Process of procurement, processing, packaging & distribution of Milk in Reliance Dairy Foods Ltd:

Procurement from farmers The company is collecting milk on daily basis from villages through the cooperative method. Besides, the main feature is that in every village from where milk is being procured by RIL, it has installed a fat and solid net fat machine to check the fat and other contents in the milk. These machines have been imported from Bulgaria, as at present the machines being used by the cooperatives can only check the fat content. Also, this machine gives an instant result and a print comes out, after which the farmer is paid on the spot depending on the quality of his milk. To maintain freshness after procuring the milk, the company has established Milk Chilling Centres (MCC), one centre for every 50 villages, where the milk is chilled and then transported to milk plants for final processing. The objective of the company is that the milk is chilled in two hours, as other companies take about four hours, thus ensuring better freshness. From MCC milk is transported to plant through tankers. Checking the quality of milk At the Dairy stringent hygienic standards are maintained. The milk in the tankers is first checked for quality and freshness and then unloaded into huge insulated stainless steel storage tanks. The presence of adulterants (impurities) like urea, neutralizers, preservatives and germs like bacteria are checked. All these tests ensure that only good quality milk is accepted. The storage tankers are thoroughly cleaned and sanitized using acid and alkali. The tankers are then finally rinsed with water. Processing of milk Unprocessed milk may contain small dirt particles invisible to the naked eye. In order to remove these particles the milk has to be processed.

To process milk, the milk is first clarified. This is done in a clarifier which spins the milk at a very high speed, as a result of which the dirt particles are thrown out and drained. The milk is then pasteurized to make it safe for human consumption. This process destroys any disease causing microbes and also increases the shelf life of the milk. During pasteurization the milk is heated to 80o Celsius and then rapidly cooled down. This process, unlike boiling, does not affect the nutritional value of the milk. Pasteurized milk is safe to drink without boiling as long as it is kept cool at all times. Homogenization At Reliance Dairy plants the milk is also homogenized. This ensures that the customers get uniform amount of cream in their milk. In this process the milk is pumped at a very high pressure turning the cream into tiny droplets thus distributing the fat throughout the milk. These droplets do not float to the surface to form a creamy layer. That is why no creamy layer appears when RDFL milk is boiled at home. Packaging of milk Dairy products being a highly perishable product, utmost care is needed in its preservation during storage, handling and transportation. At RDFL, after processing, the milk is chilled and stored in silos and then packaged in 6 litres, 1 litre, 500 ml, and 200 ml. flexible pouches. Flexible pouches have proved to be safe, quick and cost effective with a wide distribution network, providing ease of packaging and handling. In the form-fill-seal system, the plastic film is formed into a tube, sealed along its length, sealed at the bottom to form a pouch, filled with milk and then sealed at the top. During packaging leaked packets are separated and are again sent to a separate pasteurized milk silo. Storage at Cold room The packages are then transferred to cold room in plastic crates for storage till distribution. The Cold room is kept clean and its temperature is kept below 4o Celsius. This prevents spoilage of milk. Distribution of milk The milk is distributed through insulated vehicles. The milk is sold through general milk retailers and Reliance Retail-owned stores. Distribution is done through private distribution

agencies which supplies milk to retailers. Distributor sends their demand to office which is conveyed to plant on daily basis. Keeping milk cool RDFL takes care to keep milk cool and it is chilled before transporting in insulated vehicles. Keeping milk cool slows down the rate at which bacteria multiply. This also increases its shelf life.

Farmers

Village Collection Centers Fat & SNF Test Payment to Farmers

Chilling Center Quality Test Fat & SNF Test Cooling Process Storage

Procurement Plant
Quality Test Homegenisation Pasteurisation Packaging

Distributors Distribute to Retailers, industries etc

Retailers

Counter Selling

Consumers

Mother Dairy: Supply Chain Management 1) Milk Procurement: - Mother Dairy sources its requirement of liquid milk from dairy co-operatives and producer institutions. Milk is received from farmer cooperatives through insulated tankers at 2C temperature in order to retain its freshness. 2) Milk distribution: -Tankers in the morning and in the evening bring in milk from the regional collection centres. After collection the same tankers are utilized for the delivery of the processed milk to the distributors. Mother Dairy has about 51 Distributors in the city of Kolkata. Each of these LADs(Local area distributor ) place their demand by raising an invoice one day in advance. The demand is also calculated using the Calendar Scheme, in this depending on the pre-calculated seasonal demands the outlets place their orders accordingly. In order to satisfy immediate demand, 20 to 25 tankers are provided with a buffer stock of 500 litres each day so that they can be mobilized to cater the demand in an area. To coordinate its operations all the tankers are equipped with HAM radios.

Distribution Channels: a) Token Distribution: Also, termed as Lohe ki bhains (metal buffalo), is an automated milk vending machine. b) Distributors: The packaged milk is distributed via the distributor network throughout the city.

Processing At mother dairy, the processing of milk is done by process automation whereby state of the art microprocessor technology is adopted to integrate and completely automate all functions of the milk processing areas to ensure high product quality/reliability and safety. There are four ways of milk processing Firstly, Clarification, in which milk is spun at very high speed, removing all dust particles that are invisible to the naked eye. Secondly, Standardisation which help to maintain uniformity by raising or lowering its fat and SNF (solid not fat) percentage to a desired levels, so as to deliver milk to consumers as per prescribed PFA norms. Thirdly, it is Homogenization which improves palatability of milk and

finally, Pasteurization, which kills all pathogenic bacteria present in the milk and thus making it safe for consumption. Quality Control Stringent quality control methodologies are employed in Mother Dairy. a) The milk is tested for adulterations and quality at the time of collection from the farmers. b) The Milk that comes from the collection points to the Mother Dairy plant is ensured to have a temperature of not more than 4C and is subjected to 15 product and quality checks. c) The Milk quality is checked repeatedly after each processing phase and the temperature is judiciously maintained less than 4C always. d) Before the milk leaves the plant for the delivery/distribution outlets the milk is tested again. e) The temperature of milk in the delivery trucks is always maintained less than 4C. f) All the trucks that deliver milk have specified guidelines to bring back 100 litres of milk after distribution. This is done in order to test the delivered milk and to ensure that the tankers are not adulterated during distribution. g) Since all the employed processing procedures are automated, no contamination by human hands takes place. h) To ensure milk freshness the collection and distribution points are always chosen such that the travel time between them is always less than 36 hours. Out of the total production about 9% goes directly to the institutions ,23% is the loose token milk and the rest is distributed through LADs.