For an organization of your choice:

1) Identify a product/service that it offers.

For this assignment the case study company will be
Tanganda Tea Company and the product we are focusing on will be Tinga mira 500mls
mineral water.
Background to Tinga mira
Tanganda opened its mineral water bottling plant in August 2006, initially producing over
7,123 cases of tinga mira water. By year end 2010, the Company produced almost 267,000
cases and with the installation of the new bottle blowing machine, by working three shifts a
day, the Company is able to produce 25,000 bottles (500mls) of water daily.
The Company also bottles one, two and five litre bottles but the 500 mls size is the most
popular, followed by the five litre bottles. Tinga mira water is sold throughout Zimbabwe.
Branded primarily under the tinga mira label, bottled water from the plant is also produced
for the TM PickN'Pay and Meikles Hotel labels

2. Describe the production process in place. Where possible demonstrate with the aid of
pictures and flow charts.
The bottled water business involves a relatively light manufacturing process, meaning it does
not require any heavy transformation processes. Impacts considered in the manufacturing
phase are primarily related to energy required for the entire production process at the factory
level. This includes the transformation of packaging materials into bottles, product bottling

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

(pumping, storage, treatments, filling), securing with secondary packaging and storage until
finished products are shipped outside of the factory.

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

The diagram below shows the Tinga mira process flow

Fig 1. Tinga mira process flow

Source: Tanganda Tea Company Records.

Water is booster pumped from the spring well to the Quartz sand filtered tank which has
slow sand filters. The slow sand filter produces water free from pathogens, taste and odour
without the need for chemical aids. It is then directed to the carbon filters. Carbon filtering is
a method of filtering that uses a bed of activated carbon to remove contaminants and
impurities, using chemical adsorption. Each granule of carbon provides a large surface
area/pore structure, allowing contaminants the maximum possible exposure to the active sites
within the filter media. The water then flows through the Polypropylene (PP) filter. The PP
filter is designed to remove metallic contaminants or "dissolved solids" or charged particles.

Fig 2: phase 1
The high pressure pump propels the water to the Reverse Osmosis (RO) System. Reverse
Osmosis is a process in which dissolved inorganic solids (such as salts) are removed from

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

water. This is accomplished the 12Volt water pressure pushing the water from the PP Filter
tank through a semi permeable membrane.
The water will pass through the Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) steriliser which is a
disinfection method that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet (UV-C) light to kill or inactivate
micro organisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA, leaving them unable
to perform vital cellular functions.
The water is subjected to ozonation.

Ozone treatment is one of the most effective

microbiological barriers that water bottlers can employ to protect consumers against
microorganisms. Consumers are largely unaware, however, that many bottlers worldwide rely
on ozone to provide a safe and good tasting product.

Fig 3: Phase 2
The pure water will be stored in tanks enroute water filling machine. The bottle blowing
machine feeds the blown PET containers into water filling machine though a conveyor belt.
The filled bottles are marked and labeled and packed into cartons. We have two sets of
cartons for 500 mls bottles: one that contains 12 and the other 24.

Fig4: Final Phase

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

3. Discuss the control measures in place.

Below are the 12 steps of the quality process Tanganda uses to produce Tinga mira. These act
as control measures.

Fig 5:Tinga mira 12 steps controls

Source: Tinga mira production manual
The process aims to guarantee the highest safety standards for drinking water and ensure a
taste that is in accordance with consumer preference.
1. Water is carefully collected and received through stainless steel pipes from either a
local well or municipal water supply. Quality testing of the original source is

