Relishing its success - Dean Foods Co - Food Manufacturing and Packaging

Prepared Foods, April, 1994 by Jack Mans

Dean Foods bought Pilgrim Farms, Plymouth, Ind., in 1990 to capitalize on its relish operations. And capitalize it has, in two very different ways. Dean has capitalized (turned to advantage) on Pilgrim Farms' position as a leader in foodservice and industrial relish production and marketing, and it has capitalized (funded) Pilgrim Farms' plant renovation and expansion to the point that the facility is becoming a showplace for the industry.

"We've spent more in three years since Dean bought us than we did in the previous 10 years," says Plant Manager Gary Edgecomb. Edgecomb is certainly in a position to judge. A 16-year veteran of Dean's Green Bay Foods Div. (which includes Dean's eight other pickle plants), he moved to Pilgrim Farms as plant manager in 1987.

"It was like coming home when Dean bought us," he says. "Dean takes pride in its plants and wants them to be the best in the industry. And this doesn't apply just to the money-making part of the operation. They're concerned about every part of the facility. For example, one project was to build a new office and employee facility."

Money isn't the only thing Dean has brought to Pilgrim Farms. Add rigorous quality control and sanitation.

"Dean's plant sanitation inspectors visit us at least three times a year, and they're tougher than any other inspectors that come in here. They're the same people who inspect dairy plants and they treat us the same way. They don't make any allowances for this being a raw product plant," says Edgecomb. As part of this emphasis, Pilgrim Farms now participates in Dean's national program with a single sanitation supplier. As part of its program, the supplier sends its experts into Pilgrim Farms to monitor operations, train employees and provide other services.

QC Manager Mike Maney started at Pilgrim Farms in 1992 and reports directly to Dean's national director of QA for the pickle division.

"Things are running much smoother with Mike here," says Edgecomb. "He has involved all of the plant people in the quality process and started a SPC [statistical process control] program. In fact, I like the term QA instead of QC. We're all a team now to produce the best quality products."

Maney and his staff are involved in every aspect of the plant operation starting with inspection of raw pickles and other ingredients, and ending with the finished packages. In addition to typical QC responsibilities, such as the sanitation audit and physical and microbiological inspections and tests, Maney is in charge of brine makers and label clerks.

100 MILLION LBS. OF PICKLES PER YEAR

The Plymouth plant, which is one of the largest volume plants in the industry, runs 100 million lbs. of cucumbers per year. Summer is the busiest time because of the local harvest, but the plant operates at least one shift all year by processing pickles from brine tanks and by receiving cucumbers from other areas of the country and even Mexico.

The plant produces all three major types of picklis--processed (fermented), fresh-pack (pasteurized) and refrigerated--in whole, sliced and quartered (spears) forms. It also produces pepper products.

Processed pickles are produced by storing fresh cucumbers in an 18% brine solution, typically in outdoor tanks. The plant maintains 400 tanks with a total capacity of nearly 20 million lbs. of cucumbers.

To produce the finished pickles, fermented cucumbers are conveyed into the plant and pass through a series of grading, washing and (depending on the final form) cutting operations. They then are packed into the final containers.

Fresh-pack and refrigerated pickles are produced directly from raw cucumbers without going through the brine storage and fermentation. Cucumbers for these products go through similar inspection, sorting, cutting and packaging as processed pickles.

After packaging in jars or cans, fresh-pack pickles are pasteurized to provide the required shelf life, while refrigerated pickles must be kept cold to prevent spoilage.

Similar to other canning companies that run fresh fruits and vegetables, most of the product packed at the plant is private labeled for other companies, including other food processing companies, major grocery chains and foodservice distribution companies.

AUTOMATED BRINE-MAKING

To keep up with production requirements, Pilgrim Farms recently installed an automated system to make the brine (topping liquid) added to the packaged pickles. (It is not used for pickle storage.) Although the liquid is called brine, this is a misleading term because it includes vinegar, flavorants with sugar for sweet pickles, salt and other components.

The system produces 100-gal. batches of brine using proprietary software developed by Dean Foods' engineers. To make a batch, the brine-maker uses an operator panel to enter pH and salt content of the pickles, and the product code of the finished product. He also enters the surge tank where the brine should be delivered. The computer then calculates the volume of each ingredient needed to make a 100-gal. batch and energizes pumps to deliver the ingredients into the make tank.