INTERNSHIP REPORT

College Of Dry Land Agriculture and Natural Resource

Department of Food Science and Post-Harvest Technology

NAME OF THE COMPANY: DIMMA BD and HP PLC

ADVISOR: Lijalem Tareke (msc) and Hadush

Internship Period:

Submitted To Department Of Food Sciences and Post-Harvest

Technology for Partial Fulfillment of Internship Program
PREPARED BY:

NAME ID

1) Birhane Kahsay……………………………………………93987/08
2) Seare Gebreab……………………………………………..94018/08

SUBMISSION DATE

MEKELLE,TIGRAY,ETHIOPIA

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Declaration of students
This report is an outcome of the internship program that we (Birhane and Seare) have involved
for four month (November 5 to January ) in DIMMA BD and HP PLC. We are 4th year food
science and post-harvest technology students in Mekelle University. We have gained much
knowledge regarding processing of honey since the company allowed us to see every process and
answered every single question we ask patiently. We have tried our best to prepare this report
with providing all of our effort by following the outline of the internship report which was
prepared by our department.

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Acknowledgment
Above all we would like to thank the almighty God for helping us in everything. We also like to
express our sincere gratitude for DIMMA BD and HP P.L.C for accepting us to practice there
and helping us gain practical knowledge on honey processing. Then we would like to thank all
the workers of the company for their patience and openness since it created an enjoyable
working environment for us. Furthermore we want to acknowledge Mr Kinfe, The quality
controller of the company for sharing us his knowledge without hesitation. At last we would like
to thank our advisor Lijalem and Hadush for giving us constructive suggestions and comments
on our Internship report.

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Abbreviations
BD………………………………Beekeeping development

CCP……………………………..Critical Control Point

HACCP…………………………Hazard Analysis and critical control point

HMF…………………………….hydroxymethylfurfural

HP……………………………....honey processing

ISO……………………………..International standard organization

PLC……………………………..private leadership company

SS……………………………….Stainless Steel

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List of tables
Table 1: Physical Hazard Analysis………………………………………………………….8

Table 2: Critical control point…………………………………………………………..8

Table 3: Chemical compostion and DIMMA honey limits…………………………...9

Table 4: Corrective Action…………………………………………………………9

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List of Figures
Fig 1: Refractometer…………………………….............11

Fig 2: Unloading Tank…………………………………..14

Fig 3: Filtering Machine…………………………………15

Fig 4: Settling tank………………………………………16

Fig 5: Filling Machine…………………………………...21

Fig 6: Shrinking and Labeling machine…………………22

Fig 7: Tsedo……………………………………………...24

Fig 8: Heater……………………………………………..26

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Table of Content

Contents
Declaration of students .................................................................................................................................. i
Acknowledgment .......................................................................................................................................... ii
Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................... iii
List of tables................................................................................................................................................. iv
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... v
Executive summery .................................................................................................................................... viii
Chapter One .................................................................................................................................................. 9
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 9
1.1 Background of the company ............................................................................................................... 9
1.1.2 Vision of the company ............................................................................................................... 10
1.1.3 Mission of the company ............................................................................................................. 10
1.1.4 Objectives of the company ......................................................................................................... 10
1.1.5 Goals of the company ................................................................................................................ 10
1.2 Statement of the problem .................................................................................................................. 10
1.3 Significance....................................................................................................................................... 11
1.4 Our expectation ................................................................................................................................. 11
1.5 Main products of the company.......................................................................................................... 11
1.6 Main Customers and End users of the product ................................................................................. 12
1.7 Objective of internship experience ................................................................................................... 13
1.7.1 General Objective ...................................................................................................................... 13
1.7.2 Specific objective ....................................................................................................................... 13
Chapter Two................................................................................................................................................ 14
2. Overall Internship Experience ................................................................................................................ 14
2.1 Section of the company we have been working ................................................................................ 14
2.2 Work piece we have been executing ................................................................................................. 14
2.3 Methodology ........................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.4 Challenges happened while performing Task ................................................................................... 14

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2.5 Measures taken to overcome the challenge ....................................................................................... 15
2.6 Application of HACCP in the company ........................................................................................... 15
2.6.1 Hazard Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 15
2.6.2 Critical Control Point ................................................................................................................. 16
2.6.3 Critical limit ............................................................................................................................... 16
2.6.4 Corrective Action ....................................................................................................................... 18
2.6.5 Record keeping procedure ......................................................................................................... 18
2.7 Process Description ........................................................................................................................... 18
2.7.1 Source of Raw material .............................................................................................................. 18
2.7.2 Raw material storage.................................................................................................................. 19
2.7.3 Raw material inspection ............................................................................................................. 19
2.8 Honey Processing.............................................................................................................................. 21
2.8.1 Extra White and Cream Honey processing ................................................................................ 21
2.8.2 Process flow diagram of Cream and Extra-white honey ............................................................ 26
2.8.2 Liquid Honey Processing ........................................................................................................... 27
2.8.3 The process flow diagram of Liquid honey ............................................................................... 31
2.8 Honey Mead Processing ................................................................................................................... 33
2.9 Process Flow Diagram of Honey mead............................................................................................. 33
2.10 Bees Wax Purification .................................................................................................................... 34
2.11 Process flow Diagram of Bees wax purification ............................................................................. 34
Chapter Three.............................................................................................................................................. 36
3. Overall benefit gained from the internship ............................................................................................. 37
3.1 Practical skill..................................................................................................................................... 37
3.2 Upgrading theoretical skill ................................................................................................................ 37
3.3 Improving Interpersonal Communication skill ................................................................................. 37
3.3 Understanding about Work Ethics and Related Issues ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.4 Entrepreneurship skill ....................................................................................................................... 37
3.5 Improving team work skill ................................................................................................................ 38
Chapter Four ............................................................................................................................................... 38
4. Conclusion and Recommendation .......................................................................................................... 38
4.1 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 38
4.2 Recommendation .............................................................................................................................. 40

