Myanmar FDA Open to investigate into Coffee Factory

Food and Drug Administration in Myanmar to open an investigation into nearly a dozen coffee factories in Rangoon. A joint commission established last year by many local organizations such as the FDA, the Consumer Protection Association, Consumers Union and the development of city-Committee has made a surprise visit Saturday to 11 coffee factories in industrial zones in Rangoon according Zin Zin Nwe, director Yangon FDA.

Factories are being investigated include coffeemaker local brands such as Super, Premier, Gold and Mikko Sunday roast. Zin Zin Nwe said the FDA could reveal the lab results as soon as possible, but the process could take up to a week.

“Rumors say that the factories were stirring coffee powder made from coconut shells and tamarind seeds in their mix of instant coffee,” said Zin Zin Nwe The Irrawaddy on Monday.
“Our team collected fingerprints of raw materials from factories and had sent them to a lab materials to see if they contain undue substances,” he continued.
According Zin Zin Nwe 12 coffee factories are registered with the FDA. The research teams were able to score one of the factories because it has been closed.
Maung Maung, secretary of the Consumers Union Myanmar, expressed some doubts about the veracity of the rumors.
“The cost of conversion of coconut shells and tamarind seeds in a similar to instant coffee powder powder is more expensive than the typical process mix,” he said, explaining that a small coffee mix soluble package only costs 100 kyat (US $ 0.08) in Burma.
But the FDA results ultimately validate or dispel the speculation, he added.
According to Article 28 of the Law of 1997 National Myanmar food, everyone who produces, import, export, storage, distribution or sale of food that can be toxic, dangerous or harmful to consumers’ health could be imprisoned for up to three years or a fine of 300,000 kyats.
The surprise inspection was the third investigation by the Commission and the FDA is expected to perform similar actions in other parts of the country. However, many local consumer organizations have criticized the FDA for failing to ensure greater food security, although Zin Zin Nwe also explained that the lack of human resources and laboratories has hindered the efforts of the FDA.

Read Also : Japanese Food House Gekko in Yangon

Japanese Food House Gekko in Yangon

The kitchen was bustling at this Japanese-inspired bar and restaurants in Yangon and also a beautifully refurbished building in downtown Rangoon. Growling stomachs streamed into to the dining area of Gekko around lunch time as Aung Myo Oo laid a few bright cherry tomatoes beside a chunk of lightly fried fish, a slightly modified version of a traditional Japanese recipe.

“This is one of our signature dishes,” said the 45-year-old sous chef, showing off a plate of Hichibachi salmon, a well-sauced pan-fried fish with a small serving of wasabi risotto prepared with rice sourced from the land of the rising sun.

Behind him, another chef fried two chunks of salmon imported from Norway, getting ready for the next order. Another manned a charcoal yakitori (a Japanese skewer grill), as helpers shuttled between the main and back kitchen. Dishes were queuing up, waiting for the final touches from Aung Myo Oo.

“Gekko is my second home. You can find me here six days a week, from 1pm to 11pm, apart from Sundays,” he said after the last customer left and his hectic hours cooled down for a while. His professional devotion seems to have paid off. The 14-month-old restaurant was recently ranked the third best of Rangoon’s 312 eateries by Trip Advisor, which granted it a certificate of excellence just last week.

“I feel really happy about it,” said the accomplished cook, who has 18 years of Japanese culinary experience in both local and international hotels. His resume includes such establishments as the Shangri-La in Dubai. He now oversees all 15 members of Gekko’s kitchen staff.

The most thrilling thing for him is the fact that, according to manager Zay Yar Aung—unlike many other new restaurants in town—Gekko is managed by Burmese. As Zay Yar Aung put it: “We are Burmese with international experience, who are now running an establishment founded by a foreigner. I told the founder, ‘Just give us the support we need, and we’ll take care of the rest.’”

With a proud smile, Aung Myo Oo added, “Now we have proven we could make it.”

A Rangoon native with a lifelong interest in cooking, Aung Myo Oo joined the kitchen crew of a Japanese-run restaurant in his mid-20s after graduating from Rangoon University as a history major.

“On my first day in the kitchen,” he recalled, “I was asked by the Japanese chef to wash the dishes.”

