Beco Report
Beco Report
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This technical report was written in fulfillment of the Student Industrial Work Experience
Scheme (SIWES) as part of the approved minimum academic standards in Nigeria tertiary
institutions in order to provide students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge in
real work situation and also acquire industrial skills and experience before leaving school.
Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) was introduced by Federal Government of
Nigeria to provide adequate practical background studies and bridge the gap between theory and
practice among students of tertiary Institution. The scheme was first initiated and funded by the
Industrial Training Fund (ITF) during the formative years 1973/1974.
The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) solely funded the scheme during its formative years. But as
the financial involvement became difficult to fund due to increasing number of students enrolling
into higher institutions, it withdrew from the scheme in 1978. The Federal Government handed
over the scheme to both National Universities Commission (NUC) and National Board for
Technical Education (NBTE) in 1979. By November 1984 the Federal Government reverted
back the management of the scheme to ITF and it was effectively taken over by the Industrial
Training Fund (ITF) in July 1985 with the funding being solely borne by the Federal
Government.
SIWES is strategized as an avenue to prepare and expose students of higher institutions to the
real life work situation they are likely to encounter after graduation. It is key factor needed to
induce scientific and technological skills on students required to inject and engender
industrialization and economic development in our nation.
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1.3 Objectives of Siwes
The objectives of Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme are specifically to;
To provide an avenue for students in tertiary institutions acquire industrial skills and
experience during their course of study.
To provide students with the opportunities to apply their educational knowledge in real
work situations, thereby bridging the gap between theory and practice.
To expose students to work methods and techniques in handling equipments and
machineries that may not be available in their institutions.
To prepare students for industrial work situations that they are likely to meet after
graduation.
To gain experience in writing reports on industrial works /projects
To strengthen employer involvement in the entire educational process and prepare
students for employment in the industry and commerce.
To expose students to industrial responsibilities and ethics.
Deli Foods Nigeria Limited is a food production company which deals on biscuit production,
owned by Tiger Brand a South African multinational company. It is situated on Plot 14,
Block B, Ilasamaja Industrial Scheme, Isolo, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway Lagos State,
Nigeria. It was incorporated in May 1998, and commenced commercial production in July
1999. It first had a partial change of ownership in 2006, before being fully bought over by
Tiger Brand a South African multinational company in 2011.
Deli Foods, with the bought over by Tiger brand has truly transformed to becoming a world
class company, producing biscuits meeting wide range of needs and satisfaction of its customers,
with a goal to be Nigeria’s most admired branded packaged food company. This is achieved by
manufacturing foods using the highest quality and standards set by professional organization.
These standards are followed strictly to ensure only the best is produced.
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1.5.1 Deli food statement of quality
Her biscuits are produced with great care using high quality ingredients and processes. The
company adhere to high handling, distribution and storage procedures which is the best practices,
the company ensures that her customers gets a nutritious, delicious and healthy biscuit which is
safe and of a high quality product.
This discipline runs through the supply chain, source our materials (raw / packaging and
consumables) from accredited and ethical suppliers, ensuring that all supplies meet specifications
before they are received in for processing.
Deli Foods also adhere with principles of Good Manufacturing Practices, Quality Assurance
Management System, and Food Safety Management System to ensure that our products are safe
and healthy.
Her factory and products have current GMP certificate issued by NAFDAC with periodic
inspection and analysis confirming that the company meet regulatory requirements for
manufacturing, handling, distribution, storage and sale of safe food products to consumers. Her
products have achieved the Nigerian Mark of Quality issued by SON.
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1.6 Organogram of the company
General Manager
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1.7 Major duties of the organizational heads
General manager
The general manager controls, directs and organizes the affairs of the company. He plays a major
role in decision making and polices of the company for the smooth operations of the company
and all the departmental heads and managers report to him.
The supply chain director is responsible for overseeing and managing company’s overall supply
chain and operations in order to maximize the process efficiency and productivity. Five
departmental managers report to the supply chain director which includes production manager,
quality control manager, procurement manager, New product development manager and
engineering manager.
Financial controller
The financial controller heads the entire account department and is in charge of making
payments, approving payments, foresees the and balancing the financial books of the
organization. The management Accountant, Store Accountant, Cost Accountant as well
tax/compliance Manager reports to the financial controller.
Head of marketing
Head of marketing ensures all the trade marketing activities for the business, crafts strategies for
all the marketing team including digital campaigns to advertising and creative projects, ensures
high quality services are delivered effectively, efficiently and consistently. The brand manager,
Activation manager and New product development reports to the head of marketing.
Head of sales
The sales head is in charge of ensuring the company meets its targeted sales and ensures
delivery of the goods to the customers and He manages the sales team, logistics and finished
goods store.
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Head of human resources
The of human resources oversees the recruitment , selection, orientation and training of
employees for various positions in the company as well as plan, direct, coordinate the
administrative functions of the organization. He manages all the human resources officers.
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Procurement department
The procurement department is in charge of purchasing every needs of the company and
ensures all the goods and services procured are of good quality and at affordable rates.
They consist of the manager, raw materials and packaging buyer, and spare and
consumable buyer.
Maintenance department
The maintenance department ensures safety in handling the facilities in the company and
ensures the regular maintenance and servicing of all the machines in the company as well
as utilities used in the firm. They include the manager, engineers, mechanical and
electrical technicians.
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2) Igloo brands;
Nutribix brands;
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1.9.1 CHART OF DELI FOODS BISCUIT BRANDS
Coaster
Igloo chocolate
Shortcake Nutribix wheat cracker
Igloo cashew
Digestive
Cream cracker Igloo chocovanilla
Tassel coconut
Banana star
Orange star
Vino banana
Vino strawberry
Vino orange
Vino coconut
Eat n clap
Morning coffee
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CHAPTER TWO
The production of biscuit process involves some scientific basis that happens during starting
from the mixing process of the dough , the reaction of gliadin and glutenin to form gluten, the
leavening reaction of sodium bicarbonate and ammonium bicarbonate, the maillard reaction
which gives biscuits its distinctive colour and flavor are discussed below.
Biscuit is a term used for a variety of primarily flour-based baked food products. They are
majorly made from a combination of flour, sugar, salt, water, fat, leavening agent and
emulsifying agent. This simple dough is generally rolled out, cut into small rounds and baked.
Biscuits differ from other baked cereal products such as bread and cakes by having a low
moisture content. Bread typically has 35 - 45% moisture, cake, 15 - 30%, and biscuits, 1 - 5%
moisture (Alan, 2002). This low moisture content ensures that biscuits are generally free from
microbiological spoilage and have a long shelf life if they are protected from absorbing moisture
from damp surroundings or atmosphere. Biscuits have relatively high energy density compared
with other baked goods. Food preferences and ingredients in various regions of the country often
determine what type of biscuit is preferred.
In Mixing :
When water is added to flour and mixed, Gliadin and Glutenin undergoes hydration process ,
then combine to form the protein called gluten.
Gliadin is sticky when wet and imparts extensibility while Glutenin gives dough strength and
elasticity, and this helps in rising of the dough and gives it a chewy texture.
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In baking:
Reaction of leavening agent:
Ammonia bicarbonate decomposes completely when heated, breaking down into Carbon dioxide,
ammonia gas & water
Evaporation of Moisture:
This happens in the zone 3 and 4 of the oven when by the moisture of the biscuit is reduced
through evaporation process.
