Sifu tf, may I know what lab you send your BN to be analyzed? Must cost lots of $$ analyze so many different times!

This post has been edited by northface: Apr 2 2012, 05:38 PM

There are many labs to test food and products. Depends on which town you are in, you can look in the yellow pages or ask Health department.

I used an aquarium test kit that I bought many years ago. It is available in large Aquarium shops, especially those specializing in expensive exotic fish. You may have to dilute the test sample when the nitrite level is very high as some of these test kits are for 0 to 5 ppm of nitrite.

Since EBN is a 'dry' product, use a specific weight, eg.10gm and dilute with 100gm of distilled water to get one tenth dilution. Therefore test results x 10. (make the EBN into a dry powder first)

Home test kits are not the most accurate but I have found that it will be within +-10% of the lab test result.

The pro test lab will come with a certificate, that is the real cost!

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Added on April 2, 2012, 6:44 pmJust kill the bacteria by using boiling water or keeping the nest at about 80c for 30 mins. Get rid of residual nitrites with clean boiled or sterile water, washing several times.

I have asked a food manufacturer about radiation, ie using a radioactive material to sterilize the EBN. Unfortunately the machine is very expensive to purchase and run. Also requires special permits and personnel. This is used for processing seafood in some factories as it does not heat the raw seafood up so there is no pre cooking.

Sterilized wet EBN and vacuum packed should last for several months and much longer refrigerated. It is a matter of changing our ideas and mind set to meet the situation.

I'm sure everyone noticed that cooked EBN kept in the fridge stays fresh for a long time.

This post has been edited by tuckfook: Apr 2 2012, 06:45 PM

You may want to try an addition to your bottle trick....thread the cable through a wind mill...was shared on this forum many moons ago for the same problem and was reported to be successful.


This post has been edited by Cergau: Apr 2 2012, 11:15 PM

Has anybody tried to sterilize the BN by exposing them under ultraviolet light for say 30s to 1 min? That should do the trick to stunt bacteria growth hence reducing nitrite lvls.

Micro bubble cleaning.
Anyone research the viability of this. Accordingly the bubble generator is becoming affordable. Theoretically the nano sized air bubble can bind temporarily with most compounds.
Imagine a laundry machine running off this. No detergents required!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5F9pnkDf5M

I also recall watching on Youtub* a SG based EBN processor wanting to patent this with EBN.

Dear Cergau, I have exhausted all possible keywords to search for the wind mill trick in this thread as well as the previous threads but to no avail. If possible can you provide the link to that post ?

I wrote the above based on my maybe faulty recollection.
The writer then may not have used the actual word 'wind mill'...could have just described it.
Just googl* for toy wind mill. I recall he made it out of metal sheet.
Just make sure you make it with a protective cylinder that doesnt cut the wire when it rotates in the wind or your ground shrew starts to play with it like a toy

Guys, how is the price for bird nest now? My area still rm2k

UV lights work provided the source is powerful enough to allow full penetration into the EBN as it is easily absorbed and reflected.

Kill the bacteria and no nitrites will be produced. It is our cleaning methods that are producing excessive nitrites.

Problem is UV light sources usually cost more in terms of electricity and they don't last very long.

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Added on April 3, 2012, 1:38 pmIt is standard practice on ships to prevent rats from climbing up mooring ropes, to use a large flat steel plate, up to 20" radius where the rope goes through the middle without any gap. Rats climbing up the rope cannot go round the plate as they have no grip on the steel and also cannot jump over the 20" plate.

I have used the cover of an aluminium pot, 20" dia. with cable thru the middle to stop rats climbing in. Worked wonderfully.

I recently caught 2 Paradise Tree snakes in my control room, fortunately they did not enter into the BH. These snakes can glide from a greater height into the BH if you are surrounded by trees higher than your BH.

The anti rat plate will also effectively deter snakes as well as squirrels and rats using the cables.

