Supporting African Relief FAQ's How much, percentage wise, will actually go to "The Hummingbird Foundation"? 3% of gross sales. 3% of gross sales does not sound like a lot. Actually, 3% of gross sales is one of the highest percentages any socially or environmentally progressive company ever chose to contribute. For example, Patagonia, considered one of the best of the best in this respect, donates 1% of gross sales or 10% of pre-tax profits to the environment. We decided on gross sales as this is much easier and cleaner for transparency reasons. Will you be directly involved in your projects? Yes. We wil play a "hands on role" in all of our projects in order to keep you updated on the progress to ensure that our project goals are met. What type of projects will you support? Following our core philosophy we will focus on local projects in the field of education, health and environment in the broadest sense. All of our partner projects will be planned and implemented by local people. Furthermore, we don't understand our projects as one-way-streets but rather as acts of mutual cooperation in the spirit of reciprocity. Will you help local economies? Yes. Our graphics and artwork are downloadable for our agents and distributors. Rather than transporting promotional materials from Europe to our partner countries, our agents and distributors are encouraged to produce them locally. This is more economically efficient and environmentally friendly. By making our artwork available in this way, we are helping to generate employment and opportunities to local economies. Will you support other projects outside of Africa? Yes. What does the "HS" in HS Trade GmbH stand for? HS Trade GmbH takes its name from the "Hummingbird's Spirit". Production & Shipping FAQ's Is production dictated by orders? Yes. We utilize the Just in Time (JIT) production methodology. What type of packaging? Recyclable cardboard trays shrink wrapped in plastic. How many units (cans) per tray? 24 How many trays per pallet? 108 trays (2592 cans) What methods do you use for shipping to Europe and the USA? Shippments to Europe are delivered by truck and containers outside of Europe first by ship and then by truck. How many pallets per truck? 32 pallets per truck. How many cans per truck? 1 truck without promotional materials equals 82,944 Cans How many pallets per container? None as the trays are loaded manually in order to maximize space. How many cans per container? 1 container without any promotional materials equals 75,360 cans What size shipping containers do we use? We use 20 foot containers. What shipping company do we use? Panalpina, Express Interfracht and Speedex Where do the ingredients come from? Austria Is it entirely produced in Austria? Yes Will there be other African Tiger flavors or drinks? Yes. Is there the possibility to split shippments of different African Tiger products in the future? Not at the present time Taurine FAQ's Taurine, one of the lesser-known naturally occurring amino acids, plays several important roles in the body and is found in high concentrations in the white blood cells, skeletal muscles, as well as the heart muscles. Taurine is important in the visual pathways, the brain and nervous system, cardiac function, and it is a conjugator of bile acids. Basically, its function is to facilitate the passage of sodium, potassium and possibly calcium and magnesium ions into and out of cells and to stabilize electrically the cell membranes. Dr. G. E. Gaull (1984) suggests that since human never develop a high level of cysteinsulfinic acid decarboxylase, an enzyme necessary for the formation of taurine from the amino acid cysteine, people are probably all somewhat dependent upon dietary taurine. Under certain conditions of high stress or in disease states the need for taurine probably increases. Another important function of taurine is detoxification.Taurine is required for efficent fat absorption & solubilization. Studies also showed that dietary taurine supplementation ameliorates experimental renal disease including models of refractory nephrotic syndrome and diabetic nephropathy. The beneficial effects of taurine are mediated by its antioxidant action. (Trachtman H. and Sturman J.A., 1996, Amino Acids, 11:1-13). Taurine may also have an important role in renal development.