There are various ingredients used for the production of biscuit according to the particular biscuit
.Generally, we have some ingredients that are used for all biscuit product in the company,
namely;
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water
Flour are grains that have been dried and ground into powder. It is usually made of wheat,
but can also be made from many other grains, nuts and other substances.The principle ingredient
of biscuits is wheat flour. . The grain consists of bran (12%), which is the outer husk, endosperm,
which is the white center (85.5%) and the tiny germ (2.5%) (CH Non Food, 2013). Typical
biscuit flour is milled to a yield or extraction of 70-75%. Whole meal flour is of 100% extraction
and wheat meal flours in between these extraction rates, normally around 84% extraction
(Anonymous 2010). The flour will also contain moisture of between 13 – 15%.
Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption.
Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or
"strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or bread flour, is high in gluten, with 12%
to 14% gluten content, and its dough has elastic toughness that holds its shape well once baked.
Soft flour is comparatively low in gluten with about 7% to 9% and will give products a finer
texture than baked goods made with hard flour. The wheat flour is composed of carbohydrate (as
starch), protein and fat, together with some fiber, ash and trace minerals and vitamins.
Starch is insoluble in water, however the starch granules do absorb a limited amount of water in
the dough and swell. Above temperatures of 60o-70oC the swelling is irreversible and
gelatinisation begins.The gelatinisation may continue until the starch granules are fully swollen,
but it is normal in baked products that only partial gelatinisation occurs (Ghiasi, 1982). The
gelatinisation of the starch contributes to the rigidity and texture of the biscuit.As the starch gel
is heated further, dextrinisation occurs. This contributes to the colouring of the biscuit.
In soft dough products, the high sugar and fat content of the dough inhibits starch gelatinisation.
The presence of sugars delays the gelatinisation of the starch, which may be due to the
competition for water. The fat, composed of triglycerides and surfectants, also tends to inhibit
gelatinisation. With high sugar and fat recipes, the dough has a low gel viscosity and strength
and produces short and soft biscuits and cookies
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The protein is mainly gluten, composed of gliadin and glutenin.The percentage of protein
determines the flour strength. Although the gluten content of flour is talked about, in reality
gluten does not exist as such in flour. Instead there are two major protein components present in
flour, these two proteins are called Gliadin and Glutenin and each of these proteins have different
attributes which ultimately give Gluten its properties. Gliadin and Glutenin are only produced by
cereal plants, with wheat containing the highest levels of these proteins when compared to other
cereal grains (Bender, 1990).
Gliadin is very sticky when wet and very extensible and imparts adhesive properties to
gluten.Glutenin is a large and complex protein which gives dough strength and elasticity. When
water is added to flour and mixed, these proteins absorb water, otherwise known as hydrating.
Gliadin and Glutenin then combine to form the protein called gluten.Higher amounts of gluten
proteins are not desirable for biscuit and cookie production because large amounts of gluten
proteins prevent spread of dough and hampers molding of dough to specific dimension and
shape. The larger amounts of gluten proteins make the dough stronger and elastic that
contracts/recoils after sheet formation. The glutenin proteins are held responsible for the strength
and elastic nature of dough or gluten. These proteins favour gas retention and hence volume of
bakery products. Since, in biscuits and cookies making, large volume is not desirable, therefore,
lesser glutenin proteins in flour would favour desired soft wheat products. On the contrary, the
gliadin proteins are smaller and globular in nature and are credited with less surface areas for
interaction with other flour constituents, and hence these proteins make the dough more
extensible acting analogous to ball bearing action. Extensibility is a desirable character for
biscuit and cookie dough and thus, higher proportion of gliadin proteins in flour will be desirable
for biscuit and cookie production.
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Plate IV, showing gluten structure
2.3.2 Sugar
Common sugar (sucrose) is a carbohydrate derived from sugar cane or sugar beet. It is
a disaccharide composed of two monosaccharides, a molecule of glucose joined to a molecule of
fructose. Sugar is used in biscuit formulations in a granulated or powder form. Sugar is a major
ingredient used in various types of biscuits, apart from imparting a sweet taste it also serves
various functional properties in the processing of the biscuit dough as well in the structural and
organoleptic properties of the baked biscuit.
Sweetness- The sweetening property is the most basic function of sugar which makes it an
important ingredient for use in bakery. There are many different types of sweeteners available
however sucrose is the most versatile. The crystal size of the sugar used effects the sweetness
perception in biscuits. Use of finer sugar particles results in a sweeter taste due to the better
distribution of the sugar particles within the biscuit. The sweetness level perceived is also
dependent on other factors including the pH of the biscuit and the effect of other ingredients.
Flavour- Sugar is sometimes used in recipes to enhance the flavours of the biscuit, the interaction
of sugar with other ingredients contributes to the overall flavour delivery. It can be used to bring
out a particular flavour or mask the perception of other flavours. As sugar caramelises during
baking it also adds to the overall flavour of the baked biscuit.
Texture and structure- Short dough biscuits have little water in the recipe. When the sugar
dissolves in the water during the first stage of mixing it binds some of the available water
preventing starch gelatinization. It also limits the availability of water to the flour minimizing the
formation of gluten which results in a soft textured biscuit. The crystal size of the sugar used
effects the degree of solubility of the sugar in the available water. The smaller the particle size
the easier it is to dissolve and hence binds with water more readily making the dough softer as
the water will be less available to the flour. If the sugar is not completely dissolved the sugar
crystals will remain evident in the dough and consequently in the baked biscuit
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Biscuit size- Larger sugar particle sizes decrease dough piece flow causing the biscuits to spread
less during baking, consequently thicker biscuits may be obtained. The quantity of sugar used in
the recipe also affects the biscuit size. The higher the sugar levels used the softer the dough
becomes due to increased binding of available water promoting spread as is observed with
cookie recipes.
Shelf life- It has also been reported that sucrose prevents the deterioration of flavours due to its
antioxidant properties, partially due to its ability to lower water activity. The presence of sugar in
biscuits may therefore be beneficial for an improved shelf life.
Colour- When sugar is exposed to temperatures over 160°C the sugar crystals begin to melt, as
the temperature continues to increase the molten sugar begins to caramelise. Caramelisation
results in non-enzymatic browning of biscuits as the sugar oxidises, different sugar types
caramelise at different temperatures. Browning also occurs due to the Maillard Reaction (Bulk
and walker, 1987).
Invert sugar syrup is an edible mixture of two simple sugars glucose and fructose that is made by
heating sucrose (table sugar) with water. Invert sugar is thought to be sweeter than table sugar
and foods that contain it retain moisture and crystallize less easily. Bakers, who call it invert
syrup, may use it more than other sweeteners. The sucrose is split into its component
monosaccharides by hydrolysis. The sucrose in solution is heated with a small quantity of acid
such as citric acid. After inversion the solution is neutralised by the addition of soda. The invert
syrup is sweeter than sugar and it contributes to a moist, tender texture in the biscuit.
Fats are a vitally important ingredient in achieving the texture, mouth feel, and the bite of the
biscuit. The fats are produced from good quality crude oils by a process of refining, bleaching
and deodorizing. They are produced primarily from vegetable oil
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Typical blended vegetable dough fats are solid at ambient temperature and melt over a wide
temperature range. Most fats used in biscuit making are melted below blood temperature
(36.9oC), and this avoids a waxy mouth feel.
