Sealord Group Ltd
Consumer Testing and Moving Towards Mass Production
Heading into the fryer
Out of the fryer
Out of the spiral freezer ready for packing
Packing the scallops into cartons and plastic inner trays
COP Outcome development and evaluation
Experimentation continues. Grant, the marketing manager, arranges for potential consumers to test the scallops. Sales representatives will take the developing product to the supermarket, share it with customers and record their feedback. Often food presentation experts are asked to further test the product. Further refinement and sensory testing is carried out.
When Frits and Grant are convinced that the development of the crumbed scallops has reached the point where they will be a commercial success, the decision is made to move to factory trials. The scallops are not cooked during the factory frying process. Testing of the cooked scallops so far has provided accurate cooking instructions for the packaging. The people who will be responsible for the mass production of the crumbed scallops are now involved in the process.
Nick is the coated product factory supervisor and has a lot of experience and great people skills. He is responsible for factory safety, quality management of the product, a right first time product and 120 staff on two processing lines. Frits works with Nick to ensure that the factory systems and equipment will produce high quality crumbed scallops efficiently. A key part of Nick’s job is communication with the factory charge hands and the production scheduler so that they can set up the appropriate equipment, and have quality control systems in place for food safety, weighing and packaging (sample production schedule pdf).
Sealord Quality Systems satisfy food safety processing requirements, the foundation on which all development takes place. Systems include processing quality manuals that cover all aspects of production, processing hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) plans and processing specifications. The HACCP plan identifies ways in which potential food safety hazards could be introduced, and specifies preventive measures to ensure that they are not. The comprehensive plan reviews potential risks associated with the ingredients, packaging, equipment and staff, as well as all the stages of the production process. In effect it covers everything that influences the work environment, equipment, processes and people involved.
The testing process is now modelled in the factory, probably in a lunch-break, where a relatively small sample of the product will go through a trial production run. A mechanical “de-glazer” removes the moisture from the surface of the scallops, ensuring that the batter adheres well to the surface of the scallop. Several mini trials may be needed to allow adjustments to be made to the batter viscosity, the time the product is in the frying oil, and the weight range of the product. The fitness for purpose of the new packaging – whether it can be effectively folded and glued by the existing packaging machine – is also tested.
Frits will now prepare final product specifications and process guides. These are based on the records and evaluations kept during the testing and trialling of the product. Customers want the right product, at the right price, at the right time. Product specifications (pdf) tell us what we can expect in the final product. The aim of the factory’s frying process is to lightly cook the crumb and batter, but not the scallops, as the texture of the shellfish would then be spoiled when it was subsequently cooked in the home or restaurant.
Description:
Quick frozen scallops coated in a slightly onion-and-cheese-flavoured batter and breaded in fresh breadcrumb, pre-fried, frozen and packed in a tray in a retail carton.
Other details in the specifications include the product details (which determine the size and weight range of the scallops), packaging, processing, ingredients, allergens and a guide for product assessment.
