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Practical Exercise #1
The Intercontinental Foods Company (IFC) operates an integrated multi-food processing
complex (plant) on the west bank of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. About 60% of the food products are processed at the site. The remaining
40% are brought in partially processed. They are finished and packaged at this site. All food
products are shipped from the plant by truck, rail car and ship.
Ms. Jane Highstress is the General Manager at IFC who oversees procurement, processing,
quality assurance, R & D (research and development) and marketing. At the October company
meeting with Jane Highstress please be prepared to discuss the following:
1. Although batch processing operations provide versatility to a processing operations a
continuous processing has numerous other advantages. For your presentation during the October
meeting please discuss in detail the advantages of switching from a batch to a continuous
processing operation for fluid milk or ice-cream processing. In your presentation outline the
advantages and disadvantages of each process and explain how the advantages of a continuous
process may outweigh these.
2. Inadequate heat processing of certain foods can have serious consequences resulting in illness
sometimes death of those who consume the food, economic loss and possibly legal action against
the processor. In your presentation in October please discuss the significance of adequate heat
processing of foods to eliminate Clostridium Botolinum in canned green beans or Listeria
Monocytogenes in meats. In your discussion include the significance of obtaining D and z values
for these organisms.
3. Membrane separation technologies such as ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, microfiltration
have numerous advantages over traditional methods of processing. In your presentation in
October please discuss why the company should invest in membrane separation technology to
concentrate orange juice or remove alcohol from beer. In your discussion please provide
comparisons to traditional methods in terms of product quality, time of processing, cost, labor
etc.
4. Cheddar cheese is the most consumed cheese variety in the U.S. As U.S. consumer become
more health concious there in an increasing demand for reduced- and low-fat cheeses. The food
industry has responded promptly to this demand. As the supervisor dairy processing, at the
October meeting please provide an overview of your reduced-fat Cheddar cheese manufacturing
operation. The overview should start with the receiving of the raw milk at the plant and end with
the packaging of the cheese at the plant.
5. Maintaining uniform quality of food products is extremely important to a food processor. As
the supervisor of quality assurance department in the company at the October meeting please
provide an overview of all the quality check points for the manufacturing of the Gold Brand
(extra premium) ice-cream. In your discussion included all aspect of quality for ingredients and
processing.
6. Enzymes which are proteins with catalytic properties are widely used in food processing and
improvement of food quality. Enzymes play an important role both in the production of
traditional and novel products. As an example enzymes are widely used by the starch and sugar
processing industries and fruit juice industries. In your presentations during the October meeting
please discuss how your department utilizes enzymes in the production of high-fructose corn
syrup (HFCS) or for the clarification of juices.
7. Pasteurization is widely used in the food industry to destroy pathogens and extend shelf life
food products. At the October meeting please provide an overview of the HTST pasteurization
process providing some of the key features of a HTST pasteurizer. Discuss the pasteurization
process for fluid milk or apple cider, including the legal aspects involved (during processing)
into your discussion.