Recipes with high fat contents require little water for producing cohesive dough and produce
soft, short doughs. During mixing, the fat coats the flour particles and this inhibits hydration and
interrupts the formation of the gluten. Fats also tend to inhibit the leavening action of the carbon
dioxide diffusion in the dough during baking and this produces a softer, finer texture. Where
both fat and sugar amounts in the recipe are high, they combine to make a soft, syrupy, chewy
texture.
2.3.5 Sodium bicarbonate (soda) NaHCO3
This is the most important aerating agent. When heated, it reacts with acidic materials in the
dough to release carbon dioxide and water. It is also a chemical leavening agent with a PH
between 8-9 which means it is a base. It is a white powder that comes in a box. when it is
combined with an acidic ingredient it will produce a chemical reaction that causes the release of
carbondioxide. some. In its dry state , it is inert, but once activated, it reacts immediately. Soda is
as a means of controlling the acidity of the baked biscuit. It is relatively cheap and obtainable in
various particle size grades, for example, free running grades, refined standard grade and fine
granular. Each of these is suitable for baking ,but coarser grades may not dissolve sufficiently
quickly during the preparation and baking of a dough. It is a chemical leavening agent.
Sodium bicarbonate is used as a means of adjusting the acidity of the dough and hence the
taste of the resulting biscuit. An excess of sodium bicarbonate will give biscuit with an alkaline
reaction and a yellowish crumb and surface coloration with an unpleasant taste.
In the presence of moisture and acidic compounds the sodium bicarbonate reacts with the acid,
liberating carbon dioxide. It then decomposes to the sodium salt and water molecules.
This is a white crystalline material, it is a leavening or raising agents extremely useful for
biscuit because it decomposes completely when heated, breaking down into carbondioxide,
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ammonia gas and water and thus leaving no residue in the baked biscuit. The name “VOL” by
which it is commonly known is derived from” volatile salt” because of this complete
dissociation. it is readily soluble, but it is very alkaline giving softer dough which require less
water for a given consistency.
Despite the strong smell for ammonia is driven off during baking otherwise unpleasant taste
are encountered. Ammonium bicarbonate is therefore not suitable as leavening agents in any
product that leave the oven with more than 5% moisture content. examples are cakes and
sponges. In many cases, it has been found satisfactory and convenient to eliminate all acidulants
in biscuit dough and to use only Vol and Soda. The soda is primarily as a means of controlling
the acidity of the baked biscuit. The leavening agent incorporate gas bubbles into the dough.
Examples of leavening agent are yeast , egg & baking powder.
Sulphites in general are antioxidants that are widely used as preservatives to control bacterial
growth and prevent discoloration. Sodium metabisulphite is also known as sodium pyrosulphite,
it is an inorganic compound composed of sodium, sulphur, and oxygen, and among other uses it
factors in as a preservative agent and antioxidant one of the most integral parts of making a
biscuit. It’s rather multifunctional food additive. You can find it under classification E223 as
well. This compound is usually used in making of dried foods which includes biscuits of almost
any kind. Sodium metabisulphite comes in the form of white crystalline powder and it has
dramatic consequence on the quality of dough, the released sulphur dioxide during the dough
modulation causes the gluten to be more extensible and less elastic and therefore reduces the
shrinkage of dough pieces as they are baked. In other words, it is a reducing agent for the
modification of the strength of the gluten in dough and ultimately in biscuits. It is used in very
small quantities to chemically modify the gluten quality in biscuit dough. It behaves as a
reducing agent through liberation of sulphurdioxide gas (unpleasant smell) when in solution. The
normal level at which Sodium metabisulphite is used in dough is up to 50g per 100kg of flour.
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Over the course of its use in dough, sodium metabisulphite has raised a lot of questions about
its effect on health, but the level of it in baked goods is lower and shouldn’t cause a problem.
Some studies show that in biscuits residues of sodium metabisulphite after baking are extremely
small and difficult to find. In baking, the benefit of sodium metabisulphite is that it acts
immediately, in fact it can be added towards the end of dough mixing with the satisfactory result
that the reaction goes to completion very quickly. It should be noted that the mixed solution
deteriorates on storage, so only one day’s requirements ought to be prepared at a time. In
general, biscuits have longer shelf-life than other baked goods, and this is one of the ingredients
that makes it possible.
Lecithin is a natural food substance which occurs in all living matter but found in significant
quantities in egg yolk (8-10%) and soya bean (2.5%) which is the main source of vegetable
lecithin. It is extracted from the beans by solvents, but varies in composition & always contain
sizeable percentage of soya oil. It is a fluid which is normally supplied in steel drums.
One of the most common emulsifiers in the biscuit industry is Soya Lecithin, as an emulsifier it
promotes water in oil emulsions, as it helps keep oils with incompatible specific gravities from
separating.
Soya lecithin is an emulsifier produced from soya beans and available in liquid or powder
form. It may be added to the fat or directly into the dough mix. it forms a large group of
compounds whose function is to stabilize mixtures of two immiscible liquids. Emulsifiers are
effective at very low levels so they are classed as minor ingredients or food additives. In biscuit
dough, an emulsifier permits the easier blending of a fat in the dough and this effect also result in
possibilities of reduced fat usage to obtain similar biscuit textural properties. Soya Lecithin, a
good antioxidant was found to survive baking and an addition of 0.15% was found to increase
shelf-life.
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Salt does a couple different things in baking. For one, it helps preserve the colour and flavour of
flour. Though it seems salt is out of place in sweet recipes, if you skip it, your product will taste
very bland, as it also enhances flavour. Sodium chloride (Nacl) is used as a flavour enhancer and
also to control the rate and extent of fermentation.
2.3.10 Water
Raw materials
Scaling
Creaming
Mixing
Sheeting
Moulding
Baking
Primary packaging
Secondary packaging
Palletizing
Storage
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Figure 3.0 showing Biscuit production flowchart
i, Raw materials
The various raw materials needed for biscuit production are purchased from reliable suppliers
by the procurement department, and before it is being accepted by the company, various tests are
being carried out by the quality control and product development personnels to ensure it
conforms with the standard specifications of the company before it could be accepted for
production. Some of the raw materials includes|; soft wheat flour, sugar, salt, hydrogenated
vegetable fat, sodium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonate, sodium metabisulphite, soya lecithin,
yeast, enzyme, sesame seeds, malt extract, whey powder, cocoa powder, skimmed milk powder,
flavours etc.
Some of the test carried out on the raw materials includes; gluten test, sieve test and moisture
content for wheat flour, determination of free fatty acid on vegetable fat, determination of fatty
acid in desiccated coconut, moisture content, ph value, specific gravity, bulk density for some
flavours , the various tests will be discussed further in subsequent pages.
The raw material store is where raw materials are stored at room temperature before use except
for some raw materials like fat, flavour, they are stored below room temperature. There are about
four compartments in this store namely; chemical room, flavour room, fat room, wrapper and
carton store.
ii, Scaling
The raw materials to be used for each batch are being taken from the mini store where the raw
materials for each day’s production are being kept to the scaling room this is the room where the
raw materials to be used are weighed, it is of two divisions, solid and liquid rooms, in solid
division they scale more of flour ,sugar, salt, whey powder etc while in liquid division they scale
raw materials like chemicals, flavours, hydrogenated vegetable fat etc .The scaling of raw
materials is based on B .O.M (Bill of manufacture). They are weighed using the scaling device in
their right quantities for each batch according to specification.