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5. Reference ................................................................................................................................................ 42

Executive summery
This report provided an overview on the company background, overall internship experience and
the overall benefit we gained from the internship. A Few recommendation and suggestions were
also prescribed based on what we observe. We included our recommendation in order to
eradicate the weakness of the company. Finally we have ended our report through including
reference and sources we have used to make this report. The company we have been working is
known as DIMMA Beekeeping development and honey processing Plc. It’s a company that
process honey, beeswax and Mead. Mainly it produces three types of honey called liquid, cream
and extra white honey. The company is ISO 9000:2000 certified for its quality management
system and it produces the product base on this standard. Cream and extra white honey has the
same processing steps like preheating, honey and wax separation, filtration, settling, filling,
capping, labeling and packaging but liquid honey goes for further processes such as
pasteurization, evaporation, deaeration, cooling, settling, filling, capping, labeling and packaging
since it has to be in liquid state for longer period of time. The main difference between cream
and extra white is color. Cream honey is made from Yellow honey whereas extra white is made
from white and dim white honey. The company produces Beeswax and mead in order to
minimize waste. Mead is prepared from mixture of wax and water. Then the beeswax left after
producing mead is purified in heater and molded. This molded beeswax is used for the
company’s own Apiary commercial farm. The company distributes its product basically to
supermarkets found in Addis Ababa and Mekelle and exports honey with undergoing negotiation
with agents from Middle East and Europe.

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Chapter One

1.Introduction
1.1 Background of the company
DIMMA Beekeeping Development and Honey Processing P.L.C was established in January
2005 to perform transformation, promotion and production as well as marketing of bee products
in Tigray. For this purpose a modern honey processing plant with a capacity of 700 kg/shift/ was
erected which envisaged using Indian technology for processing crude honey. The company is
located at Adigrat which is 120km away from Mekelle and 898 km away from Addis Ababa. It is
2.5km away from center of Adigrat town the way to Mekelle road and only 40 meters away from
main road.

The company was one of the corporate companies established under the Dejenna endowment. It
was later merged in to Effort and as of 2010; DIMMA has become a privately owned enterprise.
The company’s current focus is on the production of extra-white honey, cream honey and bees
wax. The company is ISO 9000:2000 certified for its quality management system. The inputs for
the processing factory have been collected from out grower farmers. However the honey
collected has not been adequate in terms of quantity to satisfy the need of the factory and the
quality has not been to the standard. Hence to have consistently quality honey supply that can
satisfy the requirement of the market, the company owners decided to establish a commercial
Apiary farm in the site where unique bee flora found for production of extra honey Atsbi
Womberta Woreda. The Apiary commercial farming is feasible in terms of market since it will
ensure the consistency supply of inputs of the honey processing plant and from the point of
organizational capacity.

The total investment of the company is 12,000,000. At present there are 38 permanent employees
with different qualification on permanent base of employment. Other new personnel would be
expected to be employed as the plant is working with full capacity.

Since its establishment the company has been engaged in many activities mainly

 establishment of bee farms for honey and queen rearing

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 Establishment of high tech processing machinery
 Provision of complete training and creation of out growers

1.1.2 Vision of the company

To be competent and leading producer and supplier of organic quality honey products in
the domestic as well as in the global market.

1.1.3 Mission of the company

To promote commercial apiculture through efficient and optimal utilization of the natural
resources and promoting out growers thereby creating employment and contribute to eradication
of poverty.

1.1.4 Objectives of the company

o Maximizing profit from the plant output
o Creating marketing network for honey and beeswax.
o Honey processing, packaging and marketing so as to keep on the sustainability of the
company
o Enter in to the export market and start exporting processed and contribute to earnings of
foreign exchange of the country.
o Get certified by ISO 9001:2000 quality management system and HACCP principle and
make a proportional for organic certification.

1.1.5 Goals of the company

 To increase the sales volume of the company
 To increase market share throughout the country and outside.
 Created well developed market
 Provide quality honey to the market and enhance profitability of the company.
 To be leader supplier of processed honey.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Internship is usually the most important way to get the work experience that we need to secure a
job after graduation. Learning theoretical only is not enough to be hired in a company for work
since we don’t have a good resume and experience. Without internship it is hard to gain valuable
work experience, networking opportunity and confidence that we need after graduation. Before

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starting this internship we only have the knowledge learned in the classroom but don’t know how
to apply it to work place. We don’t have the understanding of a skill and knowledge required in
when having a job. Theoretical knowledge didn’t help us to explore our interest in a field of
work and also didn’t allow as to evaluate our potential as an employee. We didn’t get the chance
to decide what the right career is for us by theoretical learning and discover our strong and weak
point. Internship is the only way to identify whether we are interested in a field of work or not.

