(CTN News) – A tour of Ajinomoto’s MSG production exposes the new recipe for eco-operations.
Umami. The term sounds as wonderful on the lips as the famed flavor that millions of Thais enjoy every day.
The Nation has decided to look into the origins of this gastronomic “miracle” – the fifth essential taste after sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. The journey brought us to Ayutthaya, where we were invited to peep behind the scenes at Ajinomoto’s facility, which accounts for 94% of Thailand’s umami market.
Ajinomoto, which means “monosodium glutamate” in Japanese, introduced umami to the kingdom more than six decades ago and has since developed a corporate empire worth tens of billions of baht.
The company is well-known for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) such as Birdy canned coffee, Yum Yum instant noodles, RosDee seasoning, and Takumi Ayu sauces.
However, Ajinomoto’s desire for quick convenience is now supplemented with a new strategy: sustainability.
During a tour of one of Ajinomoto’s three Thai plants, Thongdee Paso, the managing director of Thai operations, revealed details about the company’s sustainability efforts.
The Ayutthaya facility debuted in 2013 on a massive site of 1,368 rai – the equivalent of 540 football grounds – with a 6 billion baht investment.
The three facilities generate 180,000 tonnes of MSG annually, with the Ayutthaya factory accounting for 38%.
MSG is available in packets ranging from 9 grams to 1 tonne (1,000kg), with the latter being used by affiliates to create the umami flavour in items such as Yum Yum and RosDee. The factories also sell to countries such as South Korea and India.
The sustainability activities at the Ayutthaya factory are multifaceted and directed by the company’s “ASV” (Ajinomoto Shared Value) strategy. ASV’s mission is to improve the health of 1 billion people worldwide while also promoting global sustainability by lowering its operations’ environmental effect by 50% by 2030.
Between 2014 and 2016, the firm spent 1.25 billion baht on a biomass steam boiler to create clean electricity for internal usage, lowering energy expenditures by 150 million baht per year.
The closed system, powered by rice husks, produces no dust or smoke, reducing the factory’s annual fuel usage by 14 million litres and greenhouse gas emissions by 60,000 tonnes.
To meet its 2030 goal, the factory intends to reduce CO2 emissions by 50%, eliminate plastic waste (via recycling), conserve 80% of water resources, and secure 100% sustainable procurement. The corporation also plans to reduce food and other waste by 50% by 2025.
The water conservation push has already reached 41%, suggesting that nearly half of the journey is complete. Meanwhile, the business is making strides toward clean and renewable energy by installing solar panels for 24-hour operation.
Ajinomoto has also focused its sustainability efforts on agriculture, including its “Thai Farmer Better Life Partner” (TFBLP) project for cassava growers. The company is Thailand’s leading user of cassava starch. The farmers confront obstacles such as plant diseases, low yields, and drought, but the scheme has raised yields by 20-30%, according to the business.
This year, however, Ajinomoto expects a 30% decline in cassava yields due to climate change and drought, necessitating continued actions to address production issues.
The company intends to expand the project to other farming groups, including coffee beans and sugar cane, which are both critical raw ingredients for canned coffee Birdy and sugar for MSG manufacture.
Ajinomoto claims that its internal sustainability initiative has already met 90% of its targets. The problem now is to encourage external supply chain partners to move in the same direction.