Our Services

SRC'S SERVICES

The SRC’s Product Research and Development teams consist of highly skilled, experienced, and innovative Food and Personal Care Product Scientists under the Food Unit and the Natural Products Unit. These Units provide assistance to all clients and potential clients from concept to market. The process includes ideation, prototype development and or standardization, and commercialization.

Services to our food clients include pilot plant feasibility testing, food safety, sensory evaluation and analysis, shelf-life studies, and nutritional facts panel generation. The team also facilitates training and consultancy in various aspects of Food Development. The Food team has the expertise to develop products categories that include:

Dry drink mixes
Dry soup mixes
Dry season mixes
Flavoured beverages
Fruit drinks
Cordials and syrups
Canned products
Minimally processed produce

Cocktails
Carbonated beverages
Rum creams
Jams, jellies, and preserves
Marinades/ condiments/ sauces
Snacks
Pastries

SRC’s Natural Products Unit (NPU) carries out research into the transformation of Jamaica’s indigenous and natural resources into viable commercial products such as:

The NPU team offers services that include:

Personal Care Product Development
Medicinal Plant Research and Development
Certificate of Analysis
Extraction and Analysis of Essential oils & Oleoresins
Contract Research and Development
Personal Care Product Training Workshops

The Wastewater Management Unit aims to establish Environmentally-Sound Wastewater Management in Jamaica in order to significantly reduce and prevent the adverse impact of wastewater from domestic, agricultural and industrial activities on natural resources and eco-systems. The Unit provides communities, companies and individuals with environmentally-friendly anaerobic wastewater treatment systems, technical assistance and training in the operation and management of these systems. The SRC has successfully commissioned over 360 systems which include biodigesters, Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blankets (UASB) and Biodigester Septic Tanks (BST^TM) to replace soak-away pits.

The SRC has a patent for the BST^TM. These easy to maintain, cost effective systems utilize waste to produce energy, giving life to the saying ‘turning trash into cash’. Products of anaerobic technology are organic fertilizer, biogas (alternative energy) and treated wastewater that can be used for irrigation (reducing use of potable water) or returned to water bodies without harm. The systems developed by the SRC are compliant with NEPA standards.

Spiraling fuel costs have increased the need for alternate forms of energy such as Biogas, which is relatively cheaper than other sources of fuel, such as Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and electricity.

The Analytical Services Department is an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited testing laboratory offers a wide range of services to water, food, cosmetic, natural products, cannabis, and mushroom industries. The lab conducts both chemical and microbiological tests on various products, for safety, quality control and conformity to local and international requirements/regulations.

Our areas of expertise include the analysis of:

Wastewater/effluent/influent samples
Pool, spas, and other recreation waters
Potable and drinking water
Food for microbial and chemical safety
Nutritional facts panel (in conjunction with SRC Food unit) e.g., proteins, fats, carbohydrates, sugars
Cannabis and mushroom samples
Cosmetic samples
Non-sterile pharmaceutical preparations
Environmental samples e.g., swabs testing in food processing/preparation areas, air quality

These services help clients monitor and maintain product quality, satisfy customer needs, meet international quality standards, reduce spoilage and production costs and food safety.

The SRC supports the growth and development of MSME’s through the provision of services at various stages of product development. The consolidation of ideas, market survey information, and feasibility studies are facilitated by representatives of the Marketing and Corporate Communications Division. For clients further along the production process, prototype development and testing is facilitated by the Pilot Plant. We provide Technical Documents for product formulation, including nutrition analysis and development of Nutrition Fact Panels. We also facilitate training in Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Canning, and Food Preservation. Currently, we facilitate and execute production in the following categories:

Clients requiring access to the physical Pilot Plant, have been accommodated for schedule processing, thermal processing, milling, drying and bottling. The range of products generated by the SRC includes, but is not limited to:

Food Pilot Plant supports the growth of the local food industry through the utilization of indigenous and local crops to produce new food products, and the provision of training and technical assistance to food processors. Traditionally known as the Food Technology Institute (FTI), it nurtures and supports cottage industries and provides incubation services for micro, small and medium-sized entities. The Pilot Plant offers training courses and workshops in food processing activities. It is also involved in evaluating and improving food processing methods, as well as transfer of technology to the Jamaican Society.