1.3 Significance
The significance of taking this internship is mainly to get the experience that cannot be gained in
the classroom. Taking this internship helped us to build up our resume, explore career tracks
within our line of work, develop a network of business contact, gain self-confidence and expand
our skill of work. We have got the chance to apply the theory studied in the classroom to a work
setting. We also expand our communication, teamwork and leadership skill. Moreover we gain a
competitive advantage over non interns. After doing this internship we became more confident
because not only we have an impressive resume but we have the know-how for future
employment opportunities.

1.4 Our expectation

We had some expectations about the company before starting this internship. The first one is that
we would get the chance to see all steps of honey processing and apply the theoretical knowledge
we had in to practice because we have searched about the company on the internet to have some
information about what kinds of honey it produce and noticed that it produces three types of
honey. But it didn’t go as we expected, among the three type of honey produced in the company
we only saw cream and extra white honey being processed practically because the company has
already stopped processing of liquid honey since it has low customer demand and was
unprofitable. Secondly we thought most of the processes in the company are done by using
machines and thought we would learn more about how they are used practically but adversely we
get half of the processes being done manually.

1.5 Main products of the company

Currently the main products of the company are

1) Cream Honey
2) Extra White Honey
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3) Beeswax
4) Mead

1.6 Main Customers and End users of the product

The main customers and end user of the product of DIMMA BD and HP PLC are all towns
found in the different region of Ethiopia through the existing supermarkets and different agents.
Direct involvement in the sales is basically in Addis Ababa and Mekelle. DIMMA also exports
honey with undergoing negotiation with agents from Middle East and Europe.

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1.7 Objective of internship experience

1.7.1 General Objective

 To apply the theoretical knowledge in to practical skill in honey processing plant

1.7.2 Specific objective

 To understand the dimma pure natural honey processing method in the company
 To practice how to check the quality parameters of honey in laboratory
 To define the processing steps of wax purification and honey mead preparation
 To identify equipment used for honey processing

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Chapter Two

2. Overall Internship Experience

2.1 Section of the company we have been working

We have been working in different section of the company which is in laboratory, in
production area, in beeswax purification and mead preparation. Most of the time we work in
the production area by helping the workers during filling, capping, labeling and packaging
since this works are done manually and there is scarcity of workers.

2.2 Work piece we have been executing

While working in the laboratory; we check the quality of the honey with the quality
controller before transferring it to the production area. We check moisture content and
reducing sugar of the honey by using refractometer and other parameters like acidity, specific
gravity, ash content, and water insoluble solid by following the procedure provided by ISO.
When it’s a day for packaging honey we help the workers of the company by filling, capping,
labeling and packaging. During beeswax purification we dry the wax before it is purified to
remove its water and transfer it to heater. Moreover during mead preparation we help the
workers by mixing the beeswax with water to dissolve it and strain the beeswax before it is
poured to the barrel.

2.3 Challenges happened while performing Task

We haven’t faced much challenge when performing task because our supervisor explains
everything for us briefly. The workers of the company were easy to communicate with so we get
along with them easily and this helped us to ask anything without fear. But there were some
challenges during lab work specially when checking the acidity of honey it involves titration and
other procedures which was a little confusing at first but after trying it again and again it became
clear. Refractometer reading was also very difficult to identify the exact number of moisture
content and reducing sugar of honey because the numbers were very small to see. The other
thing that was hard for us is to understand the processing step of liquid honey and how the
machine works because the company has stopped processing liquid honey since there is low

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customer demand and was unprofitable but after browsing the every process and about the
machines on the internet we start to understand and know there meaning.

2.4 Measures taken to overcome the challenge

To overcome our challenges we have tried to practice again and again during the lab work and
also try to get information on the internet regarding processing methods and the machines used
in the company.

2.5 Application of HACCP in the company

The purpose of HACCP plan is to identify any risks associated with the production, filtration,
packing and storage of Honey produced in Dimma honey processing plant.

The purpose of HACCP plan is to establish, implement and maintain the highest possible food
safety standards to product safe and highest quality natural honey to the customers. HACCP plan
is limited to the implementation of the HACCP principles from collecting and receiving of raw
honey and other product inputs to the final distribution of the products.

While working in the company we have seen some of HACCP principles being applied; among
them Hazard Analysis, Critical Control Point, Critical Limits, Corrective Actions and
Documentation were applied.

2.5.1 Hazard Analysis

A food safety hazard is any biological, chemical, or physical property that may cause a food to be unsafe
for human consumption Among them we only saw physical hazard being controlled in the
company which is dust control, insect debris and wax particle filtration and also they regularly
inspect all metal tools and equipment for ware, rust or damage.

