Watch a video of the manufacturing process at the Meds & Food for Kids facility in Haiti.
A typical manufacturing facility might have some or all of the following equipment:
- Peanut sheller
- Roaster
- Grinder
- Mixer
- Filling machine
TFP helps our partners locate, evaluate and procure equipment locally as much as possible. If not available locally, TFP can help procure and ship equipment as required.
Peanut Sheller
The sheller is used to remove the shell from dried peanuts before roasting. It is turned by a hand crank. Peanuts are poured into the top of the sheller. As the nuts are funneled down, the shells crack, freeing the peanuts. Broken shells and whole peanuts fall through to the bottom into a container placed beneath the sheller. The broken shells are then removed by a winnowing process.
The peanut sheller is made of concrete using a set of molds with steel parts embedded. Any number of shellers can be made in the field with cement procurred locally. The steel parts can be obtained through TFP or made by a local metal worker/welder.
Peanut Sheller/Winnower
A winnower, fabricated from an ordinary steel drum, can be mounted underneath the sheller. The peanuts and shell fragments fall from the sheller into the winnower where they tumble through a blast of air. The lighter shell fragments are blown to the side while the peanuts fall into a container. The combination of peanut sheller and winnower can be pedal-powered or powered by a small electric motor.
Grinder
The basic grinder, used to mix the therapeutic food, has either a cast aluminum or stainless steel housing. It can be hand-cranked or motorized. TFP has designed a simple table upon which the hand cranked grinder or the electric motor version can be mounted. The table breaks down completely for shipping.
The stainless steel unit incorporates a larger hopper to enable greater productivity.
Mixer
Small batches of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) may be mixed by hand in a large basin.
Tumble Drum
When very large batches are required, a Tumble Drum or a planetary mixer may be used to speed the mixing process. The Tumble Drum is a very efficient industrial mixer that can be sized and manufactured to order.
Planetary Mixer
Our partners in Mumbai are using a commercial grade planetary mixer that was procured locally to mix the Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) which is similar to RUTF.
Toddler Food Partners can also provide simpler hand operated mixing devices or assist in procuring small to medium sized commercial mixers if required.
Filling Machine
Many types of filling machines are available commercially. Here are two examples that TFP has procured for our partners.
Volumetric Filler
A small manufacturing company in southern Minnesota has developed a very efficient volumetric filling machine. It operates completely on compressed air and dispenses an accurate volume of product each time the machine cycles. The operator uses a foot pedal to dispense the measured volume into a container. TFP can help our partner procure an appropriately sized volumetric filler.
Semi-automatic Filler
Our partner in Mumbai, Sion Hospital, has obtained a semi-automatic filling machine. This was built by a local Mumbai manufacturer. It has a six station carousel. The cups are hand located and removed. The stations do the following in order:
- Dispense product into cup
- Place foil lid on cup
- Seal the lid
- Stamp date and code onto top
The machine works very well and was procured locally with manufacturer’s support readily available.