YAKULT (MALAYSIA) Sdn.

Bhd
1.0 Introduction
The Yakult cultured milk drink in Malaysia is proudly Malaysian made, from
the finest selected ingredients. Although Yakult has enjoyed 70 years of
successfully promoting better health overseas, it is a ne product to Malaysia.
Yakult !Malaysia" #dn. $hd. commenced production in %ebruary &00' and is a
holly oned subsidiary of Yakult (onsha !)apan". Yakult has committed
millions of ringgit to establish and operate its Malaysian manufacturing
operations in #eremban, *egeri #embilan and head office in +lenmarie, #hah
Alam, respectively. The product that is marketed in Malaysia is Yakult Ace, an
improved version of the standard Yakult cultured milk drink available in other
countries orldide. Yakult Ace has a higher concentration of the probiotics
,actobacillus casei #hirota and added nutrients- calcium, niacin and vitamins
$., $/& and 0. Yakult !M" #dn. $hd. currently employs over 11 people
throughout Malaysia. 2ur employees include production orkers, sales
consultants, customer service officers, administrative staff, managers and
human resource personnel.
2.0 History
The man behind the founding of Yakult (onsha 3o., ,td as 0r. Minoru
#hirota. (e began developing Yakult in /450 hile he as ith the
Microbiology 0epartment at 6yoto 7mperial 8niversity9s #chool of Medicine.
0r. #hirota believed that rather than curing a disease, it as much better to build
a strong body that as able to resist the disease. (e turned his attention to the
study of microorganisms due to his strong belief that a type of bacteria: ;<lactic
acid bacteria is capable of contributing to our health. 0r #hirota;9s objective as
to isolate a beneficial bacterium that ould be able to survive through our
stomach and bile acids to arrive alive in our intestines. There it ould assist the
functioning of our digestive system. #ubse=uently, he discovered that
lactobacilli could also destroy harmful bacteria that live in our intestines.
>?cited by this finding, he conducted an e?haustive investigation of lactobacilli,
hereupon he discovered a ne strain of bacteria. >arly Yakult bottle This
strain of bacteria : ,actobacillus casei, as found to be the most acid and bile
resistant and as subse=uently named ,actobacillus casei #hirota strain in
honor of 0r #hirota;9s research. 7t as the discovery of this bacterium that led to
the birth of Yakult. 7n /45@, 0r. #hirota started distributing Yakult from his
clinic. %or the ne?t &0 years, Yakult as produced and marketed all over )apan
by a number of independent operators. %inally, in /4@@, 0r #hirota founded his
on company, Yakult (onsha 3o. ,td., consolidating his business by taking
control of all the operations. (is business plan had an overriding business
objective- to promote health and bring happiness. The Yakult head=uarters in
Tokyo, )apan. Today, Yakult is available in &1 countries and is consumed by
more than &0 million people every day orldide.
3.0 Product nd S!r"ic!s
The Yakult that e drink in Malaysia is produced from high =uality,
carefully selected ingredients and packaged in our modern state:of:the:art
factory in #eremban, *egeri #embilan. The bacteria come from the mother
culture in )apan. The local plant maintains the highest =uality standards
throughout the process, e=uivalent to the Yakult manufacturing plants in )apan.
7n the Yakult factory, a lot of attention is paid to the to:ay communication
ith the consumer. Aeople ho are interested can get information in the factory,
and moreover, this is uni=ue as they can follo the hole production process
from a lobby on the first floor. The alls are made of glass, hich makes every
step of the production process clearly visible. This shos the open character and
the clear structure of the company. 0uring factory visits a tour is given by one
of the Yakult employees after an introductory presentation about the company
and the product. You too can visit the Yakult factoryB )ust contact us and e ill
arrange a tour for you, your family and friends.
#.0 $u%tur! nd &%u!s
Yakult9s greatest goal is to bring healthy smiles to faces everyhere. The
global corporate philosophy of the Yakult +roup is - CTo contribute to the health
and happiness of people around the orld through the pursuit of e?cellence in
life sciences in general and our e?pertise in microbiological research in
particular. C
'.0 M(in) Y(u%t
@./ Mi?ing of Da 7ngredients
,ive ,actobacillus casei #hirota strain is cultured in a 9seed tank9 in our
laboratory. #kim milk poder is mi?ed ith sugar, glucose and filtered,
sterilised ater to make a seet milky solution.
@.& #terilisation
The seet, milky solution is sterilised at a high temperature for a short time,
destroying any bacteria that may be present. The solution is then transferred to a
.,@00:litre culture tank via a closed system of pipes and valves.
@.5 3ulture Tank
The temperature of the tank is reduced to 57E3 and live Lactobacillus casei
Shirota strain is added. The solution is alloed to ferment for about one eek
until the number of Lactobacillus casei bacteria reaches an ideal concentration.
@.' Mi?ing and #torage Tank
The concentrate is transferred to a /&,000:litre mi?ing and storage tank. The
tank is chilled to around &E 3. #terilised flavours, syrup solution, vitamins and
calcium are added to the concentrate. Arior to bottling, the concentrate is diluted
ith filtered, sterile ater.
@.@ 7njection $lo Moulding Machine
The plastic bottles are produced on site. The bottles are made from polystyrene.
@.. $ottling and Aackaging
The bottles are rapped ith individual bottle labels. Then, they are filled ith
Yakult, capped ith a foil lid, sealed and transferred along the conveyor belt to
the packaging facility. #ingle bottles of Yakult are sorted into groups of five and
shrink:rapped in polypropylene film. Ten C@:packsC are grouped together and
rapped again in polyethylene film and then heat shrunk, forming a 9carton9 of
@0 Yakult bottles.
@.7 Defrigeration Doom
%inished products are kept refrigerated before delivery to stores.
@.1 Yakult Fuality Assurance
Yakult maintains a comprehensive =uality assurance program in order to ensure
that our product is of the highest =uality. %or this reason, samples are collected
for laboratory analysis throughout the production process to confirm that the
=uality assurance measures in place have been effective.
The testing involves more than /@0 samples per production run, upon
hich a total of more than &00 tests are conducted. These determine
,actobacillus casei numbers, check for potential contaminants, microbiological
=uality, composition, acidity, physical attributes and taste. 7n addition, each
bottle is inspected for undesirable markings and incorrect printing.
Fuality assurance measures are in place to maintain standards for
personnel and factory hygiene, e=uipment cleaning, processing methods and
parameters, and product handling. Yakult9s =uality assurance utiliGes a system
called C(aGard Analysis and 3ritical 3ontrol AointsC !(A33A". The principles
of (A33A are internationally recognised as an e?cellent method for assuring
stringently high standards.
4. Haste Management
3leaning : Yakult adheres to a comprehensive hygiene and sanitation program,
folloing a cleaning program that is predominantly governed by 37A !3leaning
in Alace". #team, an environmentally friendly cleaner, is used to steriliGe the
pipes and tanks. A single phase chemical cleaner is used, reducing the numbers
of chemicals introduced into the drains. 3hlorine based chemicals are not used.
#olid astes : The amount of solid aste is relatively small.
,i=uid astes : Any li=uid aste goes into a holding tank in our ater treatment
facility. The acidity !p(" of the ater is adjusted ith acid or alkaline before
being released into the seage system.
*+,+*+-$+
Yakult. &0/0. The Science of Probiotics. Yakult !Malaysia" #dn. $hd.
#eremban, *egeri #embilan 0arul 6husus.
.yakult.com.my. &001. Yakult Pioneer of Probiotic. Yakult !Malaysia" #dn.
$hd