Table 1: Physical Hazard Analysis

Specific Hazard Control

Dust/ Debris They Ensure polythene containers doesn’t contain
dust or debris and ensure all equipment has been
cleaned prior to use.
Insect debris Ensure triple filtration down to 40 micro mesh
Wa x particle Ensure triple filtration down to 40 micro mesh

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2.5.2 Critical Control Point

CCP is a procedure that are used in food process which can be control a food safety hazard can be
Prevented, Eliminated and Reduced to an acceptable level. CCP applied in the company are listed in the
table below.

Table 2: critical control point

Control Point Control

Contamination from physical elements on Remove physical debris from all surface, use
equipment and work place environment cleaning agent to remove dirt, grease and
pathogens. Rinse off with clean potable water
until all residues of cleaning agent and dirt has
been removed
Jars and lids contaminated and not suitable for Wash with detergent solution and rinse in clean
filling water and dry using sun

2.5.3 Critical limit

Table 3: Chemical composition and Dimma honey limits

No Parameters Dimma Honey Limits World Standard

1 Moisture content 17.5-21 <21%
in %
2 Sucrose % max <5 <5
3 Reducing/invert >68 >65
sugars % min
4 Acidity as <40meq/Kg <40meq/Kg
meq/kg max
5 Mineral/ash 0.1-0.6 ≤ 0.6
%max
6 Specific gravity 1.40 1.40

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7 HMF mg/kg max <40 <40
8 Water insoluble <0.1 < 0.1
solid
9 Yeast count Nil Nil
millions
Reference: CODEX standard for honey 12-1981

2.5.4. Quality control

The working task of quality control is the inspection of raw honey, processing control, testing
and control the processed product.

We have been executed in working task of quality control and it apply starts from the receiving
and inspection of raw honey, process control, testing and control the processed product
throughout the process in order to delivered to the end user of the product with its highest
possible safety and quality. The guide quality control of the company more conforms to ISO
9001:2000 so we applied and performed the task based on its principles and procedures to
produce high quality and safe product. Quality control itself is a procedure or set of procedure
designed to make certain that the end product designed set of criteria set by either the company
or the customer. The main objective of the quality control in the company is to determine the
quality and safety requirements are fulfilled by detecting whether the unacceptable level of
hazards or defect exist in the honey before, during and after processing. If an unacceptable level
of hazard or defect is detected, the raw honey or partial processed honey might be repaired or
reworked to remove the hazard or defect.

Controlling quality achieved by

 Inspection of raw honey to ensure that no poor quality ingredients are used.
 Carrying out checks on the process to ensure that:
Weight of the ingredient, temperature and time of the process are correct
 Inspecting the final product to ensure that
No poor quality products are sent to the customer

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2.5.5 Corrective Action

Table 4: corrective Action

Hazard Corrective Action

Jars and lids contaminated and not suitable for Rewash jars and lids, discard any which look
filling unclean
Raising honey To above 60o c increase risk of Ensure working process and storage
HMF and diastase environment don’t exceed 60o c limit

2.5.6. Record keeping procedure

Record keeping is essential, especially to comply with food safety requirements. In Dimma
processing plant some records are kept which are batch numbers, cleaning and sanitizing
schedule for each piece of equipment, number of containers filled for each type of honey,
temperature test of honey at tank and moisture content of honey.

2.6 Process explanation

2.6.1 Source of Raw material

The source of raw material for DIMMA BD and HP PLC is collected from Tigray and Amhara
Regions. The specific places in which the raw honey is collected from Adwa, Atsbi, Erob, shire,
Adigrat, Axum, Hawuzien, Wukro and mekelle of tigray region and sekota of amhara region. It
is purchased from farmers and sometimes from merchants during market day. Dimma also brings
honey from its own commercial Apiary farm since the company has around 400 modern hives.
The bees wax, on the other hand, is extracted from the honey and it is collected and purified
since it is important for modern hive and also for medicine and cosmetics. On the other hand wax
is also used for preparation of mead in the company.

Before purchasing, the company’s quality controller first checks the quality of the honey
physically by its color, taste and smell. Then he accepts or reject the honey by identifying if it’s
adulterated or not. Moisture content and reducing sugar of the honey are also measured by
Refractometer because honey with moisture content above 21 should be rejected since it might
ferment before and after it is processed but if it’s between 17.5-21 it is accepted. Furthermore
honey with the following moisture content is graded as follow

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a) 17.5-19- grade A
b) 19.5-20-grade B
c) 20.5-21 grade C

2.6.2 Raw material storage

Honey is hydroscopic, that is, it will absorb moisture from the atmosphere or damp surfaces that
it comes into contact with. Because of this DIMMA honey processing plant places the raw honey
on wooden pallets that are used to impede the raw material to be in direct contact with the
ground. The storage room of the company is clean and airy, free from damp and away from
direct sunlight. It has a temperature around 20-30oc with 60-65 % humidity. In the storage room
there is metallic shelf built for placing washed empty polyethylene container. Primary and
Secondary packaging materials like cartons and empty plastic containers are also found in the
storage room before they are washed and used for packaging. The purchased honey is weighted
before entering to the storage room and then placed separately according to their color type. The
type of honey that are found in the storage room are

 Modern White honey

 Traditional White honey
 Modern Yellow honey
 Traditional Yellow honey

2.6.3 Raw material inspection

The quality controller of the company checks the quality of the raw honey in the laboratory
before it goes to the processing unit. The main quality parameters that are checked in the
laboratory are

 Moisture content: the moisture content of the raw honey is one of the important
criteria because the rate of fermentation and its shelf life span is greatly
determined by the amount of moisture content. The moisture content of a honey is
measured by refractometer. The company accepts raw honey with moisture
content up to 21%.

