Betagro Group has been focusing on manufacturing safe food, and now one of its factories has achieved the standard minimum complaints of 1.2 parts per million (ppm).

The average 6 Sigma standard deviation of 3ppm is used to describe very small amounts of contaminants in the environment as well as in food.

Vanus Taepaisitphongse, chief executive officer of the group, said the success came from its joint venture with Japan-based Ajinomoto to produce cooked chicken.

The figure means production at the plant has received that number of complaints from customers.

 "We are trying to get the lowest ppm level we can. We want to see more of our factories receive minimum complaints about food safety and better quality assurance in manufacture. We want to see consumers enjoying a quality of life as high as in Japan, specifically in food," Vanus said.

As one of the country's top five food-manufacturers, Betagro expects this development plan to give it global market access, ensuring as it does international standards followed for example in the European Union and Japan.

Vanus added that the group would soon announce a new business agreement with a food company in Europe, but he refused to divulge details, saying that these were confidential but that 90 per cent of formalities had been completed.

The group's major partners have been Japanese food and trading-company giants like Mitsubishi Corporation, Ajinomoto Frozen Foods, Sumitomo Corporation, Dai Nippon Co, the Ootoya Japanese-restaurant chain and Mouth Poolaski Product Inc.

Based in Thailand for nearly 40 years, the group runs chicken and pig farms producing cooked chicken, cooked pork, sausages, animal feed and animal pharmaceuticals and runs Japanese restaurants.

Vanus pointed that the group's partners were strict about food safety and that tougher competition in the global market had reduced the number of manufacturers to the point where only those with high-quality products and technology were viable.

To serve global demand, the group has set up a research-and-development lab in the Kingdom's Science Park to focus on product development and quality-testing.

The lab will improve ppm standards and help business plans, which focus on food safety, R&D and brand-building.

The group aims to set up a manufacturing system that will not only ensure safe products but also create a 24/7 monitoring system able to solve problems immediately.

"We want zero-defect production," Vanus said.

Vanus said the R&D would expand business, both domestic and export.

"We foresee the food industry going the same way as the fashion industry, which is branching out by joining hands with both local and foreign partners."

Brand-building is designed to bring the group's image closer to consumers. Its brands include Better Food, mainly for sausages, S-Pure for fresh chicken and pork and Better Sausage for premium products.

Sales revenue has been growing by an average of 15 per cent and is set to reach Bt30 billion this year. It was already Bt14.7 billion in the first half.

Vanus said the group was investing Bt2.3 billion in two new cooked-chicken plants in Lopburi to be completed in the third quarter of next year.

"What we are doing will support our plans to become a key player in the food industry in the next few years," he said.

Achara Pongvutitham

The Nation