1. Natural source

These include nutrients from vegetable, animal or mineral sources. But before making it into the supplement bottle, they undergo significant processing and refining. Examples include vitamin D from fish liver oils, vitamin E from vegetable oils, and natural beta-carotene.

When a vitamin is marked “natural”, it only has to include 10% of actual natural plant-derived ingredients. The other 90% could be synthetic.

For example:

2. Nature-identical synthetic

This includes nutrients completely manufactured in a lab with the molecular structure identical to the same nutrients occurring in nature. Manufacturers often prefer this process because of the cost and scarcity of natural resources. Most standard vitamin supplements on the market today are this type.

An example here would be vitamin C. Most vitamin C currently manufactured is synthetic, coming from China. Vitamin C is a weak acid. Many supplements use salt forms (sodium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate, magnesium ascorbate) to decrease acidity.

The most popular form of synthetic vitamin C is ascorbic acid. Naturally occurring vitamin C is the same molecule as synthetic ascorbic acid. But in food, ascorbic acid is found within the vitamin C complex among other compounds. The ascorbic acid in supplements is often derived from corn starch, corn sugar, or rice starch, and is chemically dependent upon volatile acids.

The method for vitamin C synthesis using two-step fermentation was developed by China in the 1960s:

Ascorbic acid production. From: Vandamme EJ. Production of vitamins, coenzymes and related biochemicals by biotechnological processes. J Chem Tech Biotechnol 1992;53:313-327.

Another example:

3. Strictly synthetic

Centrum is strictly synthetic

These nutrients are manufactured in a lab and are different than the same nutrients found in nature. Synthetic vitamins can have the same chemical constituents, but still have a different shape (optical activity).

This is important because some of the enzymes in the human body only work properly with a vitamin of the correct shape.When we give the body concentrated forms of synthetic nutrients, it doesn’t always appear to have an appropriate delivery system.

Starting materials for strictly synthetic supplements can be anything from coal tar to petroleum to acetylene gas. These supplements are made in facilities via chemical manipulations with the goal of duplicating the structure of the isolated vitamin. Specific formulas for the process aren’t made available to the public (sorry, I tried).

An example is vitamin B1. Coal tar is a widely used foundational substance for this vitamin — typically a crystalline yellow coal tar (yes, this means it’s from coal, a fossil fuel). Hydrochloric acid is often added to allow precipitation. Then fermentation, heating, cooling, and other steps are completed until a final synthetic vitamin is created. It’s then dried and tested for purity before being shipped to distributors.

Now, to get a natural vitamin B1 supplement the process is quite different.

The food or botanical containing the desired vitamin is harvested and cleaned (let’s say wheat germ). It’s then placed in a vat to be mixed with water and filtered to create an extract and remove fibre (unlike in whole foods, where you want fibre). The post-filtration extract of the sourced food contains the nutrients found in the original whole food. It’s then dried and ready for packaging.

4. Food cultured

Example of a “whole food” labeled supplement

This involves the same process behind cultured foods like yogurt, kefir, miso, and sauerkraut. Nutrient supplements are often grown in yeast or algae. Culturing in and of itself creates nutrients and can make them more bioavailable.

Raw materials (minerals and some synthetic nutrients) are added to yeast/algae suspensions where they concentrate within cells. The yeast/algae are then harvested, ruptured, and made into a vitamin supplement. The theory here is that yeast/algae contain the nutrients they’re fed in a whole food complex.

Sometimes food cultured vitamins are combined with synthetic vitamins to increase potency (i.e., to bump up the milligram/microgram count on the label), since most have a low potency on their own. Remember, counting the milligrams of a synthetic vitamin might not be comparable to what’s found in whole foods.

5. Food based

One kind of food based supplement is made by enzymatically reacting synthetic and natural vitamins with extracts containing vegetable proteins and then making this into a supplement. This is not food cultured, because the nutrients are not grown into a whole food, as in the yeast/algae suspensions.

Manufacturers don’t often use concentrates or extracts derived from whole food sources because of low nutrient potency, fluctuating nutrient levels, limited shelf life. Nutrients are easily degraded by heat, pH changes, light, and oxygen.

Food based form of vitamin C

6. Bacterial fermentation

This includes nutrients produced by genetically altering bacteria. Genetically altered bacteria can produce nutrient by-products.

Examples include CoQ10, amino acids, ergocalciferol (vitamin D2), menaquinone (vitamin K2), riboflavin (fermentation of ribose), cyancobalamin (vitamin B12; this is exclusively obtained via fermentation processes, as the naturally occurring source of B12 is bacterial metabolic activity, think animal tissues/meat carrying bacteria), and melatonin.

For instance, vitamin D2 is made by artificially irradiating fungus. It’s not a naturally occurring form of vitamin D. The starting material is ergosterol, a type of plant sterol derived from fungal cell membranes. Ergosterol is turned into viosterol by ultraviolet light, and then converted into ergocalciferol (vitamin D2).

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What you should know about vitamin supplements?

Full scale vitamin production started during the 1930s with widespread distribution after World War II. Now, about 1/3 of Americans use vitamin supplements.

Nutrients from food?

Most people are interested in vitamin supplements because they fear they don’t enough nutrients from food.

This is a worthwhile concern: nutrients can be lost from soil due to fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, irrigation, farming practices, and other causes. The USDA has reported that the nutrient content of vegetables has fallen since 1973. Of thevitamins we do ingest from whole food, absorption can range from 20 to 98%.

Do vitamin supplements prevent disease?

A 2002 study in JAMA concluded that adults would be better off taking a multivitamin supplement each day. The authors didn’t specify synthetic or natural. Other reviews have concluded that beyond treatment of deficiency, vitamin supplements don’t promote health or prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Data indicates that vitamin supplements can actually lead to more cancer (specifically breast and prostate),cardiovascular disease, kidney damage (in those with diabetes), and fractures, while not helping prevent infections and sick days.

However, it’s important to remember that chances of certain chronic diseases can increase for those who are deficient in certain micronutrients.

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) recommends that the best nutritional strategy for optimal health and reducing the risk of chronic disease is to choose a wide variety of whole foods.

Other vitamin sources

Even if you aren’t popping vitamin supplements each day, if you consume fortified foods (think cereals, milks, breads, meal replacement shakes, etc.), it’s nearly impossible to avoid synthetic vitamins.
A report from the National Institutes of Health noted that individuals who consume high dose single nutrient supplements and fortified foods along with multivitamin/mineral supplements are at risk for undesirable effects.
Notice the synthetic vitamins added to Corn Flakes and Special K. Check out the ingredient listing.

Added vitamins and minerals in Special K and Corn Flakes.

Reference Source: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-vitamin-supplements

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Hope thru the above information, we and our friends/ family can become a more well-informed consumers when we are choosing a supplement in the market.

We have to be aware and alert of the ingredients of the product we are getting as some ingredients may be a silent killer and harm our health unknowingly and bring side effects when we consume in the long term.

Choosing a right health food is also important. 

Wholesome plant food WITHOUT being fortified with any vitamin/ mineral supplements is of the most ideal choice to nourish our immune system. Don't load Our immune system with unwanted 'synthetic nutrition'.

We are what we eat. All of us taking health food in hope to get a better health thru convenience. So let's be wiser consumer!

Warm Regards, 

Joselyne 

90909942