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

conducted regularly to monitor for abnormalities. Quality at the source and factory
level is monitored internally and tested by external laboratories.
2. This step is taken when the water originates from a municipal or public drinking water
system. It consists of removing chlorines and THMs (trihalomethanes) through a
daily-monitored activated carbon filtration process.
3. A water softener is used to reduce water hardness.
4. Demineralization removes unwanted minerals (through reverse osmosis or
distillation).
5. Water received in storage tanks is monitored on a daily basis.
6. Selected minerals are added to cater to consumer taste preferences.
7. Pharmaceutical grade micro-filtration removes particles as small as 0.2 microns. It is
also capable of removing potential microbiological contaminants. This is monitored
on an hourly basis.
8. Ultra-violet filtration provides additional product disinfection. This is monitored on
an hourly basis.
9. Ozone disinfection is the third disinfection step (steps 7-9), using a highly reactive
form of oxygen. This is monitored on an hourly basis.
10. The filling room is highly sanitary to ensure bottling is conducted in a
microbiologically controlled environment. It is continuously monitored and
controlled. Packaging is also continuously monitored on the production line and must
comply with various testing protocols in the laboratory, including sensory testing.
11. Packaging quality assurance is conducted by human inspection and the latest in
modern equipment designed to ensure the removal of any packaging defects.
12. Line sanitation includes automated cleaning equipment to ensure maximum
cleanliness, effectiveness and control.

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

The factory is equipped with its own laboratory to conduct in-house tests to ensure product
quality. At the factory level, microbiological and chemical analysis is carried out to ensure
safety and compliance.
Delivering superior quality water would be impossible without bottling. The bottle is the last
link in a closed, hermetically sealed chain that preserves water from any external influence
from source to consumption.

The bottle acts as a barrier, guaranteeing the water is protected and untouched until it reaches
the consumers hands. Once bottled and sealed, the water is perfectly stable and preserved,
provided it is stored in a place protected from too much light and from extreme temperatures.
Tanganda guarantee of consistency generally runs for a two-year period for most of our
bottles of plain still water, as indicated by the shelf-life date on each bottle. Recyclable
plastic is our primary packaging material.
Tinga Mira uses one type of plastic : packaging to bottle its products: PET (polyethylene
terephtalate) in our smaller formats; HDPE. This material fully comply with stringent
international and national regulations on safety for food packaging.
The current Laboratory set up is only equipped to test for three parameters that matter the
most:
1. Total Plate Count (almin)
2. Total Coliform Bacteria and
3. Ecoli

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

Sample results as below

CONDITION
PARAMETER

Total Plate Count

Total Coliform
Bacteria
Ecoli

SEALE
D
4.0x10
ABSEN
T
ABSEN
T

OPE
N
>30
0
>30
0
>30
0

SEALE
D
5.0x1
0
ABSE
NT
ABSE
NT

OPE
N
>30
0
>30
0
>30
0

SEALE
D
7.0x1
0
ABSE
NT
ABSE
NT

SEALE
D
>300

EXPECTATION

ABSE
NT
ABSE
NT

ABSENT

100MAX

ABSENT

Certification. Tanga mira is Standards certified as evidenced by the publication in "The

Chronicle of 26 June 2014" captioned below.

ISO Certification
By December 2013 SAZ has certified 16 water bottling companies (shown below) out of the
+30 water bottling companies in Zimbabwe. Though there is currently no law that compels
bottled water suppliers to get certified by SAZ but Food Safety Advisory Board (FSAB)

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

registration is a requirement. Regardless of that law its pleasing to note that Tingamira water
is one of the SAZ certified Brands

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

Bottled Water Companies using SAZ Product Mark 2013

#
Organization
1
Sommerby
2
Schweppes
3
Rainbow Beverages
4
Chromopak Adlife
5
Mukati Investments
6
Tanganda/Tingamira
7
ZLG
8
ReincMark
Source SAZ 2013

Reference
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995

#
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Organization
Liquid Assets
Kumakomo Beverages
Dairibord
Nilestroom
PUR H20
Vivon
Bubble Spring
Zimpack

Reference
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995
ZWS457:1995

4) What improvements would you suggest?

Benchmarking with International Companies like Nestle'. The Nestle average frequency of
product quality controls is shown in this table :

Fig 2: Nestle quality controls

Source: www.nestlewaters.com
Factory laboratories are enrolled in international and independent proficiency testing based
on which the accuracy of the analytical facility is assessed.
The bottled water industry is controlled by regulations at the international, national and
industry levels. We can improve Tinga mira quality standards by being certified by
international boards like European Commission Directives on water.
In addition, compliance with international standards and guidelines set by the Codex
Alimentarius, Water Quality Association and the World Health Organization, which is then
reinforced by industry self-regulation, ensures the highest level of safety and quality for

