I-Mei Foods held a “peace of mind and thanksgiving”-themed news conference last month to celebrate the company’s 85th anniversary. I-Mei Foods Co chairman Kao Chih-shang and his brother, general manager Luis Ko expressed gratitude to customers for their support, saying the company feels proud and confident as the brand celebrates this key milestone. The brothers said I-Mei’s goal, ever since its inception, has been to stay true to the brand and be worthy of the Taiwanese and the country.
Kao said that rapid progress toward digitization and computerization, in addition to ever-worsening environmental problems around the globe, are common challenges that we must all face up to. Kao said I-Mei has been on a mission for the past several decades to develop its business in a way that advances development in agricultural biotechnology. The goal is to extract all the natural nutritional value from pure raw materials, to make products that are both safe and beneficial to consumers. Progress in agricultural biotechnology will be the new breakthrough that propels the company forward for the next 100 years, Kao predicted.
Kao also revealed that I-Mei has in recent years been actively cooperating with hospitals, universities and the Academia Sinica, and has even been working with the world’s preeminent food manufacturer, Nestle.
Photo: CNA
照片:中央社
Food and medicine essentially derive from the same source, and I-Mei has more recently expanded into health care and the biomedical industry. Ko says “simplicity” and “peace of mind” are values that continue to exist at the core of the company, and says the reason for I-Mei’s move into health care and the medical industry is because the company observed a number of issues relating to food supply and the environment and wanted to develop breakthrough solutions.
In addition to focusing on agricultural biotechnology and biomedical science, at the news conference the brothers also announced I-Mei will be turning its attention to coffee in the near future. The company hopes it can carve out a niche within the global coffee industry, which is estimated to be worth up to US$43 billion.
(Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者朱沛雄
義美上個月舉行八十五週年安心感恩記者會,義美食品董事長高志尚、總經理高志明兩兄弟感恩消費者支持,也自信八十五年來義美是個驕傲的品牌,對得起品牌、台灣社會與這塊土地是義美始終追求的目標。
高志尚表示,數位化、電腦化快速發展,全球環境汙染越發惡化是大家共同面對的問題,如何從農產品中粹取出天然營養素原料,提供最安全、符合消費者利益的食品,帶動農業生技發展,是義美未來二十至三十年積極發展的方向,生技產業將會是引領義美品牌邁向百年企業的新突破點。
高志尚透露,義美近年來積極與醫院、大學、中研院合作,並與全球最大的食品大廠雀巢公司合作。
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
照片:維基共享資源
基於醫食同源的理念,義美跨入保健及生醫產業。高志明表示,「簡單、安心」依舊是義美堅持的主軸,會進入保健及生醫產業,主要是看到現在飲食及環境存在諸多問題,希望在環境與農業中找到新的突破點。
除了生技、生醫新事業外,義美在記者會也預告了咖啡將是下一個瞄準的產業,希望從不同的角度跨入全球高達四三○億美元的黑金商機。
(中央社)
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What is biotechnology?
Biotechnology is an area of biology which harnesses living organisms to develop or manufacture products. Modern uses include the use of microorganisms to clean up contaminated land or the manufacture of biodegradable plastics and biofuels.
Biotechnology is in fact nothing new: the making of beer and bread both involves a fermentation process which uses live yeast — microscopic fungus that reproduce, and are able to convert sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Biotechnology is also used in health care. Perhaps the most famous example is the discovery of the mold Penicillium in 1928 by Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming. Other scientists built upon Fleming’s discovery, purifying the antibiotic compound formed by the mold to develop penicillin — the world’s first antibiotic, able to destroy bacterial infections within the human body.
(Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
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