Milling Process Technologies and Production of Wheat Flour at PT. ISM TBK DIV. BOGASARI Flour Mills

Abstract

PT. ISM Tbk. Div. Bogasari Flour Mills is recognized as the biggest wheat milling factory worldwide, producing mainly wheat flour. The objectives of the internship is to (1) obtain an understanding on the industrial production of wheat flour and knowledge on the main processes and machineries applied and (2) identify a possible problem in the production process that may require improvements and review potential solutions to address the problem. The wheat production process starts from the raw materials receival and handling, their storage in the wheat silo, transference to the milling area, cleaning and tempering stages (pre-cleaning, first cleaning, dampening, conditioning, and second cleaning), followed by the milling process and finishing processes (fortification, de-infestation, and packing). The internship activity includes weekly online course session meetings during the first month and weekly literature review-based report writing on specific topics assigned. A possible issue was discerned related to the microbiological quality of the wheat grains, and several pre-milling interventions were suggested to address this, such as the use of chemical agents (gaseous ozone and acidic solutions) and thermal technologies through steam treatment. These interventions were discussed and found to be potential solutions in improving the microbial safety of the raw materials.