But his enthusiasm earned the chef’s trust, and he eventually took Aung Myo Oo under his wing, teaching him to prepare Japanese food and master basic kitchen skills that later enabled him to join international hotel chains at home and abroad. After an eight-year stint in Dubai hotel restaurants, Aung Myo Oo joined Gekko as a sous chef.

Read Also : Myanmar Government Ban Bagan Sunset View

“Even though we have a Japanese-inspired menu here, we don’t just stick to the Japanese food because we have very diverse customer base, and we want to satisfy them,” he explained, showing off a menu that ranges from Japanese ramen to Korean fried chicken and fresh Vietnamese starters. With the Japanese items, he doesn’t stray too far from the original recipes, but tries to add a bit of flair to the combinations, as with the Hichibachi salmon.

“Originally, all you have to do is grill the fish and enjoy it with a few splashes of lime and sauce,” he said, “but here I add the risotto as a touch of western flavor, but with Japanese rice.”

His advice for aspiring chefs? “Learn your trade and master the basics.”

Myint Zin, one Gekko’s line cooks, said he still remembers his first day at work with Aung Myo Oo, about 14 years ago when they both worked in the kitchen at Rangoon’s Traders Hotel, now known as the Sule Shangri-La.

“He was both a chef de partie and my trainer,” Myint Zin recalled. “The first task he gave me was to clean a rice cooker. I have to admit, while he is a good-natured man, he has no tolerance for doing a job wrong.”

His brand of perfectionism and diligence is clear in every dish he makes, according to manager Zay Yar Aung, who said his star chef “has confidence in every dish he works on.”

Asked about Gekko’s recent honor from Trip Advisor, Zay Yar Aung said the team wasn’t fishing for compliments.

“We just fulfill our customers’ needs by paying attention to every detail. The rank is just the result of the work we all have done,” he said.

Ref : http://www.irrawaddy.com

Internet Based Hotel Chain Jovago Find Local Partners with Hotels in Myanmar

The web site booking Internet Jovago backed rocket and Qtel is looking for a partner in the State of Qin as a hotel northwest attracts an increasing number of visitors.
Chin State is one of them, “Our goal is to propose everywhere hotels in Myanmar, including in remote areas Hugo Schleicher, regional director in Myanmar Jovago said very nice and quiet.”
He said. Jovago call all hotels in Chin State propose them to be listed on their website.

“We will have a team in Yangon collect all information about hotels and create their profile and promote to visitors coming to the site Jovago” Schleicher said.

He said there is no limit on the number of hotels in Jovago want to be partners in the region, because everything fits some kind of travelers.
Chin State is one of the states have not yet discovered in Myanmar natural mountain chains linked to the eastern states of India.
According to the Ministry of Hotels in Myanmar and Tourism, the number of visitors to the state of Qin is growing rapidly, with foreign visitors record in 1990 and 7430 local visitors, compared to a few hundred to five years earlier.
However, the State of Qin only three hotels accredited by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. It is expected to be opened under the permission of the Ministry with the highest number of tourists most.
And between India, Myanmar and Thailand triple speed road, which will connect Moreh in India to Mae Sot in Thailand via Myanmar, and is seen to increase the number of visitors coming across the border.
He Jovago State of Qin has enormous potential for growth in the hospitality sector. With the general elections successfully in the past year, the increase in per capita GDP, the company expects the number of local travelers to increase in the coming years as well.
“We are trying to make contact with all hotels in Chin State and destinations in the state of Chin become more popular and more,” Schliecher said, adding: “We are trying to promote tourism development through contracts with local hotels to book online. ”
Every time there is to see places in Chin State includes Natmataung National Park, heritage of ASEAN and heart shape Red Lake. Visitors also go to the top of Mount Kennedy and easy Tetain.
He Schliecher Jovago want to cover the whole of Myanmar through its website. “More than 500 today and trust us, and we want partners in 1000 to end of June.”

Read Also : Myanmar Government Ban Bagan Sunset View

Myanmar Government Ban Bagan Sunset View

Tourism industry leaders and condemned in Bagan decision of the Ministry of Culture ban for visitors to climb the ancient temples in the world-renowned archaeological site. Sunset from the top of the temple is one of the major tourism drawcards Bagan, regularly cited as a “must do” when visiting Myanmar. But yesterday said the Ministry of Culture will ban temples full climb from March 1, in the wake of the popular reaction against the video performance of singing and dancing on top of the structure appears.

