Manufacturing Process Of Edible Bird Nests by Yen Pao Lai
A processing order, which includes the product batch number that is traceable back the harvested date and location. The processing order specifies quantity to be process, quality specifications to be met, packing and labeling requirements. All products are cleaned and processed in a manner that preserves the quality of the product.
Cleaning/ feather removal equipments used for nests processing including tweezers, moulds, and stainless steel equipments is thoroughly cleaned before use. Product is tested by certified third-party laboratory to verify purity of the bird nest. Testing and sterilization is performed on finished products using Airstream Horizontal Laminar Flow Clean Bench.
A processing report with batch number verifying quantity of products processed , and cleaned products is issued by processor. All processed product is accounted for and all processing steps are clearly documented.
The processing program is designed to follow strictly the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards. All the products are processed handled and store in a hygienic environment to ensure product quality and safety. In order to enhance the competitiveness in local and international marketplace.
Throughout the process, no additives, bleaching agent and chemicals are adulterated into the bird nests.
Our products are fungus free and insects free.
We offer Malaysian bird nests at fair and reasonable prices with superb quality. We guarantee our bird nest/bird's nest is 100% pure and natural with nitrite content below 30 ppm.
What are the nutritious contents found in Bird Nest?
Protein
About half the bird’s nest comprises of protein. Protein is a macronutrient that the human body needs in relatively large amounts. First, it provides the essential amino acids that our own tissues can't produce. Secondly, protein provides nitrogen to produce non-essential amino acids and other nitrogen-containing compounds.
Amino Acid
Bird's nest contains amino acids such as arginine cystein, histidine tryptophan, etc. Amino acids can be best described as the construction blocks from which protein is made.
Minerals
Various types of minerals like zinc, copper, iron, sodium, phosphorous have also been found in analyses of bird’s nests. These minerals are essential as our need for oxygen to sustain all mental and physical processes and for our total well-being. They are important in maintaining all physiological processes as they made up the constituents of teeth, bones, tissues, blood, muscle, and nerve cells.
Antioxidant
Antioxidants are substances or nutrients in our foods which can prevent or slow down the oxidative damage to our body. Health problems such as heart disease, muscular degeneration, diabetes, cancer, etc. are all contributed by oxidative damage. Antioxidants may also boast our immune defense and therefore lower the risk of cancer and infection.
Bird Nest table of contents
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Ash |
0.5 - 0.7% |
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Fibre |
0.5 - 0.7% |
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Protein |
56.7% - 63.5% |
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Fats |
0.5 - 1% |
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Moisture |
+ - 10% |
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Carbohydrate |
20.1 - 25.7% |
What are the health benefits of eating Bird Nest?
It has been a long held Chinese belief that bird’s nests promotes cell growth and tissue repair as well as strengthens the body's systems and provide resistance to diseases.
Bird’s nest are rich in collagen and high in epidermal growth factor. Thus a long-held Chinese belief is that regular consumption of bird’s nest can help maintain a youthful, radiant, as well as wrinkle-free complexion .
It is believed that bird's nest can act as a tonic for the lungs and can help keep the function of respiratory system homeostatic.
They are also excellent for boosting the blood circulation system for children, patients in recovering stage, women after delivery and the elderly.
An independent laboratory investigation has revealed that bird’s nest contains a water soluble glycol-protein that promotes cell division within the immune system. These findings lend support to the belief that bird’s nest promotes growth and tissue repair.
A study conducted in 1963 found indications that the chemical compounds extracted from bird's nests effectively prohibited the process of Haemagglutination which causes the common cold and influenza.
Bird’s nest contain amino acids and minerals that are essential for healthy development in children.
Research has also found that bird’s nest contains the epidermal growth factor. This helps explain why Chinese herbalists often prescribe bird’s nest to people who fail to thrive or grow for no apparent reason.
HISTORY OF BIRD NEST
Bird’s nest soup is a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. The Chinese name for bird's nest soup, yàn wō (燕窝), translates literally as "swallow's nest". This soup has been consumed in China for over in excess of 1000 years. According to Yun-Cheung Kong, a professor of biochemistry at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, swiftlet nests were first traded in China during the T’ang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). Sometime between the years 1368 and 1644, Admiral Cheng He introduced foreign nests to the imperial court of the Ming Dynasty. It is believed that even at this point in time domestic supplies of the nests had been largely depleted. which made imports in high demand. Edible bird’s nests are among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans. The material is also used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and in Traditional Vietnamese Medicine.