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

bottled water. These regulations collectively make bottled water one of the safest food
products available for human consumption.
Another recommendation is to have Sensory water analysis. Sensory water analysis (tasting,
smelling) is a mandatory stage of the factory level product control protocol.
We should have a resident sensory expert panel. Each member selected must be trained and
equipped with sensory kits developed by quality experts to validate the sensory compliance
of our products.
Human sensory capacities are highly efficient for detecting certain quality issues and come
closest to the consumer experience. Humans are potentially able to detect chemicals that are
undetectable even by laboratory testing. For instance, a molecule like trichloroanisole can be
detected via the human sensors at 0.2 nanograms per litre concentration, while
chromatographic devices are only able to detect it at 0.5 nanograms per litre.
Tinga Mira uses one type of plastic, we can improve by adopting the use of the following:

High-density polyethylene in some of our larger formats;

PC (polycarbonate) for some of our Home and Office activities.

Both of these materials fully comply with stringent international and national regulations on
safety for food packaging.
A multi-barrier approach Bottled water products are produced utilizing a multi-barrier
approach, from source to finished product, that helps prevent possible harmful contaminants
(physical, chemical or microbiological) from adulterating the finished product as well as
storage, production, and transportation equipment. Measures in a multi-barrier approach may
include source protection, source monitoring, reverse osmosis system maintenance,
distillation, filtration or ultraviolet (UV) light sterilization. Many of the steps in a multibarrier system may be effective in safeguarding bottled water from microbiological and other
contamination.
Routine testing - Water used to produce bottled water is tested before production, during
production, and as finished product. Multiple tests and regular screening must be performed
by trained quality control technicians to evaluate microbial, physical and chemical quality.

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

Such screening can be used to detect the presence of agents that may be indicators of product
contamination. These protection measures and other quality control programs help ensure no
substandard products reach the market, thus adopting the Zero Defects method.There should
be strict adherence to available cleaning schedules and cleaning procedures.
Sources and facilities are secured and monitored Natural bottled water products, such as
spring water or artesian water, come from well-protected, underground water sources. The
water is collected at sites and bottled at facilities with security systems that may include
controlled access to the plant and critical production areas, gating, motion sensors, electronic
contact security alarms, and tamper-evident locks.
Consumer awareness - Virtually all bottled water producers utilize packages with tamperevident seals. As with all food products, it is important that consumers visually inspect the
container for anything unusual or suspicious such as a broken tamper-evident ring or seal or
holes in the bottle as we now have fake bottled water being sold on the streets. Consumers
should also look for any unusual appearances or odours when consuming any product. If
there are any concerns or evidence of substandard or product that has been tampered with,
consumers should contact Tanganda Tea Company or distributor immediately to arrange for
retrieval and testing of the product.
Continuous Improvement
We strongly recommend the setting up of Quality Assurance Centre for each spring and a
yearly plan of sampling established. The factory will have to send samples for testing for
over 600 chemical and microbiological parameters (including heavy metals and pesticides).
Just in time
From the raw material point of view, i recommend the stay afloat in terms of relations with
suppliers of the water purification chemicals and bottles for continuous production of the
product. From an finished product, i recommend that we produce the daily limit whilst the
machinery is running avoid stocking the purified water as there might be risk of
contamination in the storage tanks,, costs of testing of the water is still safe before bottling.
Instead, water should run straight from ozone generator to water filling machine .
Bibliography
1. Crosby, Philip B. Quality Is Free. New York: New American Library, 1979.

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER

2. Deming, W. Edwards. Out of Crisis. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Center for Advanced
Engineering Study, 1986.
3. Juran, Joseph M. Quality Control Handbook. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988.
4. Kitazawa, S., and Sarkis, J. The Relationship Between ISO 14001and Continuous
Source Reduction Programs, International Journal of Operations and Production
Management, 20, no. 2, 2000, 225248.
5. Hall, Robert. Attaining Manufacturing Excellence. Burr Ridge, Ill.: Dow-Jones Irwin,

6.
7.
8.
9.

1987.
www.tanganda.co.zw/index.php/tinga-mira.html
www.saz.org.zw
www.chronicle.co.zw,certicates of compliance to bottling companies, 26 June 2014
Meikles Limited 2013 annual report. African Financials

GMB - 5167 TINGA MIRA WATER