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iii, Creaming.
Creaming involves the process where all ingredients except flour are poured into the mixer and
mixed with sugar to make an evenly mixed liquid, then flour is poured and mixed with the
creamed contents. Creaming takes a maximum of five minutes. Below is a typical example of
creaming steps for coaster biscuit.
Creaming steps:
Add process dust (where applicable), Sugar, Hydrogenated vegetable fat, Invert syrup,
Soya lecithin, Salt, Sodium bicarbonate (BCS), Ammonium bicarbonate (BCA), SMBS,
and flavour.
Set the mixer timer at 5mins and commence creaming process to form the coaster biscuit
cream part
iv, Mixing
During the mixing stage, flour and other ingredients are mixed together to form the dough, it is
important to carefully manage the dough temperature and mixing time such that you achieve
uniform distribution of the ingredients, as well as the appropriate consistency of the dough.
Depending on factors such as the characteristics of the flour, the mixing time could take about 5
– 10 minutes. Biscuits generally differ from other baked products such as bread. This is because
biscuits typically have a lower moisture content which is crucial to maintain during the mixing
process. It is for this reason that overall control of the entire mixing process is vital. A bad
mixing results to bad biscuit and vise versa.
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When dough is too sticky to roll – When the dough is too sticky for you to roll it out
properly, then this is an obvious mixing problem. The probable cause of this is that the
dough was not thoroughly chilled, or too little flour was used during mixing. In order to
solve this problem, you will need to cover and chill the dough sufficiently
When dough is too dry – When the dough turns out too dry during mixing, then this
could be as a result of having used too much flour to mix the dough. The best solution to
overcoming this problem would be to dribble in some vegetable oil until the dough
reaches the exact consistency that is desired.
Mixing steps:
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Plate V, showing the mixing section
v, Sheeting
After the mixing process the dough is put into the dough tray, the dough tray is conveyed to d
moving conveyors where the hopper lifts the dough tray into the moving conveyors ,a dough
cutter is used to cut down the dough to allow easy movement on the conveyors, it then enters the
pot which moves to the 1st gauge roller which leveled the dough into a thick dough ,then it
moves to the 2nd gauge roller which leveled the dough into a thin dough , moves to the 3rd
gauge roller which levels the dough into a thinner dough(the required weight) .The thinner
dough passes through a pressure comb which compresses the thinner dough.
The sheeter compacts and gauges the dough mass into a sheet that is of even thickness and at the
full width of the plant. It is important to ensure that there are no significant holes and that the
edges are not ragged but smooth. In most cases, the sheeter will also allow for the incorporation
of dough that is returned to the cutter, referred to as scrap, with virgin or fresh dough received
from the mixer. The dough is compressed within the sheeter and worked over thereby allowing
for the removal of air. During this process, certain stresses will also be inevitably built up in the
gluten structure. It is important to note that as the dough sheet becomes thinner as it progresses to
the cutter from the sheeter, it subsequently becomes longer. As such, every gauge roll and
subsequent conveyor will run faster than the ones before it.
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Plate VI, showing the sheeting process
vi, moulding/forming
Moulding is the step in biscuit manufacturing that is very critical in terms of biscuit finishing
and weight. During moulding the dough is placed inside the hopper and the rotary moulder
machine is started. The dough that is trapped at the nip is then worked and churned, thereby
forcing it through the nip. When feeding dough to a rotary moulder, there are two important
things to consider. First of all, the dough level in the mould hopper should be kept at a minimum
so as to prevent bridging, and this entails supplying the dough in small pieces. Secondly, because
the moulding roll is expensive and made of metal that is relatively soft, great care is required
such that no metal pieces end up passing with the dough into the hopper. The stamper which has
on it a docker pin and the company logo puts a stamp on the dough,then the cutter cuts d stamped
dough into the required shape as it moves into the oven which is of six zones each with standard
and set temperatures
As a manufacturer point of view large weight results in losses in terms of extra weight given to
the buyer. This extra weight which gets packed so as to maintain the written weight is known as
giveaway.
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vii , Baking
Baking takes place in the oven and there are three main changes which we will see as all
biscuits are baked. They are the development of the biscuit structure and texture, the reduction in
the moisture content, and the development of the colour. These changes overlap during the
baking process, but it is useful to note that the formation of the structure and texture of the
biscuit will take place in the first half of the biscuit baking oven Charlotte (2008) the reduction in
moisture mainly in the middle of the oven and the colour in the final third of the oven. It is a
useful simplification to say that the structure and texture of the biscuit is formed in the first half
of the oven, that the moisture removal is in the middle and the colouring occurs at the final stage.
The oven design should therefore provide a rapid heat transfer at the start of the bake and
maintain a flexible, moist outer skin of the dough piece to allow expansion and lift. In the middle
of the oven, the moisture should be removed efficiently from the dough pieces and then extracted
from the baking chamber. In the final zone(s) the surface of the biscuit will be dry and it will
colour. Good lateral heat transfer control is required to maintain an even colour and moisture
content of the baked biscuits.
The specification of the baking system should be based primarily on the product(s) to be made
and their requirements in terms of structure, texture, density, bite, flavour and colour, very bland
even colour or contrasted background with highlights.
The characteristics of the biscuits will determine the type of heat transfer (radiation, conduction
and convection) which is appropriate at each stage of the baking process.
Biscuit structure- Our aim is to bake a high quality biscuit. The following characteristics are
important:
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Flavour – many flavours and fillings are heat susceptible and the protection of the
flavours and texture of the fillings needs consideration for the baking process. For
example, for a variety of soft doughs and cookies, a preference will be given for radiant
heat, a longer baking time at a lower temperature
Moisture content
Evenness of the moisture content from the centre to the outside of the biscuit requires
penetrative heat and adequate time for baking and cooling to avoid “checking” (cracks in
the biscuits after packing).
Colour
Consistency of colour with time and across the width of the oven band
Some products, such as Marie require a very even bland colour, other such as cream
crackers and some rotary moulded designs require colour contrasts and highlights. These
features require different baking systems to enhance the appearance of the product.
The oven consists of six zones and as the biscuits travels changes occurs at this various
zones.
Zone 1 and 2
In this zones, ammonium bicarbonate in the dough decomposes easily when heated
into ammonia gas, carbondioxide gas and water vapour, the ammonia gas moves out , and
the carbondioxide gas escapes through the space created by the docker pin. As the gas
moves up, the dough begins to swell and structure develops. Zone two is responsible for
the weight and the stack height (the essence of stack height is to ensure proper
packaging).Higher stack height affects the biscuit wrapper and lower stack height makes
the biscuit wrapper loose.
Zone 3 and 4
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In this zones, there would be loss of moisture content and swelling continues.
