NAME: ISHIKA GANDHI

CLASS: BSC (HONS) 1ST YEAR

SECTION: FOOD SCIENCE AND
NUTRITION MANAGEMENT
ROLL NO: 19

REPORT ON A VISIT TO COCA COLA FACTORY

On 9th March, 2019; we, the students of Food Science and Nutrition Management
(FSNM) 1 st Year of J.D.Birla College of Science and Commerce went to visit
Diamond Beverages Pvt. Ltd.; P41, Taratala Rd, Rampur, Santoshpur, Kolkata,
West Bengal 700088. We were accompanied by our teacher Ms. Anandita Deb Pal.
The visit began at 12:30 p.m. The HR Manager Ms. Aparajita Mukherjee attended
us for the first few minutes and then a senior chemist took us around the factory
and showed us two major working lines that is the PET Line and the Tetra Pack
Line.

Ms. Aparajita Mukherjee briefed us about the history of the factory. Diamond
Beverages (P) Limited (DBPL) was registered on 21st September, 1995. The
company was created by Chairman and Managing Director Mr. Nav Ratan
Goenka. It continues to flourish under the leadership of Managing Director Mr.
Hemant Goenka, and Director Mr. Abhyuday Goenka. Ever since Coca-Cola re-
entered India in 1993, DBPL has become one of the leading beverage companies in
the country. The company offers an enriched portfolio of beverages that include
some of the top brands in the world. The core soft drink brands are Coke, Thumbs-
Up, Sprite, Fanta and Limca. The company also offers low calorie options like
Coke Zero and Diet Coke. Our juice segment includes brands like Maaza mango
and the entire range of Minute Maid juices. The packaged drinking water segment
includes our brand Kinley. The company has also successfully introduced new
brands to the country with likes of Schweppes sodas, Fuze Tea (iced tea),
Aquarius, Zico coconut water and Monster energy drinks.
It also offers brands like Georgia in the tea and coffee segment. DBPL has more
than 1600 employees working, both on permanent and temporary payrolls. DBPL
takes pride in the fact that they have a fully engaged workforce that consists of
highly skilled and motivated professionals, and determined and hardworking
workmen. Integrity and loyalty are at the core of our employees’ values. The
company runs a state-of-the-art manufacturing unit, where more than 60 products
are produced, across 6 production lines. The processes incorporate the latest of
technologies to ensure maximum productivity, whilst always maintaining the
highest levels of quality and safety. They have a huge-scale distribution network
that consists of 3 warehouse spread across the territory, and 25000 customers that
serve the needs of our consumers. Its presence in all Fast Moving Consumer Goods
(FMCG) trade outlets like convenience stores, groceries, supermarkets and
hypermarkets, whilst also serves the top food chains in the city.

The senior chemist who took us around the factory showed us the PET Line where
the bottles of Carbonated Soft Drinks were manufactured. We observed a series of
steps occur before a pack of bottles is manufactured. The first step is where a small
glass tube is subjected to pressure, heat and air and is converted to plastic or glass
bottles of varying sizes. Next step is where the bottles were washed and cleaned.
The third step was the filling of the bottles with the liquid. After this the bottles
were covered with caps, labelled and finally packed in lots of 24. The Tetra Pack
Line is where the bottles and mini packs of juices are manufactured. The juice
travels through a pipe like structure into a machine where it is filled in packets and
cut and sealed simultaneously. During this process some amount of juice is spilled
out. There after straws are attached to the packets and finally packed in lots. The
rate of production of bottles is 22,000 of coca cola bottles in 1 hour and 125 bottles
of tetra pack in 1 minute. The process of manufacturing the carbonated soft drink
and juice also has several steps. The carbonated soft drink consists of large
amounts of water. The water used is from underground sources. The purification of
water involves:
Sand filtration, where the impurities are removed
UV Treatment

These steps are carried out in large Water Treatment Plants.

Then the sugar syrup is made by mixing dissolving large amounts of sugar in
water. All of this is done by machines. Then the main component which includes
the essence, flavour (specific to each cold drink), and the preservative is added to
the sugar syrup. Also carbon dioxide is added to create the fizz. The manufacture
of juices also involves similar processes, where the required fruit pulp is added to
the sugar syrup.

The cleaning of the used bottles is also done in several steps. First the bottles are
divided into 3 categories i.e. Grade I, Grade II, and Grade III bottles. The Grade III
bottles are not suitable to be used again so they are disposed off. The Grade I and
Grade II bottles are checked twice manually to find out if there is any dirt or
impurity present inside the bottles and the cleaning involves three steps. First it is
cleaned with water, then a solution of caustic soda is sprayed and finally it is again
sprinkled with water to remove traces of caustic soda. After this the bottles are
passed through a machine which again bifurcates the bottles into usable and non
usable bottles.
After taking us around the factory we were allowed inside the conference room
where we were showed a presentation on the history of Coca Cola. This was
followed by a series of question answers where we could ask our doubts. One of
the questions was about the shelf life of carbonated drinks. We were informed that
the Cold drinks are best for consumption for 4 months after manufacture. After a
period of 4 months, the Carbon Dioxide starts to dissolve in the liquid and this
affects the taste. So even though it might not affect our health but it won’t taste the
same anymore. The visit was an informative experience and the students got to
learn a lot.