Daesang Conferred Top Food SafetyAward of 2002

- "Chungjungwon Sunchang Gochujang" complies with HACCP guidelines

Reflecting its commitment to product quality and safety, Daesang, a leading Korean enterprise specialized in the production of food, has been conferred the Grand Prize in the Food Safety Award of 2002 from the Korea Management Association Consultants. Daesang's "Chungjungwon Sunchang Gochujang" received the coveted award, elbowing out its rivals on December 2, 2002. Gochujang refers to hot pepper paste. It is a major ingredient of traditional Korean dishes like bibimbab, cooked rice mixed with various greens. In addition, Daesang was awarded three top prizes and seven outstanding prizes in the corporate section, attesting to its management and product superiority.
In fact, Sunchang Gochujang captured the largest share in the domestic hot pepper paste market recently, although Daesang debuted the product not long ago. Daesang recorded a market share of 43.6% during the July -August (2002) period, according to an AC Nielsen Korea survey. The product was selected as the most outstanding product in the category of hot pepper paste for two consecutive years. In July 2002, Sunchang Gochujang received the grand prize by a civic organization based on a survey involving housewives. Furthermore, Daesang ranked first in the field of brand power for four years in a row from the Korea Management Association Consultants.
The annual demand for hot pepper paste is expected to surge to 200 billion won, which constitutes the single most important sector of Korea's soy sauce and hot pepper paste industries that aggregate to 500 billion won. The demand for hot pepper paste is currently on the rise as Korean housewives increasingly tend to buy hot pepper paste products on the market, instead of preparing them at their homes. In fact, making gochujang at home is a time-consuming job.
Daesang's most popular brand, "King's Sunchang Gochujang" debuted in 1989. The company had to be satisfied with a modest market share of 5% in that year. But the demand for Sunchang Gochujang exploded in the early 1990s aided by the company's innovative concept that stresses it is a "traditional delicacy produced from Sunchang," a far-away, unpolluted city in Jeolla Province that is synonymous with Korea's natural beauty.
In particular, Daesang was chosen as the official supplier of soy sauce products during the World Cup 2002, Korea and Japan. Adding to its reputation, Daesang provided "Insam (ginseng) Gochujang" to the Korean national squad, while launching an intensive marketing activity featuring several leading players of the national team.
In an effort to provide consumers safer products, Daesang has stopped supplying soy sauce products with composite flavors to eating outlets since July 2002. Instead, Daesang markets only naturally brewed products in the interest of consumers. For instance, Daesang no longer produces chemically manufactured soy sauce products. The company has also withdrawn its products that contains HVP from the market. Consequently, Daesang supplies only soy sauce products that were naturally brewed with soy beans, wheat, salt as ingredient for more than six months, a development that required significant investment to upgrade its production facilities.
These actions were taken in consideration of the controversy over 3-MCPD and a committed to public health. 3-MCPD is a chemical contaminant found at low levels in many foods as a result of processing, and could cause harm to people who consume products containing high levels of it in most of their meals over a long period of time. Daesang's products also comply with HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) guidelines regarding the entire production process of its soy sauce products under the supervision of the Korea Food & Drug Administration.
In addition to its red pepper paste, Daesang recently emerged as the largest brewed soy sauce producer in Korea after beating its strong rivals that had long dominated the Korean soy sauce market. Its soy sauce brands include "Haessal Dameun(Sun-baked) Soy Sauce." The company will continue efforts to expand its innovative portfolio and sales, including exports of red pepper paste to Japan, instead of resting on its laurels. Overall, Daesang will remain fully committed to enhancing the health of the Korean people through the provision of a range of top-quality products. NW