Zone 5 and 6
In these zones, there occurs coloration of baked biscuit. Maillard reaction occurs in these
zones. The Maillard reaction is defined as “an array of non-enzymatic chemical reactions
between carbonyl (primarily carbohydrates) and amino compounds of biological origin”
It is the browning of biscuit which occurs when sugar fructose and lactose combines with the
protein amino acid in a chemical reaction in the presence of an applied heat which causes flavor,
aroma and crusts hence, causing browning of biscuit. It is a non – enzymatic reaction which
requires the presence of heat at 140oC-165oC
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Plate VIII, Showing baked biscuits coming out from the oven end
viii, Cooling
This process involves a long conveyor that allows natural air or air from ambient to cool down
the biscuit on time. After baking biscuits, they are passed on to cooling conveyors for natural
cooling prior to packing. These conveyors are generally 300 - 400 ft. And can be of two or three
deck type as per space availability. In the conveyors, the temperature is brought down to room
temperature. Natural cooling is preferred to forced cooling as it maintains the texture quality
of biscuit. Long cooling conveyors will typically involve transfer and turnover between the exit
of the oven and the final destination of the product. With the increased mechanization of cookie
and biscuit production, it has become increasingly important to maintain the uniform orientation
of the product on the oven band to the handling machines before wrapping occurs. A messed up
position would reduce the efficiency of the handling mechanisms. The first cooling conveyor is
typically quite short and may be constructed out of cloth fabric or wire mesh. It is possible to
retract the nose piece of the conveyor immediately behind the oven stripping knife of fingers.
This way, the bad or burnt biscuits can fall down onto a cross conveyor and get collected for
scrap.
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Plate IX, showing the cooling process of the biscuit as it moves to the packaging section
The device used is metal detector .This is a process of detecting presence of any metal in or out
of the biscuit as it moves on the conveyor .
x, Primary packaging
As the biscuits moves on the conveyor to the packaging section the biscuits are stacked and
fed into packing machine. Biscuits are fed into packing machines in continuous stacks this is
either manual or with help of auto feeders with help of feeding chutes .Biscuits are fed into
packing machines in continuous stacks this is achieved through stacker which converts free
flowing biscuits into uniform stacks .These are done through guidelines which could be adjusted
as per type of biscuits. Biscuit are wrapped with packing machines and wrappers are sealed as
long and end. These are sealed with helps of heaters .Coders are synchronized with machine
speed to print details like the production and expiry date as well as the batch number to the
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packing material. Primary packaging could be made of Laminate/Wrapper, Wax Paper and
Bopp films. These are tailored made for various packs where the cut-off-length and
width are decided prior to packing material production. These biscuits can be availed in different
packaging materials in different packs like slug packs, pouch pack or family packs, single pile
pack, double pack pile
This involves the packing of the primary packed biscuits in another package according to the
quantity needed which in most times is usually in carton boxes of different sizes, shapes and
colour reflecting the image of the packed product inside.
2. Protect from loss of moisture and any foreign materials and odour contamination
4.Advertisement
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plate XI, showing secondary packing section
xii, Palletizing
All the secondary packed biscuits are properly and meticulously stacked on the pallets
xiii, Storage
The stacked cartons on the pallets are coveyed to the finished goods store where it is stored at a
room temperature and ready for delivery to potential customers.
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CHAPTER THREE
Quality control is not an option extra in food processing. It is an essential component of any food
processing business. Quality control department evaluates output relative to a standard and takes
corrective measures when output doesn’t meet the predetermined standard/required
specification, monitors the overall production process in the production floor to ensure the
production process conforms to the set standard. Furthermore quality control department
oversees the laboratory aspects of the products, carries out line auditing, ensures that the GMPs
and SOPs of the company are kept to prevent production of substandard product, oversees the
general cleanliness of the employees and facilities in the company, protect the consumers from
dangers and ensure they get the weight and quality of food they paid for.
Quality control is used to predict the quality of the processed food and then control the process
so that the expected quality is achieved for every batch. Quality control personnel in the food
company ensure that the food processing, handling and packaging processes are of standards.
Functions of this department include;
Testing:
This is the most basic function of quality control. The quality control personnel test and analyse
the food manufacturing process from the raw material stage through to the in-process stage and
the finished product stage to ensure that the food production quality remains the same
throughout. If they discover any issue at any point in the process, they work with the production
team to remedy the issue.
Monitoring:
Monitoring consists of ongoing testing that the quality control personnel perform on a regular
basis. The quality control specialist repeats the testing and analyses and records the results of
each analysis. After the specialist has performed several analyses/tests, he or she reviews the
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results and looks for any trend in quality. He or she continues to monitor the trending of the
results.
Auditing
A quality control personnel also spends time auditing the quality of a process. The following are
put into considerations while production is ongoing and it is carried out by quality auditors
Creaming and mixing time – creaming time is the time it takes to mix all the ingredients
excluding flour and it takes a maximum of five minutes while mixing time is the time it takes the
creamed ingredients together with the flour and it takes a maximum of fifteen minutes. The
auditors makes sure that the accurate mixing and creaming time are used according to standard
when producing a particular type of biscuit .
Wet and dry weight – using the weighing balance placed at various sections of the production
line , the auditors checks the wet weight that is the weight of the dough and the dry weight which
is the weight of the fully baked biscuit making sure the weights conforms with standard weight.
Baking time and oven temperature profile - The baking time is the time it takes the biscuits to
bake from the zone one of the oven to the zone 6 and oven the oven temperature shows the
temperatures at which each zone is set to run and the present temperature it is running. The
auditor takes note of the baking time and writes down the temperatures at which the oven is
running for record purposes.
Stack height and dimension – Every biscuit produced in the company has its own standard stack
height which is the thickness of the biscuit and standard dimension . The auditor ensures and
takes note of the stack height and dimension of the biscuits during production to make sure its
within standard and if not the attention of the production team is being called to make
corrections.
Moisture content- as production is on going the auditors checks the moisture content of the
biscuit using the moisture analyzer every hour to ensure that the moisture in the biscuit is not
more than required.
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Reporting:
Periodically, the quality control personnel report the quality results to management. A high
number of food quality problems means something is wrong with the process and there may be
many unhappy customers for the company. Management reviews the number of quality problems
and where they occur in the process and take actions to address the issue.
All employees and students working in the laboratory are required to learn and understand the
properties of the chemicals and harmful microorganisms they work with as well as operational
features of laboratory equipment and to follow all precautions applicable to each task.
Prevention, they say is better than cure, in this wise, some laboratory preventive and first aid
measures are listed as follows:
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You must wear your laboratory coat in the laboratory.
No eating and drinking inside the laboratory.
You should acquaint yourself with the layout of the building and the location of the
emergency exit and muster point.
Avoid working alone in the laboratory as much as possible. If you must work alone,
inform somebody of your presence.
Use appropriate personal protection and wash your hands regularly after each work
Do not place personal items such as clothing, bags, cell phones, etc. on the work
bench.
Tie back long hair, use head cover and avoid the use of dangling jewellery.
Do not use mouth to suck up liquid into a pipette. Instead, make use of mechanical
pipetting aids.
Remember to turn off the water supply, gas, bulbs and disconnect all electrical
appliances from their sources except the refrigerator at the end of the day's work.
Examine all glass wares before use and discard any broken glass apparatus.
You must not wear your laboratory coat outside the laboratory working area.
Avoid pouring water into acid, rather pour acid into water.
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3.2 Hazard analysis and critical control point (haccp) system
In order to enhance food safety, every stage of the food production (from purchasing,
receiving, transportation, Storage, preparation, handling, cooking to serving) must follow the
HACCP system.