The ministry said in a post on his Facebook page that the decision that the medical company conducted a cultural display Pyathagyi Temple in the second week of February, describing the dancing and singing of the temples as it took him “ugly” effect on the culture of Myanmar.
“The long-term preservation,” the ministry said the ban also included the temples.
The growing number of local and foreign visitors Bagan – the number of foreigners has more than doubled since 2011, from 120,000 to 250,000 in the past year – I mean, hundreds of shows each night to climb the temples and the pressure on the old structures.
However, the operators of tourism companies in Bagan scathing of the decision, which they said was poorly designed and detrimental to the industry.
“I’m totally against the decision. The main reason tourists come here is to enjoy the scenery of the temples, this will damage the image of Bagan,” said U Zaw Win Cho, president of the Association of Bagan.
“We want this decision to reconsider. It can punish the company [medical] directly. If you believe that temples damages escalation, you should allow only the temples that have ancient art, has a strong structure, it can be said more than 300 people home. It is that would solve the problem. ”
Another employer in Bagan proposed must offer alternative sites before providing any ban.
“It grieves tourists when they visit Bagan, but is not allowed to climb the temples,” said U Khin Maung just returned from New Pagan, who runs a travel agency and a restaurant. It was a surprise the fact that companies also said that the ministry to consult with them before making decisions on the management of the archaeological area.
Pagan has more than 3,000 temples and ancient temples, of which five are particularly popular for watching the sunset: Shwesandaw, Thitsarwady, Pyathetgyi, Shwenanyindaw and OAH PAE Connie Chan.

Read Also : Telecom Firm Ooredoo Raise $300 Million from ADB and IFC to Expand Mobile Market

Telecom Firm Ooredoo Raise $300 Million from ADB and IFC to Expand Mobile Market

Qatar telecom firm Ooredoo has secured loans worth $ 300 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to expand the mobile communications network across Myanmar.

 

 

 

 

He said the Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corporation, the private World Bank’s financing arm they extend a loan of 150 million $ for each of the service provider of mobile phone, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ooredoo in Qatar, a subsidiary QSC’s Mobile expand “green fields” national telecommunications network with 3G technology advanced.

Ooredoo said Myanmar is propagated through a network of 2019 with the actual infrastructure that plans to develop mobile applications for banking services, agriculture, and health of the mother.

“Myanmar has one of the lowest rates of telecommunications connectivity in Southeast Asia, with poor communities and women less fortunate in getting these vital services are increasingly,” said by Christopher THIEME, Director of ADB private sector operations.

“This assistance, the largest private sector investment in the bank’s history in Myanmar, the government will help achieve its goal of connecting more than 90 percent of the population, including millions of people for the first time.”

ADB also implement the technical assistance project – funded by a grant of up to $ 1000000 from the Canadian climate for the private sector fund in Asia – to study the feasibility of using renewable energy to run power transmission telecommunication towers. Test the use of renewable energy at the specific request of the spread from 1500 through at least towers rural locations, and the reduction of about 10,000 tons of CO2 emissions are expected each year.

In 2013, it was only seven out of 100 people have access to a mobile phone in Myanmar. Allowed civil semi, then the government’s liberalization of trade mentioned above, two foreign companies to enter the market. Since entering 2014, Qtel has reached nearly five million subsribers while covering 80 percent of the population with 3G network.

Said Vikram Kumar, IFC Resident Representative of Myanmar “, in addition to providing thousands of direct and indirect local workers jobs, and a network of telecommunications at the national level, Ooredoo Myanmar help connect people and facilitate economic activity through the application of advanced communications technology.”

Far behind Qtel has in terms of the number of subscribers compared with its competitors, and the Telenor and MPT rumors about a possible departure. However, in an interview with Reuters last month, CEO Rene Meza Qtel Myanmar exclude any such action.

After the new financing agreement, Ooredoo said in a statement: “The agreement also demonstrates the long term commitment of the Ooredoo Myanmar, which has been operating since the license was granted in 2014 and highlights the Qtel’s investment in Myanmar.”

Said Sheikh Saud bin Nasser Al Thani, Chief Executive Officer of the Qtel Group, “Our investment in Myanmar continue to support the trends are good income and growth of clients have been registered in the country. We have a wide range of telecommunications services to support the socio-economic development in the country through improved communication between company institutions and individuals. ”

Read Also : Telecom Tower Firms Edotco Invests in Myanmar