Quality Enhancement Of Shrimp Paste And Packaging Improvement For A Local Manufacturer

Abstract

The present research focuses on the quality of the shrimp paste manufacturing company by emphasizing product quality improvement as well as packaging improvement for the shrimp paste, which is the main product of the Case Study Company. Presently, the product uses paraffin to cover the shrimp paste for food preservation, which is prohibited by Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations ( FAO) / World Health Organisation (WHO) and Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The research procedure may be divided into 3 phases. The first phase consists of improvement to the physical and chemical properties of the shrimp paste. The sample product was tested at Food Test and Research Laboratory (FTRL) of Chulalongkorn University, according to Thailand Industrial Standard Institute (TISI) no. 1080 2535 for shrimp paste. The results led to the subsequent improvement in yeast, mould and percentage of moisture content in the product.

The second phase involves the improvement to the packaging and taste of the shrimp paste product. Three quality improvement tools are used, namely Quality function deployment (QFD), Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and Statistical process control (SPC) in order to prioritise the qualitative and quantitative factors that the customers demand. It was found that the taste of shrimp paste is the most important factor. This was followed by conformance to FDA standard, ease of lid opening, texture, colour, and odour of shrimp paste. Based on the blind test, the product as-is is already superior to the competitors in terms of colour and taste of shrimp paste. However, the product packaging and labelling need to be improved as a prerequisite to receiving the FDA certificate. After considering several alternatives, the product packaging chosen in this research was the easy-open ends (E.O.E.). For the labeling, additional information was added such as product information in the English language, nutrition facts, and expiry and manufacturing dates. Moreover, the size of packaging was recommended to be adapted according to customer usage: the small size is changed from 145g to 180g and the large size is changed from 580g to 700g.

The third phase of the research procedure is the financial analysis comparing the costs per kilogram of the product before and after improvement. It was found that total cost increases 4.9 percent for small size and 8.4 percent for the large size. It was recommended that the price should be increased by up to 10 percent to accommodate the cost increase. However, it is noted that investment is needed for future improvement to the shrimp paste factory in preparation for the FDA registration, which is recommended for further research.

It may be concluded that improvement in product and packaging for such local products as shrimp paste as conducted for the case study company could lead to significant competitive advantage for the company. It is therefore recommended that similar research works be conducted for other local products in the future.