The HACCP is a scientific and systematic system approach to identify, assess and control
hazards in the food production process. With the HACCP system, food safety control is
integrated into the design of the process rather than relied on the end product testing
Analyse Hazards;
Determine critical point;
Establish limits for critical control points;
Establish monitoring; procedures for critical control points;
Establish corrective action;
Establish verification procedure;
Establish a record system.
3.3.1 ph test
Pocedure :
37
10gram of the sample is measured on weighing balance and dissolved in 90ml of distilled
water.
The solution is stirred properly.
The electrode of the pH meter is inserted into the solution and the readings taken
Moisture or water content is the amount of water contained in a material. The moisture analyser is
used to determine the moisture content of dough and finished goods.
Procedure:
Not more than 1g of the food sample is put into the moisture analyser and the balance
unit of the analyser captures this initial weight
The start button is pressed to that the heating unit begins the heating and drying process
The reading is taken when the analyser stops heating and the final weight and percentage
moisture content displayed on the screen.
This is a test carried out on finished goods product and some other raw materials like flour, sugar
, cocoa powder , flavours , liquid glucose e .t. c. this test is carried out by an instrument called
muffle furnace.
Procedure:
Weigh accurately about 5grams of the material in the dish previously tared and weighed. The
dish is kept in the muffle furnace at 600 -615 oc till grey ash results. it takes about 4hours.The
dish is cooled in a desiccator and weighed.
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Calculation:
The formation of the gluten, its strength, elasticity and extensibility are largely determined by the
flour specification, recipe and the mixing and forming processes. Wheat flour contains
proteins including gliadin and glutenin. In the presence of water these proteins combine to
form gluten. As the dough is mixed the protein molecules form long strands of gluten, which
have strength and elasticity.
Procedure:
25 gram of the flour is weighed into a bowl. 15 ml of water is added to the flour and made into
dough taking care to see that all the material is taken into the dough .The dough is kept in the
bowl filled with water for one hour. The dough is washed by kneading the dough with hand in
water and the washings are discarded, taking care to see that no gluten is lost while discarding
the wash water. The washings are continued till the gluten is free from starch.
After washing, the wet gluten is placed on a piece of tared and previously weighed grey board.
The wet gluten is spread into a thin layer and cut into small pieces by means of a spatula. Any
residue sticking to the spatula is transferred to the grey board. The grey board with wet gluten is
weighed .After weighing it is kept in an Air Oven at 130 -135 0c for two hours or 100 -105oc for
39
four hours for drying. After drying, the grey board with dry gluten is cooled in a desiccator and
weighed.
Calculation
M –Moisture % of flour
Principle:
The fat is dissolved in an appropriate solvent , after which the solution is titrated with
sodium hydroxide solution .The amount of sodium hydroxide solution consumed is a
measure of the acidity of an oil.
Reagents: a) Solvents - Mix equal volume of 90% alcohol and diethylether . Neutralise
shortly before use with 0.1N sodium hydroxide using phenolphthalein as indicator.
Procedure :
40
About 20 gram of oil /fat is weighed accurately into a 250 ml conical flask . 50 ml of the
solvent is added , swirled well and titrated against 0.05N Sodium hydroxide with
phenolphthalein as an indicator .
Calculation :
Apparatus: Soxhlet apparatus, cornical flask, weighing balance, thimble, dessicator, heating
mantle, mortar and pestle
Procedure:
- Weigh about 10g of crushed biscuit using mortar and pestle to crush.
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-The crushed biscuit is placed inside the thimble using cotton wool to cover the openings’
-The solvent e.g. petroleum ether of about 150ml is placed into a distillation flask.
Operation:
The solvent is heated to reflux. The solvent vapour travels up a distillation arm, and floods into
the chamber housing the thimble of solid. The condenser ensures that any solvent vapour cools,
and drips back down into the chamber housing the solid material. The chamber containing the
solid material slowly fills with warm solvent. Some of the desired compound dissolves in the
warm solvent. When the Soxhlet chamber is almost full, the chamber is emptied by the siphon.
The solvent is returned to the distillation flask. The thimble ensures that the rapid motion of the
solvent does not transport any solid material to the still pot. This cycle may be allowed to repeat
many times, over hours or days.
During each cycle, a portion of the non-volatile compound dissolves in the solvent. After many
cycles the desired compound is concentrated in the distillation flask. The advantage of this
system is that instead of many portions of warm solvent being passed through the sample, just
one batch of solvent is recycled.
After extraction the solvent is removed, typically by means of a rotary evaporator, yielding the
extracted compound. The non-soluble portion of the extracted solid remains in the thimble, and
is usually discarded.
2) Low solubility
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3) Thermally stable at distillation temperature.
4) Low density
6) Non toxic
The extracted fat is weighed (W1) and compared to the weight of the conical flask (W0).
Measure about 50ml of absolute ethanol and 50ml of benzene, add 3drops of phenolphthalein
and shake. Set up a retort stand and titrate against 0.05N NaOH till a pink colour appears.
Calculation:
Rancidity
Rancidity applies to oils /fats .They can be susceptible to oxygen damage called oxidative
rancidity. During the process of rancidity, oxygen molecules interact with the structure of the oil
and damage the natural structure that can change its odour, taste, safety for consumption.
Rancidity is caused by biochemical reaction between fats and oxygen. In this process, the long
chain fatty avid are degraded and short chains compound are formed. One of the reaction
products is butyric acid which causes typical rancid taste. Rancidification is the decomposition of
fats, oils and other lipids by hydrolysis or oxidation or both. Hydrolysis will split fatty acid
43
chains from glycerol into glycerides. The fatty acid undergo auto-oxidation. Oxidation occurs
with unsaturated fat by free radical mediated process .These chemical processes destroy nutrients
in food.
Antioxidants are often added to fat containing foods to retard the development of rancidity due
to oxidation.
Natural; Antioxidant tend to be short lived while synthetic antioxidants has a longer shelf life
which is preferable.
Rancid fat can lead to increased rate of heart disease and atherosclerosis which are carcinogenic,
Oxygen is 8 times more soluble in fats than in water and it is the oxidation resulting from the
exposure that is the primary cause of rancidity, The more polyunsaturated a fat is, the faster it
will go rancid .
Apparatus: Muffle furnace, crucible, water bath , filter paper, oven, dessicator
Procedure:
The Ash kept in the silica or platinum dish / crucible is treated with 25ml of 5N Hydrochloric
Acid, covered with a watch glass and heated on a water bath for 10minutes. It is cooled and the
contents are filtered through a whatman No .42 Filter paper. The filter paper is washed with
water until the washings are free from acid. The filter paper with the residue is returned to the
44
dish. It is kept in an electric oven at 130 -135 oc for 3hours. It is then transferred to the muffle
furnace and ignited at 610 -615oc for 3hours. The dish is taken out and cooled in a desiccator and
the weight is recorded.
Calculation:
Procedure:
Weigh the specific gravity bottle and record the weight, fill the bottle with water, weigh and
record the weight, rinse and dry the bottle and fill with the liquid sample , weigh and record the
weigh.
Calculation
Equipment:
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Water
Dehydrated media
Calibrated balance
Conical flask
Spatula
Aluminium foil
Autoclave
Procedure:
To make 100ml sufficient for 7-10 petri dish or follow manufacturers guide
Precaution
Wipe the exterior of the media container from the water bath before pouring them media to avoid
contaminating the sterile media.
