Sop Cassava Processing

|Document ID: |Standard Operating Procedures’ Title: |Print Date: | |ORIGIN-CA2 |CASSAVA PROCESSING |08/07/2012 | |Revision: |Written By: |Date Prepared: | |01 |Ayodele E. J.AJAYI, General Manager Operations |08/07/2012 | |Effective Date: |Reviewed By: |Date Reviewed: | |mm/dd/yyyy | |mm/dd/yyyy | | |Approved By: |Date Approved: | | | |mm/dd/yyyy | |Applicable Standard: None | |Company: ORIGIN Group of Companies Limited Vegefresh Foods Limited, Nigeria. | |In Africa, cassava is mostly used for human consumption in various forms ranging from boiling the fresh tuber to processing it into cassava flour. |[pic] Cassava starch in the making: freshly harvested roots roll | |along a conveyor belt at a processing plant in Brazil | | | |[pic] | | | | | | | | | |Cassava Starch. | | | | |Policy: It is a policy of this Company to provide Standard Operating Procedure documents that contain instructions on how to perform assigned tasks. Purpose: The purpose of this document is to ensure that routine tasks on the farm are performed safely, qualitatively and in compliance with applicable regulations. Below are some of the ways, this Standard Operating Procedure could have direct or indirect positive impact on ORIGIN Group’s Agric business performance: a) People need consistency to achieve top performance. This SOP will reduce system variation, which is the enemy of production efficiency and quality control. b) This SOP will facilitate training.Having complete step-by-step instructions helps trainers ensure that nothing is missed and provides a reference resource for trainees. c) This SOP can be an excellent reference document on how a task is done and what are the expectations from employees filling in on the jobs they do not perform on a regular basis. d) This SOP can help in conducting performance evaluations. They provide a common understanding for what needs to be done and shared expectations for how tasks are completed. e) Employees can coach and support each other if there is documentation available on exactly how various tasks must be done and everyone knows what their co-workers are supposed to be doing.This can also help generate a more cooperative team approach to getting all the daily tasks done correctly, everyday. f) This SOP encourages regular evaluation of work activity and continuous improvement in how things are done. Scope: This SOP is written for Production Managers, Lab Technician, Factory workers and Sales Distributors. The specific tasks within â€Å"Cassava Processing† are covered. This SOP does not cover the Cassava Production, Harvesting and Marketing. Responsibilities: The Production Managers, Lab Technician, Factory workers and Sales Distributors should be responsible for coordinating and implementing the Cassava Processing Factory and product sales tasks.The Production Manager is responsible for training and managing the Factory Workers, Supervisors, Lab Techs etc; Production Manager should supp ort the objectives policies of the Company and provide input to further development of SOPs. He/she would be responsible for planning, organizing, supervising and managing the activities of the entire factory and the routine maintenance of all factory equipment. Factory Workers are expected to discharge their duties efficiently and in compliance with the Standard Operating Procedures, work manual and equipment manual provided. The Standard Operating Procedures 1. 0 Cassava processing Cassava processing aims at increasing the quality and storability of cassava tubers.This enhances the ability of the farmers to develop additional products, such as baking products out of cassava flour. It further ensures reduction or total elimination of undesirable toxic constituents in cassava so that it is suitable for human consumption. A. Producing Cassava Flour and Chips: I. Using low-cyanide varieties – Freshly harvested cassava is peeled using a knife. The peeled cassava is then washed a nd sliced into smaller pieces (chips). These are then dried on a raised platform under direct sun for about 2 days or specially-made driers, until moisture content of about 8 to 10 % is reached. Properly dried chips become tough to break, but crumble into flour when hit with a hard item like a hammer.The drying process should be done continuously and the drying chips should not be exposed again to water to avoid molding. The chips may then be ground or milled into flour; dried chips store better than flour. II. Using high-cyanide varieties – Freshly uprooted cassava are peeled and sliced into smaller pieces (chips). The sliced chips are then dried in the sun for about 3 days to about 14 % moisture content. The chips are then soaked in water for 8 hours, and dried again to a moisture content of about 8 %. B. Producing Gari – Fermented cassava dough: Gari is a creamy-white or yellow dried cassava product, common in West Africa. It is prepared by peeling the outside of th e tuber skin and washed. The washed tubers are then grated using a grater.It is then packed in bags with holes to drain off the liquid and left to ferment for 1 to 5 days, depending on the preferred flavour. The fermented material is then pressed to let out the extra water leaving a cassava cake. The remaining cake is broken loose and spread on frying metal trays above a fire. The particles are fried until crisp and dry, about 10 % moisture content. The gari is then cooled, sieved and packed for sale or storage. C. Cassava Starch extraction After washing and peeling, roots are grated to release starch granules. The â€Å"starch milk† – water containing suspended granules then, separated from the pulp, after which the granules are separated from the water by sedimentation or in a centrifuge.At that point, the starch requires solar or artificial drying to remove moisture before being milled, sieved and packed. In artisanal production systems, daily starch output ranges f rom 50 to 60 kg of starch per worker, while semi-mechanized processing can yield up to 10 tonnes a day. In modern, fully mechanized starch extraction plants, daily output is as high as 150 tonnes. Cassava Processing Equipment I. Traditional cassava processing does not require sophisticated equipment. Processing cassava into gari requires equipment such as