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Fig 1: Refractometer
 Reducing sugar: Honey is composed primarily of sugars, the main ones being
glucose and fructose as well as maltose and sucrose. Reducing sugar is also
measured by Refractometer. Honey with >65 % sugar is accepted in the company.
 Water insoluble solids: Honey insoluble matter include pollen, honey comb
debris, bee and filth particles and is thus a criterion of honey cleanness. It is
checked in the laboratory by weighing 20g of honey to the nearest 0.1g and
dissolved in a quantity of distilled water at 80oc mixed well. The test sample is
then filtered through a pre dried and weighed Petridis and thoroughly with hot
water (80oc) until free from sugar. The Petridis is dried for one hour at 130oc in a
vacuum oven and cooled and weighed to the nearest 0.1g. The raw honey is
accepted if its water insoluble solid is not more than 0.1%.
 Ash or mineral content of honey: Ash content is used to know the mineral
content of the honey. The material remaining after the honey is burned represents
the mineral matter. Honey with ≤ 0.6% of ash content is accepted in the company.
5 to 10g of honey is weighed accurately in to an ignited and pre weighed pt silica
or porcelain crucible and gently heated in muffle furnace (heats up to 600oc) until
the sample is black and dry. The sample is then ignited at 600oc at constant
weight. The sample is cooled in desiccator before weighing to avoid humidity
from the environment. At last the mineral content is calculated to know the exact
number.
 Acidity: Honey is naturally highly acidic. Its pH is extremely low, ranging
between 3 and 4.5, which inhibits the growth of bacteria and other spoil-ready
organisms. Increased acidity of honey is an indicator for a fermentation process
and transformation of alcohol into organic acid. The acidity of honey was
determined by volumetric method. 10g of honey is accurately weighed and

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dissolved in 75ml distilled water. Then the test sample is titrated against
carbonate free 0.1N sodium hydroxide using 4-5 drops of phenolphthalein
indicator. The end color persists for 10s. The required acidity for honey is ≤ 40
milli equivalents of acid per kilo.
 Specific Gravity: The Specific Gravity of a liquid is a dimensionless unit defined
as the ratio of density of the liquid to the density of water at a specified
temperature. As the basis it is common to use the density of water at 4oC, the
temperature at which it has its highest density (1000 kg/m3). To know the specific
gravity of honey first clean and thoroughly dried specific gravity bottle is weighed
and filled up to its mark with freshly boiled and cooled distilled water which has
been maintained at 27oc and weighed. Then after the water is removed and the
bottle is dried again. The dried bottle is filled with honey sample maintained at
same temperature. Lastly the bottle is weighed and the specific gravity of the
honey is calculated.

2.7 Honey Processing

DIMMA honey processing plant produces three types of honey called cream, extra white and
liquid honey. Extra white and cream honey are type of honey that has been processed by
controlled crystallization. The main difference between them is color whereas liquid honey is a
honey that has been processed to make it completely liquid and free from visible crystals.

2.7.1 Extra White and Cream Honey processing

2.7.1.1 Raw honey reception
The raw honey is brought from the storage room after the quality of the raw honey is checked in
the laboratory and fulfilled all the quality parameters of honey then it passes for further process.
Moisture content, Ash content, Water insoluble solid, Reducing sugar, specific gravity and
acidity are the main quality parameters that are checked in DIMMA BD and HP plc. As a one
batch; 800kg of honey is weighed and transported to processing house. The reason of taking
800kg of honey as a one batch is because the unloading tank maximum capacity is 850kg.The
kind of machine used for transporting the honey from storage room to processing house is called
hand cart.

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2.7.1.2 Pre-Heating
The raw honey that was brought from the storage room is placed in rectangular prism to be
heated for about 2-3 hrs inside hot water which is heated at 870c until the internal temperature of
the honey becomes 400c. This pre heating of honey helps to facilitate fast downloading of raw
honey in to the unloading tank. The rectangular prism can take 32 pieces of polyethylene bucket
to be heated at once.

2.7.1.3 Unloading, Heating and Mixing

The main purpose of this processing step is to homogenize the honey in order to standardize the
color, aroma and flavor of the product as well as to separate wax and honey. The unloading tank
is jacketed and has rotary spades that homogenize the honey. The rotary spades rotate by the help
of agitation pump. This agitation pump is found on the top of the unloading tank. First pre heated
honey in the containers is downloaded to the unloading tank.Each container is stirred before
transferring the honey to facilitate easy flow of honey using SS rod. Then the agitation pump is
switched on to agitate the honey in the unloading tank after the hot water (87oc) circulates for
some time. The agitation is kept until the temperature of the honey reaches to 60oc. After that the
agitated honey settles for 90 minutes and this helps for the separation of wax and honey since
wax floats at the top because of its low density. The wax is separated by using SS dipper and the
removed wax with certain honey is kept inside a tank containing hate at the bottom. Unloading
tank feed rate is 700-850kg of honey but since filling honey up to 850 kg brings over filling; the
company fills the tank up to 800 kg in one batch. There are two unloading tanks in the company.
Each of them has different use. Unloading tank 1 is used for settlement during processing of
cream and extra white honey but unloading tank 2 is used for homogenization as well as
separation of wax and honey by heating.

