Basic

This week was spent in a basic meat processing course.

I may not be really into this processing but I wanted the basic knowledge so I can discuss our products with consumers and when dreaming of new products in my mind, I can sort of know from step 1 if it is workable or not.

Glad I took this class. From sanitation and hygiene, observance of safety (one of us had his toe fractured), preparation, packing, costing....the more you learn, you are snapped out and awaken to the fact that you don't know enough.

Why did I join? So I can understand my mind's creativity in developing my sausages :)

We have now signed up for the Advance Class. Thank you to BAI's APDC. There are good men in uniforms and lab gowns :)

PS: No stools. no seats in laboratories and processing areas. After these, I appreciate the food processors!

Hi-Precision Diagnostics

This may seem out of place....posting about a medical diagnostic clinic. Not at all.

Safe food, safe preparation and safe handling is a full circle of system. In my taking a course on meat processing at APDC, a requirement was a clearance of good health to handle food. You can't enter the lab if you didn't have it.

I needed an XRay with asap results. My neighbor recommended Hi-Precision Diagnostics. Got there at almost 6pm. No line, very helpful staff. The best thing was the result was downloadable the next morning. If I got to the clinic before 4pm, when there are Radiologists to interpret, the results would have been available to me thru the internet soon after that.

Just what I needed. I was able to attend today's classroom activity. Downloaded the results during the lunch break. The lab activities were open for me to attend by 1pm :)

Clean and accessible clinics. Results you don't have to go back for. I will surely refer Hi-Precision Diagnostics to others.

Safe in all aspects and topics.

So Sage, Sausage

So sensible, so wise.

It was a perfect time to bring out the sausage platters that we had developed from the Sunshine Chickens.

Why so? We were in the company of family and friends.

1st stop: In Santiago City, Isabela. Family on Doc Rey's side had the usual Christmas party. Served on the drinking table for pulutan. I didn't think it will be rated well and delicious as we centered on taste buds of the Metro folks. The men liked it.

Next stop: Last night's Cheese and Wine with my forever friends from Maryknoll high school yet. For a cross section, we invited my mother's best friend in her 70s, and Mr. Zac Sarian of Agriculture Magazine. It rated very well with Tita Pilar and Zac. I gifted Father Mon, our parish priest, some sauasages and fresh eggs last week, and Tita Pilar said that Father Mon raved about it infront of other parishioners.

My 20yr old son, Rocky, also joined the group. He is a health buff and watches his diet so well. His likes was taken into consideration when we developed this.

My friends...oh they will always be critical to a fault...but its always for the good of everyone :) They all said it was great, but lacking in blah blah black sheep hahahhahha. But, no negative reactions...,.,which means it was so good already, knowing them!

I was prepared with my camera, but as always in good times, I forget to take photos!

Discussion centered on the reasons for developing the product. It started with planning for value added products aside from the dressed chickens. Brainstorming about other business ideas, beyond the raising...where else and who else can earn from the endeavors? The clamor for healthy products. The segment of the ready to cook food had to be looked into.

Repeat. We had APDC of BAI develop these so sage sausages for us. We were both equally ecstatic about reinventing meat processing without preservatives.

I texted Salve of APDC first thing this morning to congratulate her as it met the taste buds of the cross section of our target market. It faired well with all ages and cultural slices.

So sage...it has a nice ring! I should use it as branding! ...what do you think?

HHWW

Its now what you thought... "holding hands while walking"!

My work in marketing takes me to working with so many people from different agencies and offices. Met a lot of great minds that inspire you. We always shun from walking into government agencies...but hey....there a lot of them who really do work hard and beyond the call of duty.

One such agency is the Animal Products Development Center under Bureau of Animal Industry.

Because of distance and schedules, I am late in the pick up for sensory analysis (taste test in simpler terms) of my requested products to be developed. We had scheduled already a date for processing but they want to us to do several taste tests before going final on volume quantities. Again, I had to beg off till Monday the 14th.

Today I get a text that since we have a schedule for production and they want to make sure also that the products pass the sensory analysis for both parties, I can pick up the products tomorrow. I had to reread the text message and confirm that "tomorrow" is a Saturday.

"Yes" was the reply. Thank you. Open your heart to good service of civil servants. They are there to assist.... "helping hands while working".

Why The Tests?

Blood tests are done to monitor the health and condition of the Certified Parent Stocks. Aside from us owners wanting to make sure they are healthy, the government, namely the Bureau of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture monitors to make sure they know the history of the flocks that are given local shipping permits.

They do testings at about 2months old and at 6months old when the local shipping permits will be applicable to that particular batch. When there is a problem on poultry in a particular area, records will show what were shipped to that area on a particular time. Records are very important. They can refer to the history of the breeders that shipped on the particular date of chick-ins.

Say hello to our September2009 batch. They eagerly awaited BAI's arrival.


There were looking as Doc Arlene and Hermie were preparing.


They patiently waited for their turn.

Be Nosey

For biosecurity reasons, we rarely go to the site of the breeders. The capitalization is no cough, so we try to keep the place clean to the best of our abilities.

