Jang H. Kim, Ph. D. Northern Marianas College Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Service

 After harvested, the quality of produce is deteriorated in proportional to the storage period  Tropical produce are highly perishable and the shelf-life is comparatively short  Good post-harvest practice and strategy for maintaining the quality of local produce OR….

 Add more value by transforming fresh produce to processed food product  Utilize local produce to process jams, juices, pickles, wines, oils, chips and so  Provide good opportunities to access potential niche markets  Export the value-added product and contribute to local economy

 Facility to provide opportunity for people to use various processing equipment to develop their own value-added product  Financed by pooled entrepreneur, loans and grants from private, and government sources  Users pay into a kitchen-operating fund in amounts much lower than their own operation cost  This subsidy reduces risk in starting businesses

 As a business grows within a community kitchen, it may need to move out, either because of the limited facility capacity or management policy (Business Incubation)  Usually have operating boards and bylaw governing the operating procedures  The community must be willing to provide continuous support for the effort over the long term

 The kitchen must be operated as a business rather than as a hobby  Food Safety must be the kitchen user’s top priority  There must be an ongoing commitment to worker and visitor safety

 The management of the kitchen must have: - Business licenses, certificates, and other permits - Insurance - Valid tuberculosis test - Occupancy certification  The users or clients must have: - Business licenses - Insurance - Valid tuberculosis test

 FDA guidelines on current Good Manufacturing Practice in manufacturing, packaging, or holding human food ( gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_99/21cfr110_99.html )  Operation Handbook based on HACCP ( /index.shtml)

 Utilization of local produce - Sour sop - Calamansi lemon - Coconut - Sweet potato  Unique products to create niche markets for drinking vinegar, sweet potato wine,...

 Fruits and Vegetables a. Wet process - Juice, wine, jam, ice cream - and VINEGAR b. Dry process - Confectionary, chocolate - Dried fruits - Powder - Bakery (cookies and breads) Vinegar??? Vinegar!!!

 One of the most popular healthy drinks in Korea and Japan  Highly profitable  Throw one stone kill 3 birds! - Juice Wine Vinegar  Wine is our target product, but…  The equipment can be used for other value-added products

 Priority Equipment - Hot water bath for pasteurization or blanch - High pressure cooker or processor - Juice extraction machine (wet) - Filtration system (membrane) - Bottling machine (filler and capper) - Steam or heating kettle  General Equipment - Refrigerator - Freezer - Washing sinks - Packaging machine

 NMC-CREES Food Safety program will allot some portion of its HATCH fund for Rota Community Kitchen for 3 years (as a seed grant) - 100K excluding personnel, R&D cost  Basic equipment for vinegar processing - Machine capacity and price range study needed  Facility renovation not allowed

Reinvest profits for community kitchen Additional processes Contribute to local economy New Product Development Value-added Process Technical Assistance Processing equipment Food processing rules and regulation information