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Fig 2: Unloading Tank

2.7.1.4 Filtration
Filtration is one of the most widely used and efficient processes for solid-liquid separation. The
process uses a porous medium that allows the flow of gas or liquids but not the solid material. In
the company there are two steps of filtration called first and second filtration.
a) First Filtration

First filtration is the separation of large particles such as leaf, stone, wood and large waxes. After
the large particles are removed; the pure honey goes to second filtration (Sparkler filter).

b) Second filtration(Sparkler filter)

Second filtration is the separation of fine particles up to 40 micron size such as thin waxes that
were not removed during first filtration. There are 4 types of micro-filter in second filtration;
they have different size and application. Those micro-filters purify and separate the 40-100 micro
mesh size non-food particles and thin wax which passed during first filtration of liquid honey. In
the company they use 80 micro filters for extra white honey because during processing of extra
white honey, they use white honey modern which has small amount of wax. This indicates that
there is no need for more purification since the honey doesn’t contain high amount of wax and
non-food particles. For cream and liquid honey 40 and 60 micro filters are used since they
contain high amount of wax and other particles. The micro filters are washed by odorless

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detergents first but since fine particles will clog the mesh; compressor is used to remove this tiny
articles.

Fig 3: Filtering machine

2.7.1.5 Settling
During the processing of cream and extra white honey settlement is used for multiple purposes.
The first one is to settle all the foam and air bubbles at the top surface of the unloading Tank.
And the second reason is to make the filtered honey more viscous and light in color.They add
honey which they called seed (honey which is left during the first processing) before the filtered
honey goes to the tank. This seed helps the liquid honey to become more viscous and gain its
color. The seed and the filtered honey are mixed first and then allowed to settle for about7-14
days. In unloading tank 1 only extra white and cream honey are settled for packaging but liquid
honey goes for further process after filtration.

Fig 4: Settling Tank

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2.7.1.6 Filling
After settlement, filling starts directly by opening the valve of settling tank at the bottom. Since
the tank is conical shaped the honey flows easily. But before filling; the plastic containers and
the cap are washed and dried. DIMMA uses plastic container having different size and
containing 250gm, 500gm and 1kg.

2.7.1.7 Capping
Then after the honey is filled in one of the containers and the weight of the honey is checked in a
weighting balance manually or by hand. If the weight of the honey is proper it is capped. During
extra white and cream honey processing Capping is done manually or by hand since processing
ends at settling tank.

2.7.1.8 Labeling
Food label is a panel found on the package of food which contains a variety of information about
the nutritional value of the food item. It is designed to protect the health and wellbeing of
consumer. It allows them to know the relative amount of each ingredient and how much of
selected vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients a food contains. It also contains the production
and expiry date of the food. The label of DIMMA BD and PC PLC contains much information
which is listed below.

The label is first marked using the stamp for information’s like:

 The production date

 Batch /lot Number

 Expire date

The label contains information like

 Moisture Content
 HMF
 Sucrose
 Density

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2.7.1.9 Packaging
The labeled plastic containers are packed in a secondary packaging or carton and sealed properly
by plaster. The company uses two types of packaging; primary and secondary.

Primary Packaging: Packaging that contains the finished or final products, sometimes called
retail or consumer packaging. This packaging is used to contain, preserve, protect and inform the
end user. The primary packs in the company are bottles and caps. Primary packaging should
include all packaging up to the point of sale, but does not include carrier bags (single use and
bags for life) and delivery boxes.

Secondary packaging: Packaging additional to the primary packaging and that is used for
protection and collation of individual units during storage, transport and distribution. The
secondary packaging used in the company is carton. The carton sealing purposes are convenience
for customer during transportation and easily distributed from one place to another. One
packaged carton contains around 12 pieces of plastic jar for 1kg, 500g and250g of packed honey.
Similar to the jars the cartons has stamp marked with all necessary information which are:

 Unite

 Location and

 Batch number

2.7.1.10 Storage and distribution

Finally packed cartons are transported to finished product store room by using hand cart and then
distributed to the customers and retailers.

2.7.2 Process flow diagram of Cream and Extra-white honey

Raw material receiving

Raw Honey Reception

Pre heating

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Unloading, Heating and separation

Filtration

Settling

Filling

Capping

Labeling

Packaging

End product storage

2.7.3 Liquid Honey Processing

Liquid honey has the same processing step with extra white and cream honey until it reaches
filtration. But after filtration liquid honey goes for further processes like pasteurization,
evaporation, Deaeration, cooling, Settling, Capping, Shrinking and Labeling. During our stay in
the company, we haven’t seen how liquid is processed practically since the company has stopped

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processing of liquid honey because of low customer demand. But we have tried to write down
the processing steps generally by what we saw not by practice.