The principle behind this method is that the bacteria carrying particles are allowed to settle onto
the medium for a given period of time and incubated at the required temperature. A count of
colonies formed shows the number of settled bacteria containing particles.
In this method, petri dishes containing an agar medium of dry surface without moisture are
selected. Choice of the medium depends upon the kind of microorganisms to be enumerated.
The optimal duration of exposure should give a readily countable number of well isolated
colonies.
Procedure:
i. Add 10 -15ml of agar solution to sterile petri dish under aseptic condition’
iii. Remove the lids of petri dishes and expose to the air for 1-2 minutes at different locations
above the ground.
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v. Following incubation, count the colonies according to location and record the results.
Note:
The higher the number of colonies, the higher the microbial load in the atmosphere.
The principle of this method is based on lifting microorganism from a surface and streaking
it on agar surface followed by incubation .Hands, Machines, Packaging Materials and
benches are swab using this method
Procedure:
Procedure:
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v. Transport to the laboratory
vi. Transfer sample information to record book such as: sample date and time, product name,
production and expiry date, batch number.
Procedure:
i. Prepare your media for the purpose at hand following manufacturers guide
ii. Using sterile pipette, accurately dispense 9ml of sterile diluents into test tubes
iii. Homogenously prepare serial dilution of 102 and 103 and so on as appropriate using 1 ml
of the previous solution plus sample with pipette that delivers required accurate volume.
iv. Pipette 1 ml of selected dilution into separate petri dish and mark appropriately
vi. Mix sample dilution and agar medium uniformly on a flat surface
vii. Allow agar to solidify, invert the dish and incubate at 48h at 370C
viii. Following your incubation, choose plate that appears to have between 30 to 300 colonies
x. Calculate the number of CFUs (colony forming unit) per ml of the sample
Ph meter
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ph metre is a device used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Solutions with
a ph less than 7 are acidic and solutions with a ph greater than 7 are basic. Pure water is neutral,
at ph 7 (25 °C), being neither an acid nor a base.
Moisture analyzer
It a device used to check the percentage moisture content of water content of a sample, it used
both in the lab and on the line.
Muffle furnace
Muffle furnace is an oven type instrument which can reach high temperatures. The furnace
achieves the high-temperature on the basis of the insulating material which is fitted inside the
chamber. The insulating material which is provided in the chambers acts as a muffle and stops
the heat from escaping out of the chamber. Muffle furnaces are used for the applications where
there is huge demand of testing the sample at high temperature and to determine the percent of
ash content in those materials.
Soxhlet extractor
A Soxhlet extractor is a piece of laboratory apparatus which was originally designed for the
extraction of a lipid from a solid material. Typically, Soxhlet extraction is used when the desired
compound has a limited solubility in a solvent, and the impurity is insoluble in that solvent. It
allows for unmonitored and unmanaged operation while efficiently recycling a small amount of
solvent to dissolve a larger amount of material. The material containing the compound to be
extracted is loaded in a thimble and placed inside the percolator. An extraction solvent is added
to the material if the material is not already dissolved. The percolator is placed on top of a
heating element, and a chilled condenser is placed at the top of the extractor. As the extraction
solvent heats up, it dissolves some of the solute. The pressure in the percolator continues to build
up until the heated solvent refluxes into a reservoir. The excess solvent is flushed back into the
percolator, leaving the solute behind in the reservoir.
Autoclave
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Autoclave is a pressure chamber used for sterilization of petri dishes, glassware and lab ware,
instruments, solutions, and waste materials. They can sterilize culture media.
Laboratory Oven
Laboratory ovens are ovens for high-forced volume thermal convection applications. These
ovens generally provide uniform temperatures throughout. Process applications for laboratory
ovens can be for annealing, die-bond curing, drying, Polyimide baking, sterilizing, and other
industrial laboratory functions. Typical sizes are from one cubic foot to 0.9 cubic metres
(32 cu ft) with temperatures that can be over 340 degrees Celsius.
OVEN PH METER
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SOXHLET EXTRACTOR AUTOCLAVE
i. Employees will wear clean uniform hair net, nose mask and shoes, all shoes will be in
good repair and enclose the entire foot (no open toes). Shoes should always be kept clean.
ii. Never use make up, artificial eye lashes, perfumes and all strong smelling deodorants to
the production floor.
iii. All employees will wash hands with soap and water and sanitize their hands prior to
handling open food, after using rest rooms, returning to their work station from break or
lunch or anytime their hands may become soiled.
iv. All jewelry, including watches should be removed when entering production floor.
v. Males should shave beards clean before entering production floor.
vi. No glass material is allowed into the production floor
vii. No employees infected with any infectious or communicable disease , including boils,
sores, infected wounds or any other affliction that may spread should go into the
production except with medical fitness certificate from the company’s clinic.
viii. Chewing gum, sweets and eating any form of food (including our products) in the
production floor is highly prohibited.
ix. Tobacco and cigarettes are not allowed in the production area. Smoking is allowed only
in designated areas.
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x. Personal clothing / belongings must not be stored in the production floor, but in the
lockers provided.
xi. Use of mobile phones while working in the production hall is strictly prohibited.
Quality: The standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the
degree of excellence of something.
Quality control: It is a measure of precision, or how well the measurement system reproduces
the same result over time and under varying operating conditions. It aims to introduce good
quality food handling processes under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and will be of
relevance to anyone with a general interest in Good Manufacturing Practice.
Quarantine: This is a specified period of time mapped out for the product to be under
surveillance. With this stated period, the quality control officer inspects the product to know if
there will be existence of defects like blotting, leakage in the cartons etc. The quality control has
the power to release the product that has been under surveillance on meeting the quarantine
period or keep on hold for a longer time if need may be. These released products are sent to the
storage unit for proper palleting and storage pending when it will be dispatched for sales.
Product quality index: Product quality index involves biscuit quality and pack quality. The
essence of product quality index is to maintain standardization and for continuous improvement.
In pack quality, all of the following are audited:
-Packets with burst seal / open /leakage shortage in primary and secondary packaging
53
- Packets without coding or wrong coding
-loose packets
-packets having improper code aesthetics, while in biscuit quality, all of the following are
audited
CHAPTER FOUR
54
4.0 NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION
Being assigned to the New product department, I was tutored and given orientation about this
department, which involves innovation and renovation of products, carrying out analysis on new
raw materials to conform if it is within specification before it could be accepted into the
company, creating of workmap for packaging dimensions of the products, Carrying out line
auditing for new products as well as takes care of the regulatory bodies assiagnment. The
department works hand in hand especially with marketing department and quality control
Marketing inputs : The first step for any new product development comes from marketing
department .The need to produce new product comes from inputs from marketing which from
their surveys ,analysis and consumer feedbacks or competitors products suggest a new product
with a new recipe or packaging.
Product and packaging specifications: Products standards are finalised such as standard recipe,
standard baking time , standard size n shape. Similiarly primary and secondary packaging are
designed with all specifications color ,symbols and labels.
Product trials : Once the recipe , shape and size are developed then these are produced in trial
runs .it could be done either in laboratories or actuals in plant .Once the products are produce
these are packed and sent to market.
Market feed back: Products are placed in particular market and sample of feedback are taken
for the new products . It could take time in weeks and months .Finally if the consumer response
are positive green signal is sent for commercial production .Trial can be taken in large section.
