A little history about IXON

IXON Food Technology is the brainchild of Felix Man Ho Cheung and Elton Yiu Kuen Ho, two Hong Kong food scientists turned entrepreneurs. The duo met in 2013 during their course of study in the master's program of Food Analysis and Food Safety Management at Hong Kong Baptist University.

In 2015, as part of their final year project, Felix and Elton investigated the microbiological risks of edible bird nests cooked using a low-temperature cooking technique called sous vide. Through this project, they learned that many bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella and Escherichia coli, could survive the moderate heat at 60 °C.

After graduation, Felix and Elton decided to seek industrial applications using their knowledge in food microbiology and sous vide. In 2016, they collaborated with prominent neuroscientist Professor Ken Kin Lam Yung to seek research fundings and conduct experiments on the microbiological risks of sous vide salmon.

During a trip to Tokyo, Felix and Elton got inspiration from a Hokkaido stuffed squid product and realized a possible route to sterilizing meat at low temperatures. After they returned to Hong Kong, they tested their hypothesis and prepared Chinese barbecue pork using their newly modified technique. They found that the pork was not only tasty and juicy, it remained edible after storing at room temperatures for several weeks.

思創食品科技由兩位本地食品科學家，現轉為企業家的張文浩和何耀權所創立。二人早於2013年就讀香港浸會大學舉辦的食物檢測及食物安全管理學碩士課程時認識。

2015年二人為撰寫畢業論文，開始研究「真空低溫烹調」（sous-vide）技術對燕窩中微生物風險的影響。透過實驗他們發現有很多細菌，例如金黃萄葡球菌、沙門氏菌和大腸桿菌等，都可以在攝氏60度下生存。

二人畢業後積極尋找機會，希望將他們所學的應用於工業生產上。2016年二人與著名神經科學家翁建霖教授通力合作，着手申請研究經費，並對sous-vide三文魚進行了一連串的微生物風險評估。

同年七月一次東京之旅，二人從一包北海道釀魷魚中獲得了重大啟發，意識到低温殺菌的可行方案。回港之後，二人便嘗試運用改良技術製作中式叉燒。他們發現新技術做出來的叉燒不但好味多汁，而且存放於室温中數星期後仍可安全食用。