Aside from marketing, documentations are part of my job, so government testing trips is one of my rare visits to the breeders.

It was a nippy comfortably cool morning. I thought morning still as we started real early from Manila. Looking at my watch it was towards noon already. Still cool. Sure, it is December. But aside from that, our buildings are surrounded by trees.

In today's blood testing by BAI's team of Doc Arlene and Hermie, they commented that our farm is one of the rare ones that has no odor at all....zero. It actually smells fresh. No flies too!

If only you can smell through photos....

And if you can see the multi colored butterflies....

You will know the place is clean :)

Industry Wide

Grateful that most of the regular growers started loading for the Christmas season as early as August and September. I remember posting about loading in August for the really matured taste of a slowly developed chicken :)

What came to us in September in terms of typhoons is known to all. Now, most breeder farms had been affected in terms of stress that translates to lower production, add to that the normal anticipated increase in demands for dayold chicks.....now the perceived shortage.

Several times I had been asked of the demand for Sunshine Chicks are that much? Thank you, it brought a smile to me. But, the shortage and increase in demand is industry wide....the colored, the whites....united colors of chicken!

The government, the respected agencies involved, and am sure all the bigger breeder farms are doing what they can to correct the situation.

We are one in doing steps to ease up the shortage/demand. It is not good for everyone if this continues. SASSO of France is one with us in making sure the demand is met.

Walking Around

I didn't want to discuss this beforehand, but someone said that it was written about in the newspaper about us developing products for the free range chicken...so better you hear it from me.

Immerse, be one, learn, walk around.

Product development is the same. You have to use your senses in all manners. We are so excited to be in the middle of developing products: Our hamanok, patties, bbq and sausages that comes - sweet skinless, Vigan style (garlicky), Italian (spicy, herbs) and Polish (herbs).

We have remained focused to our niche market. That is the group of consumers we are targeting here. The ones who want food seasoned with natural ingredients, no preservatives. Taste wise? I was my gauge :)

It took me several days also to search for the ingredients to be used. Walking around, asking, talking and tasting. We didn't scrimp. Its the quality that we are after, since we have to rely on the natural flavors to bring out the best.

We had to debone...and do we just sell the wings as is? Nope, now we have tried on a recipe for wings too :) I didn't want to get into the special cuts anyway. Too tedious.

Really excited about this. Now how to cook...broil, grill, turbo etc....healthy ways to do it.

Thank you to Animal Products Development Center (APDC) of BAI for being all agog with us.

Developing

Neverending. Continuing. Forever.

Our ball has not stopped rolling. We have to always be changing for the better and development and marketing never ceases. You can't market stale ideas and products so new ideas have to always be cooking.

The past days, the word "Cooking" was the key word for me. Yesterday we visited Animal Products Development Center of the Bureau of Animal Industry. Most helpful team! Does the DA pride and Joy :)

We toured around the slaughtering facilities, waste disposal systems the meat processing section and their training areas. They met with us regarding the products we want to be developed. They had a more than tight schedule, what with the Christmas season etc etc. But, they gave in to our request to squeeze us into their development and processing schedule. Ahhh, you know me by now? Why wait for a schedule to process after development when I trust that they will come up with good products. So, why wait for 2010? I asked them already for processing sched to meet Christmas offerings.

They knew exactly what I wanted as we started describing our grass fed line of Sunshines. They are equally excited to develop recipes that are chemical free.

Niche marketing...

Guess What?

Can you think of what new strains we are adding to our Sunshine Dayold Chicks line?

This week we get our new Certified Parent Stocks. When we say COMING SOON, it is, because it will be landed. Just like birth certificates, they are named as Solraya babies.

We are named as importer and not just the trader nor salesman :) So you know you are dealing with us directly.

We will be happy to show you our importation papers, naming Solraya as the importer and verifiable with the Bureau of Animal Industry.

Current Blood Testing

Mondays are the ERRANDS DAY....

By 6am, we were at BAI to get the crew that will do the blood testing on our current flock, for accreditation for local shipping permits.


Got back early at 2pm and decided we can do something that requires urgency...to change tires on a 1year old truck. We do a lot of travelling and yes we bald tires in a year's time.

Thinking of doing Visayas/Mindanao on a roro.....time constraints, but the trip sounds inviting.

Time And Work

This morning, we found ourselves waking up at 8am! We are such morning people and so used to waking up at dawn to attend to various engagements. Are we too tired?

So many things are cropping up: opportunity for Shangri-la Mall booth (who will man it?), series of Northern Luzon seminars (almost daily in key cities), guestings, shows etc etc.

I thank the blessings that problem is scheduling orders, rather than finding buyers. We will be increasing our Parent Stocks for next order.

Thank you that we are seeking how to clone ourselves for time and manpower needs...rather than being idle and getting bored.

For all these, we are maintaining our commitment of giving you only certified F1 Sunshine Chicks to you. Our records of importation, periodically replacing our certified Parent Stocks from France, and visits by BAI to our farm is proof of our goal to give you quality.

Blood Testing and Hatchery Check

Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) had done the routine blood testing today for the June23 batch. The hatchery inspection for biosecurity reasons was done earlier this week.