Packaging and transit trials are taken for the strength and endurance of secondary packaging
for breakage etc.
Commercial production: Once the new product gets encouraging response from consumer
then company launches mass commercial production of the product with marketing blitz
simultaneously. The new product development process requires complete synergies between
different teams from food technologists/plant engineers/production team /procurement .
Every product has it life cycle depending other factors few have life cycle of months and few
55
have life cycles of years .Hence marketing section has to check that products which are at their
fag end of life cycles are replaced by new products.
Following can be altered /modified for new product development products
Recipe: Various flavours are available; mango, banana, strawberry, sweeten sour etc .
Marketing
The marketing department market, sell and advertise the products and also bring feedback on
the products performance in the market, the department is concerned with identifying and
satisfying customers needs at the right price. They also ensure proper advertisement of the
company’s products with much more tactical strategy and ensure a suitable means of promoting
Deli foods Nigeria limited.
The marketing team pulls strategies which puts out the image of the company to the general
public which involves bill board advertisement; which involves placement of bill board adverts
on major roads promoting the image of the brand. social media strategy; the social media now
offers businesses of all sizes unprecedented opportunities to reach new customers and Deli foods
Nigeria limited grabbed this opportunity and open its own social media platforms on facebook
with the name Deli Foods Nigeria and instagram with the handle @delifoodsngr as a way to
reaching out the general public and our potential customers. Posting of stickers; stickers of
different varieties of Deli foods products are posted on various strategic places and in all of the
company’s vehicles promoting the image of the company. Brand Activation; brand activation is
any campaign, event, or experience that enables your brand to engage directly with consumers
56
and build a loyal brand community around your product or service. Activations is often inclusive
and interactive, ignite the fire that will light the way for people to find your product and align
with your purpose, Deli foods Nigeria carries out activations majorly in the open market and
shopping malls.
Distribution
The sales department sees to the sales of the company’s product and the dispatch and proper
delivery of the products to the customers on demand. Deli foods products can be seen in different
parts of Nigeria and other countries and the credit mostly goes to the sales team working
effectively in which the various sales officers of regional zones puts in their best to effective
distribution of the products. The company supplies to the wholesalers, while the wholesalers
supplies to retailers that reaches to the final consumers.
Manufacturer
Wholesaler
Retailer
consumer
57
4.3.1 Primary package (single pile)
58
v. For the height , the dimension of the biscuit is multiplied by the number of layers wanted
in a carton + required space for proper sealing of the carton ( about 10mm space).
196mm
12.5mm
114mm
65mm
horizontal seal area
pack height
pack height
Front view
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Plate XV, showing the designed and plain work maps of deli primary package
Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli
115mm
190mm
Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli Deli
520mm 230mm 520mm 230mm
Plate XVI, showing the designed and plain work maps for deli secondary package
60
CHAPTER FIVE
During my stay at Deli foods Nigeria limited, I was opportuned to gain a lot of experience not
just in acquiring some analysis knowledge, production process and packaging technology but
also on other fields, such as communication skill, I learnt how to interact effectively with
superiors staffs and casual workers, also documentation skills as well as improved in my use of
the computer system, how to handle myself in a company environment, dress code required for
most company. These experiences would surely play an important role for future purposes.
In conclusion the student industrial work experience program really exposed me to working
environments, how most of the test and principles I learnt in school and during the SIWES
program are employed in the laboratory and in solving real life issues. SIWES has really being a
work experience and an eye opener to undergraduates. I now understand how the corporate
world is and some of the things to expect when I am through with school. I have being able to
see the real life application of some of the things I have being thought in class. The SIWES
program aids students to think better and it broadens their knowledge on some key things.
SIWES has also thought me a whole lot of new things that can’t be taught in normal everyday
classes because of time constraint and other factors that are inevitable.
The Nigerian University Commission (NUC) in conjunction with the Federal Government has
done a great job in introducing the SIWES program in universities and keeping it going. There is
nothing that has an advantage without a disadvantage except God of course. The disadvantages
are there as challenges so that they can be solved or improved upon, if not many things would be
61
stagnant and we all know that there is nothing stagnant or constant in life except change. This
brings me to some challenges of SIWES.
The major challenge that students face is that of placement. Many organizations do not accept
SIWES students due to some funny reasons like there is no vacancy and so on. I wouldn’t mind
if the Federal Government intervene and maybe enlighten organizations on the importance of the
SIWES program to undergraduates. Another challenge is that of payment. Organizations don’t
really have to pay the SIWES students much, but they should at least pay them enough to cover
their transportation. This is because not everyone has enough for transportation and most people
do think of how to save for their school fees and other things and that is why some students don’t
resume on time. Notwithstanding, SIWES in general has being really helpful. I am sure it will be
of greater help to me and my colleagues when we are working on our final project and when we
go out there. It has also created a pathway for us to fly as eagles.
i. We were not allowed to use most delicate equipment, due to incidents in the past, the
fact that accidents can occur and those equipment were very expensive and we the IT
students are not financially capable of replacing those equipment.
ii. During the time I audited on the production floor, some of the causal workers were
difficult to interact with or communicate with because they felt offended when you
brought their consent to a mistake made during production.
iii. The biscuit industry was not in full production as it used to be in the past so it took
me time to familiarize myself with all the biscuit varieties, processes and analysis.
iv. Too much work for less number of IT students. During my stay there were in short of
Staffs and tried to use IT student to make up, this made work more tedious, this made
IT student to work more than expected , hence little or no experience gained due to
the fact that we were working than learning especially when Staffs goes on leave.
v. Some of the Senior Staffs are rude and not polite when dealing with them.
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vi. IT students are not properly oriented as they resume work, they try to learn some
things as the work progresses.
i. Due to recent increase in working hours and no recruitment of new staffs lead to shortage
of staffs on ground on some particular working days.
ii. Due to most equipment and machines used being automated when machine breaks down
it took long to repair machines which lead to delay in the release of reports.
iii. Due to recent economic situation in the country profits made was not encouraging and
losses were recorded in some month which made the company lay off some staff.
iv. Most of the senior staffs come very late to work which at times causes delay in some
processes which is not good for the company.
5.2 Recommendations
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v. I recommend a suggestion box should be fixed for casual workers and staffs to air
their opinions from time to time.
REFERENCES
Alan, D. (2002). The Penguin Companion to Food. The Penguin Reference Books.
Buck, J. S. and Walker, C. E. (1987). Sugar and Sucrose Ester Effects. University of Nebraska,
Kansas State University
Charlotte, A. (2008). AB Enzymes targets improved biscuit baking: Decision News Media.
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Ghiasi, K. (1982). Effects of Flour Components and Dough Ingredients on Starch Gelatinisation.
American Association of Cereal Chemists 60 (1): 58-61
Robins, B. A. (1954). Formula, Dough Mixing Methods Review of Literature. Oregon State
University.
Sumnu, M. K. (1999). Effects of Sugar, Protein and Water Content. European Food Research
Technology, Springer- Verlag 209 (1): 68-71
APPENDICES
65
and also perfected my practice
on creation of package work
map.
Week 21 – week 24 New product development/ Learnt how to prepare media,
September 24th – October 19th microbiology lab culture samples for microbial
growth, how to record and
document properly both on
paper and system.
Table 1 showing the weekly activites
66