2.7.3.1 Pasteurization
Pasteurization is a heating process in which the temperature is raised up to 72 °C maintained for
about 120 s. Pasteurization destroys yeast cells. It also liquefies any micro-crystals in the honey
which delays the onset of visible crystallization. After pasteurization, diastase activity and HMF
content remain almost unchanged, while invertase is damaged. However, excessive heat-
exposure also results in product deterioration as it increases the level of hydroxymethylfurfural
(HMF) and reduces enzyme (e.g. diastase) activity. Heat also affects appearance, taste, and
fragrance, darkening the natural honey color(browning).It has to be noted that the pasteurization
of honeys, unlike similar processes carried out on the majority of food products, is not performed
for food safety purposes only, including also prolonged shelf-life, but with the aim of meeting
commercial needs. As an example, a honey should maintain its typical liquid state on the shelves
as long as possible: a similar behavior has to be reached by means of pasteurization treatments.
In the company when pasteurizing temperature reaches from 65oc to 70oc, the filtered honey is
allowed from feeding tank to pass through heat exchanger, where temperature of honey is
maintained at 65-70oc by circulation of hot water. If the temperature at the out let of the
pasteurizer is not reached the required level the re circulating valve is opened and the valve (used
for control of flow in lines) to balance tank is closed. After it reaches the pasteurization
temperature the valve of the balance tank is opened. The balance tank is kept closed and special
precautions are used to prevent personnel, aerial and cross contamination.

2.7.3.2 Evaporation
Evaporation is a common unit operation in food processing industries in which partial removal of
water takes place from an aqueous solution. The removal of water in the form of vapor is
achieved by the process of vaporization or boiling of aqueous solution.The type of evaporator
used in the company is called scrapped surface evaporator. This type of evaporator is designed to
heat, cool or concentrate a wide variety of products particularly highly viscous and heat sensitive
liquids which tend to stick to or foul at heat transfer surface.

The moisture content of the honey is checked before the evaporator starts and if the moisture
content is greater than 18%, the hot water circulating valves is opened and the agitator motors

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and vacuum pumps are switched on for about 10 minutes until the required vacuum is developed.
But if the moisture content is less than 18%, the pasteurized honey by passes the evaporator and
Deaerator unit and transfer directly to the cooler. The feed rate of the scrap surface evaporator is
at 250-300kg per hr. Honey is then allowed from balance tank to pass through scrapped surface
evaporator for reduction of moisture and entrained air vacuum.

2.7.3.3 Deaeration
The moisture reduced honey is then passed through the dearator vessel to remove entrained air
bubbles. Dearation is important for the removal of dissolved and entrained oxygen from the
honey. It also improves product quality, extends shelf life and prevents the formation of foam
during filling. The rate at which the honey passes through is similar to the scrap evaporator by
reducing its rate by the frequency adjustor to about 200 to 250kg per hour.

2.7.3.4 Cooler/Honey cooling/

The processed and moisture reduced honey is immediately cooled by cold water circulation after
it passed through the Dearator. After cooling the honey passes to one of the airtight storage
settling tank.

2.7.3.5 Settling tank

The processed honey will be stayed for a minimum of 24hrs. While settling, all the foam and air
bubbles settle at the top surface. The vent which is found at the upper side of the settling tank is
opened intermittently to remove the accumulated pressure inside the tank. The liquid honey is
then taken for bottling and packing with the help of filling machine.

2.7.3.6 Bottle filling

The bottles are washed by the bottle washing machine and kept in separate table to drain the
droplets. Then they are kept in a drying oven to be pasteurized and well dried before filling
starts. First the type of bottle to be filled is identified, then the conveyor speed with dosing, the
mechanical speed and cam driven piston stroke length is adjusted. In other word the filling
machine is kept adjusted to the required filling level.

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Fig 5: Filling machine

2.7.3.7 Capping
Filled bottles are first manually capped and singly fed to the capping machine for machine
capping. Then the capped bottles are putted on the conveyer belt to continue the shrinking
process.

2.7.3.8 Shrinking
Shrinking machine is used to seal a food product by heating process. When exposed to heating
the cap shrinks to the contour of the container. First the shrinking machine is switched on to heat
the internal hot zone to the required temperature. Then the temperature is adjusted to 125 to
135oc. The bottled and the capped honey is then pass through the shrinking machine and
collected after passing through the conveyer.

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Fig 6: shrinking and labeling machine

2.3.3.9 Labeling
During liquid honey processing unlike cream and extra white honey the labeling is done by
labeling machine. Pre-printed front labels are pasted through machines to make certain that
accurate names and sizes match up with every bottle turns out.
The label contains information’s like:

 The production date

 Batch /lot Number

 Expire date

 Moisture Content

 HMF

 Sucrose and

 Density

2.7.3.10 Packaging
The labeled bottles are packed in a secondary packaging or carton and sealed properly by plaster.

2.7.3.11 Storage and Distribution

Finally, the finished products are stored in the warehouse and distributed according to the plan
throughout the year as shelf life of honey is generally higher than other perishable items.