Some products Manufactured at the Pilot Plant

The SRC has developed processes and manufactured a suite of pea soups – vegetarian and non-vegetarian and mannish water (goat soup); minimally processed foods – yellow-yam, green banana and sweet potato; jerked seasoning and smoked products and a variety of exotic condiments, juices and preserves. Some of the products developed involve the use of breadfruit, yam and potato to make flour and chips; fruits such as mango, pineapple and June-plum (golden apple) to make jams and jellies; sorrel to make squash, chutney, sauce and topping; and banana to make chips, figs and clarified banana juice. Many of its products are market-ready.

As an advocate of quality, which, in a nutshell, means that we exist to meet the needs of our customers, SRC is committed to fulfilling its mandate to assisting the agro-industrial, health and other sectors. Through our highly-qualified and experienced team of certified experts, SRC is able to offer consultancy services to companies who are customer-focused and who have a business strategy of operating at international standards. We assist these companies in meeting the requirements of the ISO standard for quality management systems (QMS) as well as the requirements for food safety systems such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and prerequisite programs such as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

Consultancy

Our consultants assess companies and identify gaps in their business operations in relation to these international requirements. Such assessments enable companies to determine the current status of their business and food safety processes and to develop actions for closing the identified gaps.

Consultancy services

Quality
GMP
HACCP
Wastewater Management
Tissue Culture Technology
Technical Consultancy - Retort Inspection, Process Schedule, Schedule Process, FDA Process Filing

Training

Personal Care Products Development
Food Processing (Practical Trainings and Workshops) - Canning, meat Processing, sauce and seasoning processing, natural juices and other beverages, jams/jellies and preserves
Customized Trainings & Workshops
Operational Maintenance of wastewater treatment plants

Our food processing courses are NCTVET certified and include: meat processing, sauce processing, canning, and the production of jams, jellies and natural juices. Other training programmes include: preparation of personal care products, and operation and maintenance of anaerobic wastewater treatment systems. As a complement to the training programmes in GMP and HACCP, the SRC has developed and offer training videos to assist companies in meeting the requirements of the relevant food safety standards and laws.

The major thrust of the Tissue Culture Unit in the Biotechnology Department is propagating and preserving plants of national and economic value. The Unit has saved the nation significant sums of foreign exchange, as its activities have resulted in a decline in the volume of imported tissue-cultured plants. We have also developed the capability to locally produce large volumes of healthy, disease-free plants in flexible, economic quantities

We are involved in the development of custom-propagated plants for meeting individual requirements and contract propagation of rare and well-known varieties of ornamental plants with due safeguards to international regulatory requirements. In vitro cultivation techniques are applied in our ISO 9001: 2015 certified labs to achieve efficient production of high quality ornamental plants and economically significant food crops.

The Biotechnology Department (Tissue Culture & Plant Diagnostic Unit) also partners with international agencies, such as the International Atomic Agency (IAEA), to conduct research in the area of crop improvement.

Services:

Courses are offered annually and are open to groups or individuals who are interested in developing skills in tissue culture or practising tissue culture on a small scale for their own businesses.

Ornamentals

Food Crops

Banana
Yam (several varieties)
Irish Potato (several varieties)
Banana/Plantain
Pineapple (several varieties)
Sweet Potato (several Varieties)

Herbs and Spices

SRC nurtures and supports businesses by providing incubation services to Medium Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME). Through our ISO /IEC accredited laboratories, Climate Innovation Centre, and food pilot plant, we support the growth of our local food, nutraceutical, cosmeceutical and personal care industries. We also provide training and technical assistance to various players in the manufacturing sector.

About SRC

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