2 Background to the biscuit industry 2.1 What are biscuits? Biscuits are small baked products made principally from flour, sugar and fat. They typically have a moisture content of less than 4% and when packaged in moistureproof containers have a long shelf life, perhaps six months or more. The appeal to consumers is determined by the appearance and eating qualities. For example, consumers do not like broken biscuits nor ones that have been over or under baked. Biscuits are made in many shapes and sizes and after baking they may be coated with chocolate, sandwiched with a fat-based filling or have other pleasantly flavoured additions. 2.2 How are biscuits made? Biscuits are a traditional type of flour confectionery which were, and can still be, made and baked in a domestic kitchen. Now they are made mostly in factories on large production plants. These plants are large and complex and involve considerable mechanical sophistica- tion. Forming, baking and packing are largely continuous operations but metering ingredients and dough mixing are typically done in batches. There is a high degree of mechanisation in the biscuit industry but at present there are very few completely automatic production plants. This means that there is a high degree of dependence on the operators to start and control production plants. It is essential that operators are skilled in the tasks they have to do and this involves responsibility for product quality. As part of their training they must know about the ingredients and their roles in making biscuits. They must be aware of .the potential ingredient quality variations and the significance of these. There are basically two types of biscuit dough, hard and soft. The difference is determined by the amount of water required to make a 4 Background to the biscuit industry 5 dough which has satisfactory handling quality for making dough pieces for baking. Hard dough has high water and relatively low fat (and sugar) contents. The dough is tough and extensible (it can be pulled out without immediately breaking), like tight bread dough. The biscuits are either crackers or in a group known as semi-sweet or hard sweet. Soft doughs contain much less water and relatively high levels of fat and sugar. The dough is short, (breaks when it is pulled out) which means that it exhibits very low extensible character. It may be so soft that it is pourable. The biscuits are of the soft eating types which are often referred to as ‘cookies’. There are a great number of biscuit types made from soft doughs and a wide variety of ingredients may be used. The machinery used to make biscuits is designed to suit the type of dough needed and to develop the structure and shape of the individual biscuits. Secondary processing, which is done after the biscuit has been baked, and packaging biscuits are specific to the product concerned. There is normally a limited range of biscuit types that can be made by a given set of plant machinery. Many biscuit production plants bake at the rate of 1000-2000 kg per hour and higher rates are not unusual. Given this and the sophistication of the production line it is most economical to make only one biscuit type for a whole day or at least an eight hour shift. Start-ups and changeovers are relatively inefficient. 2.3 How a factory is arranged Typically the factory is long and, for the most part, normally on only one floor. The reason for the length is principally due to the oven. Tunnel ovens have baking bands that are usually between 800- 1400mm (31-55 in) in width. The length of the oven determines the output capacity of the plant. Ovens have been made up to 150 m in length but 60 m (about 200 feet) is probably the average length. Ideally, and normally, the ingredients are stored and handled at one end of the factory. Next to the ingredients store is the mixing area and next to that are the continuous production plants. The baking plants feed cooling conveyors, which are often multitiered to save space, and the baked and cooled biscuits are then packed using high speed machines. In some factories secondary processes are involved after baking. It 6 Biscuit, cookie and cracker manufacturing manuals is also possible that only semi-automatic packaging is used which requires manual feeding of the wrapping machines. In these cases biscuits may be taken from the baking line and placed temporarily in boxes or stored in other ways. These activities are typically labour intensive. 2.4 What your company requires from the factory Your company exists to make a profit! The means of earning this profit is by making and selling biscuits (and possibly other products). The products that are made are designed to meet current market needs and to this end they have specifications in terms of pack size, biscuit eating qualities and appearance and ingredient types and quantities. These specifications define limits and it is the task of the production department to ensure that only biscuits which meet the specifications are packed and sold. All substandard product must be disposed of through other routes and will represent a financial loss to the company. The production cost of a product is a combination of ingredient and packaging material costs, labour (which involves the production time), fuel for the machines and baking, and overheads which include management, maintenance and other support services. A significant cost is the labour associated with the production time. The efficiency of production, which is measured by the quantity of saleable product produced in a specified time, is an important aspect of the product The duty of the Production Department to the company is to produce a minimum of scrap product and have a minimum of production downtime. Both of these requirements are influenced strongly by the skills and performance of the plant operators. cost. 2.5 Ingredient storage areas Ingredients should be stored at one end of the factory as near as possible to the mixing machines. Ingredients which are handled in bulk will be held in silos. These are either tanks for liquids, such as fats and syrups, or bins for dry materials like flour, sugar and starch. Materials that are delivered in boxes, bags or drums will be held on the floors of the warehouse, usually on pallets to aid ease of movement from place to place. Background to the biscuit industry 7 As part of the ingredient storage department there may be some equipment associated with pre-processing of ingredients prior to their allocation to the factory. Processes like washing of dried fruit, fat cooling and plasticising, bag opening and tipping into small holding bins will be involved. It is also common for small ingredients such as chemicals and flavours to be preweighed for each dough mixing by a member of staff using accurate scales. 2.6 Your contribution when working with ingredients The most important contribution you can make to the efficiency of the factory when working with ingredients is to ensure the following: Stocks issued to the factory must be taken in rotation so that there is no possibility of old stock being unexpectedly mixed with new. Watch for the description of the ingredient on the bag label. It is possible that an error has resulted in the wrong materials being delivered or used. Do not issue, without reporting the fact, material that has been stored in a damaged container. There may be contamination or deterioration. Keep the storage areas clean and tidy. Dirt on bags and other containers can easily fall into the mixer as they are opened and tipped. Look out for infestations by insect, rodents and birds and report the situation without delay. Avoid straining yourself; do not try to move heavy weights without help or using the appropriate machinery. In a well managed factory you will probably be required to record what stocks you have issued or pre-processed. You will also be required to label clearly materials that have been prepared (for example washed or blended). In this way there will be no misunderstanding about what was done and when. It is not unusual to find faults or to have queries. You must communicate. It is essential that if you are in doubt you should not hesitate to ask, even if you know that you should know the answer!