Introduction

The company the class going to the study trip research is at the Yakult company at
Seremban and in the field trip we know how the Yakult being made. Yakult Sdn Bhd is the
only branch in Malaysia that in Seremban without having another factory. Yakult is a
Japanese probiotic milk which the product made by fermenting a mixture of skimmed milk
with a special strain of the bacterium Lactobacillus casei or it call Shirota. This bacteria
being created by Minoru Shirota who graduated from the Medical School of Kyoto
University in 1930. In 1935, he started manufacturing and selling Yakult. Yakult (Malaysia)
Sdn. Bhd. Was incorporated in February 2004 and it is a subsidiary of Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd,
Japanese listed company and world renowned manufacturer of probiotic products. The
company upholds the philosophy of promoting good health and preventing diseases from
using the probiotics. This factory produces Yakult for the whole of Malaysia, as well as for
export to neighbour country. Besides that, there are branch offices in Johor Baharu, Melaka,
Penang, Kuantan, Ipoh, Seremban, and Kota Bharu.
Yakult is recommended for all age groups including children (1 year and above) and
pregnant women. Yakult is a health drink which should be consumed everyday as a part of
your daily diet. Yakult contains sugar, so if you are diabetic, it is best to consult your doctor
and find out if it is safe for you. According to our studies, 80 ml of Yakult contains sufficient
beneficial bacteria (30 billion LcS) to favourably impact the balance of the gut flora.
However, if you wish to consume more than a bottle it is absolutely safe to do so. You need to
replenish the beneficial bacteria in your gut every day to keep yourself healthy and free from
harmful bacteria. Since most probiotic bacteria are flushed out in the stool, you need to
consume them every day Yakult and yoghurt are both cultured dairy products made from milk
fermented with live bacteria. Yakult is unique because it is made using Lactobacillus casei
Shirota strain, not the strains of bacteria used in yoghurt. Yakult is not a substitute for milk
and vice versa. The bacteria in Yakult (Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota) are not found in any
other food and hence it is recommended to include Yakult in your daily diet along with milk
and other dairy products.

History
The history of Yakult takes us back to the early 1930s in Japan, when the founder
father in Yakult, scientist Dr. Minoru Shirota, selected and cultivated the Lactobacillus casei
Shirota bacteria. It took Dr. Shirota another 5 years of research to find the right food medium
for this bacteria. In 1935 their first bottle of Yakult, a fermented milk-based drink, was
produced in glass bottles. The nurses that worked for Dr. Shirota, latter referred to as Yakult
ladies and started distributing Yakult to customer.
The fermented milk drink became successful in Japan and the demand from customer
was steadily increasing that in 1955 Dr. Shirota established Yakult Honsha Ltd that today
literally means Yakult head office in Tokyo, Japan. Once Dr. Shirota established the head
office which centralised all business processes, he returned fully to his lifelong passion. In
addition, Dr Shirota death in 1982 and he remained dedicated to science at the Yakult Central
for Microbiological Research. This company has its own philosophy and vision which are:

Philosophy: We contribute to the health and happiness of people around the world
through pursuit of excellence in life science in general and our research and
experience in microorganisms in particular

Vision: We believe in what we do. In our little bottle. In probiotics. We want to raise
the quality of life for people throughout the world.

Yakult Production Process

1. Mixing of Raw Materials
Skim milk powder and sugar are dissolved in water to make a sweet milky solution
2. Sterilisation
The milk solution is sterilised by ultra-heat treatment, destroying any bacteria present,
then transferred to 6,500 litre culture tank via a closed system of pipes and valves.
3. Culture Tank
Temperature is reduced and adjusted to body temperature for the bacteria to grow.
Live Shirota strain (which has been cultured in a seed tank in our laboratory) is
added. The solution is allowed to ferment for few days until the number of Shirota
strain reaches required levels
4. Mixing and Storage Tank
The concentrate is transferred to a 12,000 litre mixing and storage tank, chilled to 2
Celsius. Sterilised flavours, vitamins, calcium and syrup are added. Prior to bottling,
the concentrate is diluted with filtered, sterile water.
5. Injection Blow Moulding Machine
The plastic bottles are produced on site using polystyrene
6. Bottling and Packaging
The bottles are wrapped with individual labels, filled with Yakult, capped with aa foil
lid, sealed and transferred along a conveyor belt to the packaging. Single bottle is
sorted into groups of five or ten and shrink-wrapped in polypropylene. It is then
grouped together and wrapped again in polyethylene film, forming a carton of 50
bottles
7. Refrigeration Room
Finished products are kept refrigerated before delivery to stores
8. Quality Assurance
Samples are collected for lab analysis throughout the production process. More than
100 tests are conducted for each batch of Yakult produced including test to determine
the number of live Shirota strain, check for potential contaminants, microbiological
quality, composition, acidity, physical attributes, taste, tests on raw material and
environment tests.

Product Yakult and Services

The Yakult that we drink in Malaysia is produced from high quality, carefully selected
ingredients and packaged in modern state-of-the-art factory in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.
The bacteria come from the mother culture in Japan. The local plant maintains the highest
quality standards throughout the process, equivalent to the Yakult manufacturing plants in
Japan. In the Yakult factory, a lot of attention is paid to the two-way communication with the
consumer. People who are interested can get information in the factory and moreover, this is
unique as they can follow the whole production process from a lobby on the first floor. The
walls are made of glass, which makes every step of the production process clearly visible.
This shows the open character and the clear structure of the company. During factory visits a
tour is given by one of the Yakult employees after an introductory presentation about the
company and the product.
Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. Uses level strategy in their aggregate planning or
traditional method which mean they will keep producing same volume of output even the
demand is high in a day the production will have 720,000 goods and that is enough for the
company to fulfil the requirement by the customer in Malaysia. This company no do
backorder to maintain low cost in production line.
At Malaysia there are two types of Yakult in the market which are the Yakult Ace and
Yakult Ace Light. Yakult Ace is the first product introduced into the Malaysia market. Yakult
Ace Light is the latest product which contain 50% less sugar and less sweet taste as compared
to Yakult ace. This two product have HALAL certificate which ensure that the products are
safe to consume and suitable to all Malaysian including the Muslim
Yakult Ace cultured milk drink is a premium version of the standard Yakult cultured
milk drink available in other countries worldwide. It contains over 30 billion of the live
beneficial bacteria Shirota strain and added nutrient such as calcium, niacin and vitamin. For
Yakult Ace light, its contain 56% percent less sugar and a lighter, less sweet taste compared
to Yakult Ace, but the same high concentration of live Shirota strain-over 30 billion in each
bottle. Just like Yakult Ace, this product cultured milk is free of fat, cholesterol, colourings,
preservatives, conditioner and stabilizers.

Conclusion

For the nutshell, Yakult produced in Malaysia is made from high quality ingredient
and raw material where they carefully selected ingredients and packaged in a technologically
advanced local manufacturing facility that are in Seremban to keep the technology maintain
which incorporating some of the latest food processing equipment. This factory also
maintains the highest quality standards throughout the process when producing the goods that
equivalent to the Yakult manufacturing plants in Japan. Throughout their planning, they are
able to produce output and maintain high quality product that able to gain more customers
than competitor. In addition, everybody need at least drink one bottle of Yakult to keep
healthy for our body from negative virus and has positive virus for our own goodnesss.