Production quality improvement for the soft drinks bottling industry through six sigma methodology

Increase of rejection rate (percentage) in the production process of soft drinks is one of the chronic problems in industries. Over four months, the production rejection rate (PRR) increased up to 12.62%. This resulted in an estimated loss of 93,412,800 Tanzanian Shilling (TZS) at X-Company. Therefore, this study explored how to improve the quality of production in the manufacturing process of the Tanzanian soft drinks industry. The Six Sigma methodology - DMAIC (“define-measure-analyse-improve-control”) - was employed. DMAIC considers existing products, process and improves the same. An in-depth insight into PRR and speed of acquiring such insight while increasing the problem diversification was successfully performed. Still, soft drinks companies face high PRR. The critical reasons occur during bottle filling and crowning operations. The sigma level was found to be 4.9 with the cost of poor quality being 12.62%. This study achieved a potential annual saving of 280,238,400 TZS

Physico-chemical and Adulteration Profile of Dried Milk in Kashmir

Background: Milk is a highly nutritious food that serves as an excellent growth good medium for microorganisms. Converting milk into milk powder increases its shelf life and can be stored for extended period (about 1 year) without substantial loss of quality even at ambient temperatures. Methods: The current investigation was undertaken with the aim of evaluating the quality of milk powder in Kashmir division for characterizing its physico-chemical and adulteration profile. Since all the dried milk is imported in the valley, it is important to ascertain its quality. For this purpose, whole valley was divided into three zones namely north, south and central. The physiochemical properties and adulteration profile of all the milk powder samples, collected from three zones (north, center, south) were determined. Result: The physiochemical properties of all the milk powder samples were to be of approved quality, irrespective of the brand and class. Adulteration profile of milk powder was seen to match completely to the standards. Milk powder should be free from all the adulterants to ensure its safe and wholesome consumption to consumers. A very few samples were found positive to alkaline neutralizer. </jats:p

Isolation and Identification of Major Mastitis Causing Bacteria from Clinical Cases of Bovine Mastitis in Kashmir Valley

Background: Mastitis is one of the most economically important diseases of dairy animals causing heavy losses in terms of fall in milk production, decreased milk quality and additional costs for veterinary services. Mastitis is caused by a wide variety of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, yeast and mycoplasma, of which bacteria are the most frequently isolated pathogens. Microbiological testing is necessary for identification of cause of mastitis and adaptation of control measures to prevent the disease. The aim of the presnt study was to isolate and identify major mastitis causing bacteria from clinical mastitic cases presented to Veterinary Clinical complex, FVSc. and AH, Shuhama Kashmir for treatment. Methods: A total of 200 bovine milk samples from CMT confirmed clinical mastitis cases were collected and cultured on Nutrient agar, Blood agar, Mac-Conkey agar, Eosine Methylene Blue (EMB) agar, Mannitol salt agar and Edwards media for bacterial isolation. The isolates were then subjected to biochemical tests for identification. Result: Upon microbiological testing and biochemical confirmation, the major mastitis causing bacteria isolated from clinical cases of Bovine mastitis were Staphylococcus Spp. showing highest prevalence of 46.4% followed by mixed infection with Staphylococcus and Streptococcus (20.8%), Streptococci Spp. (18.4%) and Escherichia coli (14.4%).</jats:p