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Added on April 3, 2012, 1:46 pmUltrasonic cleaners will also work, go try in your ultrasonic humidifier. It needs flowing water and the nests have to be presoaked and broken up.

Problem is that the market demands EBN in "whole pieces" or reassembled into almost the original shape which is difficult once the nest is broken up.

If the market accepts EBN as reformed round cakes,, without emphasis on original shape, the major battle is won.

This post has been edited by tuckfook: Apr 3 2012, 01:46 PM

Most of methods in discussion are for other industry and none suitable for EBN cleaning.......

like ultrasonic, mainly for small items and used extensively in electronics manufacturing of ICs and LEDs for cleaning materials before bonding. They use ultrasonic with cleaning chemical like freon to clean material to ensure proper bonding of silicon chip on to the metal.

Here, we need the nests to remain the same shape less feathers, dirt and Ns...more easier said than done. I tried ultrasonic and many other method but none seem to be 100% cleaned and now, we also need to remove nitrites. Todate, the best way that I find is to break up the nests and then reassemble it back, then you get almost perfectly nests free from feathers. Agrred with you that !00% featherless nests can only be obtain by making nests into cake form unless you want to use hydrogen peroxide to bleach the nests...but then the nests will smell different from the original nests.

That's my finding and hope other do have better way to clean nests 100% without destroying its shape.

What type of nest rm2k?

I think should be all lumped together no picking. Just few days ago I bought some for my friend 1.9k lump sum but seems like have 30-40% cup nests so my friend considered lucky.

Be patient kawan . BN AA is now trading between RM2600 o RM2900. North face you got a good deal.

Just sold abit yesterday. Rm2500 AA.. Rm2350 A and rm2100 the other grades...but all cup nest.

prices are looking better.........full @rm2500 to rm2900..
yet at these prices still difficult for new houses considering slow growth rate
1 kilo a month (successful 4 to 5 year old house for peninsula m'sia) house will only gross you rm30k or so
..interest, expenses, equip replacement etc not included

Not much nests in the market now or else, buyers won't come almost weekly looking for EBN. They are desperate for nests but not willing to offer high price but profit must be good otherwise, they wouldn't be coming weekly cos not as if time and petrol are Free...........

One buyer came to see me 3 times on the same day as I wasn't at home and I need to tell him that I don't have any nest as I just sold off my nests just to not let him disturb my peace.

This post has been edited by West Wing: Apr 7 2012, 03:58 PM

Tomytan try go into other business like oil palm , rubber , coco , veg , chicken, cattle, goat farming with the same capital investment !We should be smiling. Even at 2 k is still the highest price commodity to date.

Just calling in to see if the storm is over or shit still hits the fan? 30ppm as a new standard is a very good start to get our lifeline going again. Thanks to all parties for their time and effort put forth to resolve the issue; Thanks to all farmers who hold on to their nests for what their worths. I believe the demand of our true nests will increase more in due
time to fill in the store shelves left empty by the red nests and fake nests. No more the guilty go unpunished while the innocent get penalized...and no more shit hits the fan in many generations to come...my wishful thinking?

The day the Chinese delicacy shark fin soups are banned are the days bird nests
demand will peak...just my wishful thinking again.

Tanjong Beach Hotel . KK stopped serving sharks fin soup and is promoting BN soup instead. Hope more outlets will do the same. Don't know in it will met coustomers acceptance . My opinion is ,will be a struggle as is too expensive .

For the record all those consioncious objectors who has been raving and foaming in the mouth cursing the government for destroying the Chinese livelihood has not come forward to say a kind words now that our PM has played a active part in trying to solve the problem. Must give credit where is due ! By the way I am voting opposition GE 13.

Totally agree with you. Give credit when needed and criticized the wrong.

Of all the Govt. leader, I truly believe that PM is the only one that have our BHs at heart without personal agenda. So far, I am right about PM and BHs and I hope that he remain our leader and friendly toward this industry. I ready don't much care about his advisers on this industry cos if they did right, we won't be still suffering now.......