HARVESTING
Edible bird's nests are bird nests created by swiftlets using solidified saliva, which are harvested for human consumption. The type or grading of bird`s nest depends on the type of bird as well as the diet of the bird. It differs in colour from white to dark brown. The most heavily harvested nests are from the edible-nest swiftlet or white-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus) and the black-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus maximus). The white nests and the red nests are supposedly rich in nutrients, which are traditionally believed to provide health benefits.
Most nests are built during the breeding season by the male swiftlet over a period of 35 days. They take the shape of a shallow cup stuck to the cave wall. The nests are composed of interwoven strands of salivary cement. Both nests have high levels of calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium. The edible bird's nests ( 燕窩 in Chinese) made up of pure salivary glue are much more expensive than those incorporating other materials. These nests with other materials are considered seconds or lesser valued.
The white nests are commonly treated with a red pigment, but methods have been developed to determine an adulterated nest. Natural red cave nests are often only found in limestone caves in a bird nest concession island in Thailand. The high cost and demand has attracted counterfeiters, leading to the halt of Malaysian nest exports to China; the Malaysian government has undertaken to employ RFID technology to thwart counterfeiting by micro-chipping nests with details about harvesting, packaging and transport. Industrial quality-control techniques such as failure mode and effects analysis have been applied to edible bird's nest processing at nesting houses in Sarawak, Malaysia and reported by a research team in by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Identifying Authentic Bird Nest
BEFORE SOAKING
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Characteristics |
Authentic |
Fake |
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Transparency |
Semi-translucent |
Not Translucent |
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Fragility |
Very Fragile. Can easily break into smaller pieces |
Very Fragile and break into big chunks |
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Weight |
The weight of a true bird nest is between 3.5 gram and 8 gram |
A fake bird nest can weigh more than 8 gram.
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AFTER SOAKING
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Characteristics |
Authentic |
Fake |
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Shape |
No distinctive shape and have occasional tiny feathers |
Uniformed shape and have distinct chemical smell |
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Expandability |
Expand 2 to 7 times |
No significant expansion |
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Colour |
Water is clear |
Discolouring of nest colour into water |
AFTER COOKING
|
Characteristics |
Authentic |
Fake |
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Smell |
A true bird nest has the smell of albumen of an egg |
A fake one has the smell of additives. |
SOME SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON EDIBLE BIRD'S NEST
COMPARING HOUSE BIRD'S NEST WITH CAVE BIRD'S NEST
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House Nest |
Cave Nest |
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the bird nest cup produced by house swiftlets are of better quality because house nests are harvested after the young swiftlet leaves the nests |
for the cave nests, due to the height of the cave and difficulty in harvesting, the frequency of harvesting are lesser. When the workers climb up to pluck the bird nests, they are prone to disturb and remove the bird nests which still house the infant swiftlets. In so doing, the ecological equilibrium is adversely disturbed. |
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The nitrite contents found in house nests were 5.7 ± 6.7 μg/g |
The nitrite contents found in cave nests were 843.8 ± 460.9 μg/g,
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The nitrate contents obtained in house nests were 98.2 ± 33.7 μg/g |
The nitrate contents obtained in cave nests were 36,999.4 ± 38,738.7 μg/g
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The swiftlet houses are well-managed by frequent cleaning of the bird soil and guano. The bird soil and guano can generate nitrite and nitrate through fermentation process, so they should be routinely removed to control the nitrite and nitrate contents in edible bird’s nests.
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House nest which had brighter and more yellow in colour had lower nitrite contents |
Cave nests are darker and redder colour had higher nitrite contents
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WHAT DO THE CELEBRITIES SAID ABOUT BIRD'S NEST
1) Fan Bing Bing
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2) Guan Yong He
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3) Lizi
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4) Wen Bixia
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5) Yang Gongru
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6) Zhao Yazhi
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7) Zheng Xiuwen
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"燕窝有很高的蛋白质，能补充营养，又不用担心会发胖的问题，不过最好是空腹时吃，效果会比较好喔！”
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Bird's Nest FAQ
SPECIAL RED PACKAGING AT $4 EACH