grater, presser and fryer. The traditional cassava grater is made of flattened kerosene tin or iron sheet perforated with nails and fastened onto a wooden board with handles.Grating is done by rubbing the peeled roots against the rough perforated surface of the iron sheet which tears off the peeled cassava root flesh into mash. In recent years, various attempts have been made to improve graters. Graters which are belt-driven from a static 5 HP Lister type engine have been developed and are being extensively used in Nigeria. Its capacity to grate cassava is about one ton of fresh peeled roots per hour. II. For draining excess liquid from the grated pulp the sacks containing the grated pulpy mass are slowly pressed down using a 30-ton hydraulic jack press with wooden platforms, before sieving and roasting into gari. Stones are used in traditional processing to press out the excess moisture from the grated pulp.Tied wooden frames are used for this purpose in places where stones are not available. Pans made from iron or earthen pots are used for roasting the fermented pulp. Fuel wood is the mad or source of energy for boiling, roasting, steaming and frying. Fuel wood may not be easily and cheaply obtained in the future because of rapid deforestation. III. Slight changes in the equipment used in processing can help to save fuel and lessen the discomfort, health hazard, and drudgery for the operating women. The economic success of any future commercial development of cassava processing would depend upon the adaptability of each processing stage to mechanization.However, the first step to take for improvement of cas sava technologies should be to improve or modify the simple processing equipment or systems presently used, rather than to change entirely to new, sophisticated, and expensive equipment. Storage of cassava processed products Processing, particularly drying and roasting, increases shelf life of cassava products. Good storage depends on the moisture content of the products and temperature and relative humidity of the storage environment. The moisture content of gari for safe storage is belong 12. 7%. When temperature and relative humidity are above 27 °C and 70% respectively, gari goes bad (Igbeka 1987). The type of bag used for packing also affects shelf life depending on the ability of the material to maintain safe product moisture levels.Jute and hessian bags are recommended in dry cool environments because they allow good ventilation (Igbeka 1987). When gari, dried pulp and flour are well dried and properly packed, they can be stored without loss of quality for over one year. Dr ied cassava balls (â€Å"kumkum†) can be stored for up to 2 years (Numfor end Ay 1987). â€Å"Chickwangue†, â€Å"Myondo† and â€Å"Bobolo† can be preserved for up to 1 week but they can be kept for several more days when recooked. Cassava leaves as vegetable I. Cassava shoots of 30 cm length (measured from the apex) are harvested from the plants. The hard petioles are removed and the blades and young petioles are pounded with a pestle in a mortar.A variation of this process involves blanching the leaves before pounding. The resulting pulp is then boded for about 30-60 minutes. In some countries, the first boiled water is decanted and replaced. Pepper, palm-oil and other aromatic ingredients are added. The mixture is then boiled for 30 minutes (Numfor and Ay 1987). Unlike the roots that are essentially carbohydrate, cassava leaves are a good source of protein and vitamins which can provide a valuable supplement to predominantly starchy diets. Cassava leav es are rich in protein, calcium, iron and vitamins, comparing favorably with other green vegetables generally regarded as good protein sources.The amino acid composition of cassava leaves shows that, except for methionine, the essential amino acid values in cassava exceed those of the FAO reference protein (Lancaster and Brooks 1983). II. The total essential amino acid content for cassava leaf protein is similar to that found in hen's egg and is greater than that in oat and rice grain, soybean seed, and spinach leaf (Yeoh and Chew 1976). While the vitamin content of the leaves is high, the processing techniques for preparing the leaves for consumption can lead to huge losses. For example, the prolonged boiling involved in making African soups or stews, results in considerable loss of vitamin C. III. Cassava leaves form a significant part of the diets in many countries in Africa.They are used as one of the preferred vegetables in most cassava growing countries, particularly in Zaire, Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic, Angola, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The cassava leaves prepared as vegetable are called â€Å"sakasaka† or â€Å"pondu† in Zaire, Congo, Central African Republic and Sudan, â€Å"Kizaka† in Angola, â€Å"Mathapa† in Mozambique, â€Å"Chigwada† in Malawi, â€Å"Chombo† or â€Å"Ngwada† in Zambia, â€Å"Gweri† in Cameroon, â€Å"Kisanby† in Tanzania, â€Å"Cassada leaves† in Sierra Leone, â€Å"Banankou boulou nan† in Mali, â€Å"Mafe haako bantare† in Guinea, and â€Å"Isombe† in Rwanda. They are mostly served as a sauce which is eaten with chickwangue, fufu, and boiled cassava. Revision History: Revision |Date |Description of changes |Requested By | |01 |08/07/2012 |Initial Release | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | References: http://www. fao. org/index_en. htm http://www. fao. org/ag/agp/agpc/gcds/ [pic]The Global Cas sava Partnership, a consortium formed – under the auspices of the FAO-facilitated Global Cassava Development Strategy – by international organizations, including FAO, CIAT, IFAD and IITA, national research institutions, NGOs and private partners. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Starting a Cassava Farm – IPM Field Guide for Extensions Agents. 2008; International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Disease Control in Cassava Farms. IPM Field Guide for Extension Agents; International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Weed Control in Cassava Farms. 2000. IPM Field Guide for Extension Agents; In-Service Training Trust (ISTT). Cassava Production Field Guide. 2008. NRDC Campus, Lusaka, Zambia. ———————– ORIGIN Group’s SOP: Confidential and Proprietary Page 6