Research and development In our endeavour towards further improvement of the quality
of our products, considerable efforts were again made during
the year under review in the field of research and
development. Amongst other things, attention was paid to
relevant scientific developments, product development,
quality control, cost effectiveness, environmental aspects and
comparative production data from the brewing industry.
With regard to the last-mentioned item, data from our own
breweries and external data are compared in a large number
of respects, so that in each case the most efficient working
method per element of the production process can be
identified and applied generally. In many of our breweries,
both in Europe and elsewhere, one of the tools we use for that
purpose is an automated system that makes numerous data
comparable, such as water and energy consumption, process
efficiency and production costs.
In quality management we concentrate on the optimum
control of all elements of the production process, from the
purchase of raw materials and packaging materials to the
re-use or processing of the packaging used. The introduction
of a quality assurance system according to the ISO 9002
standards is running on schedule. It is our aim to have all our
European breweries certified by 1995.
As in previous years, consumer tasting panels were called
upon in order to remain closely aware of the users'
preference. This is not only important so as to further perfect
the existing products, but also to complete the product range.
The results have helped to lead to the development of several
new products. In view of the consumer's taste preference,
attention is also paid to the development of special beers
which, owing to the divergent local preferences, are often
introduced in only one market or a limited number of
markets.
The Dutch brewers have taken the initiative for an
investigation into increasing the possibilities for the use of
spent grains, an important by-product of the brewing process.
Various scientific institutions are co-operating in this project.
In collaboration with several European brewery enterprises
we are carrying out research into the development of high-
grade varieties of brewing barley. In 1993 this project entered
the second phase, which is mainly aimed at practical
applications. It will still take some considerable time,
however, before concrete results are obtained.
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