2.7.4 The process flow diagram of Liquid honey

Raw material receiving

Raw Honey Reception

Pre heating

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Honey and Wax separation

Filtration Pasteurization Evaporation Deaeration

Cooling

Settling

Bottle Filling

Capping

Shrinking

Labeling

Packaging

End product storage

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2.8 Mead Preparation
Fermented honey, known as mead, is the most ancient fermented beverage. DIMMA honey
processing plant prepares mead by using a wax, tsedo and 240 liter of potable water. The plastic barrel is
first washed and dried. Then 5kg of tsedo is placed inside the bottom of the barrel. Wax and water are
mixed in a bucket by stirring with hand and strained before filled in to the barrel. This mixture is called
hydromel. Then the hydromel is transferred to the barrel and covered for 30 days until it ferments. Finally
after 30 days the mead if filtered to remove tsedo and segments and poured in to another container, then
distributed to customers in Adigrat. The final mead has a yellow color and sweet flavor.

Fig 7: Tsedo

2.9 Process Flow Diagram of Honey mead

Add 5kg of Tsedo to the barrel

Mix the wax with water by stirring in a bucket(hydromel)

Strain the Hydromel to remove wax

Add the hydromel to the barrel

Test the flavor of the hydromel and add water

Cover or close the barrel for 30 days

Filter and pour the mead in to another container

Distribute to customer

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2.10 Bees Wax Purification
Beeswax is one of the products produced in DIMMA honey processing plant. It is the major
byproducts of honey-making process. Beeswax is produced in the bee's body as the nectar is
transforming into honey. Bees produce wax from four pairs of glands on the underside of their
abdomens. The bee expels the wax through glands in its abdomen. The colony uses the wax to
cap the filled honeycomb cells.
Humans use beeswax for many purposes like for making frame, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
But the company doesn’t sale Beeswax since it uses the frame which is obtained from wax
purification for its Apiary commercial farming.
Wax which is left during the processing of mead is dried to remove the water and then melted in
a machine called heater. The wax is first filled in to the heater to its optimum level. The heater
machine is jacketed so water is added from the outer part to heat the wax indirectly.Then the
machine removes remaining dirt or debris and strain the liquid wax in mold.

2.11 Process flow Diagram of Bees wax purification

Fill the wax in to the heater to its optimum level

Add water to the jacketed part of the heater

Switch on the heater

Place a molder at bottom of the heater

Change the molder when it is full

Wait until the purified wax become solid and draw out from the molder

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Store it in the end product storage room

Fig 8: Heater (A machine used to purify wax)

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Chapter Three

3. Overall benefit gained from the internship

3.1 Practical skill
We have learned about honey theoretically before, not only that, we have also seen other honey
processing companies as a trip but taking this internship helped as gain more experience about
honey and its processing steps since we were working practically by our self. We have got a
chance to put in to practice and the knowledge gained in the classroom to real world situation.
Relating the theoretical part with the practice also helped us to identify problem that should be
solved in the company. Furthermore this internship helped us to have more confidence and have
the know-how for future employment opportunity.

3.2 Upgrading theoretical skill

The best outside classroom learning are through an internship. Among the several benefit we
gained from internship, upgrading theoretical skill is one of the important one. This internship
helped us more on understanding of theories that were learned in classroom. We have upgraded
our theoretical skill by working practically.

3.3 Improving Interpersonal Communication skill

Effective communication is a good way to solve problems and to get information. During our
stay in the company we have good communication with all the workers of the company. This
helped us to get information easily and also created a god working environment for us. Now we
understood that having good communication is so important to get the information you need
easily and to make good connection with the person that might help you land that dream Job later
on.

3.4 Entrepreneurship skill

We have gained much knowledge on how we could create new business of our own. We have
understood how we could produce a quality product with simple method or start a business in a
small scale and low capital. We also learned that willing to assume risks, open minded,
adaptability, self-confidence and leadership quality are one of the important things to be
successful entrepreneur. Furthermore wide knowledge on the economic and non-economic

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environment of business like the market, consumer attitudes and technology is needed to make a
decision before starting a business.

3.5 Improving team work skill

We have increased our interaction with each other since team work needs to help each other in
every aspect. We exchange information we get and discuss if there is something unclear for us
because someone from the group may understand about the situation and explain for the team.

Chapter Four

4. Conclusion and Recommendation

4.1 Conclusion
In general DIMMA beekeeping development and honey processing P.L.C is a company which
produce cream and extra white honey with a capacity of 700 kg/shift/. The company was
designed only for liquid honey at first but with certain modification the company is producing
cream and extra white honey. Currently it has stopped processing of liquid honey since it has low
customer demand and become unprofitable. The company also produces other bee products such
as pure wax and mead. The pure wax have a chemical composition and property that meet world
standard set for determining the quality of beeswax. The company has started producing mead
not long ago but it has many customers which buy the mead in Adigrat. Its primary objective is
to produce quality honey and supply the produces to domestic as well as export markets and
thereby promote modern beekeeping practices among the rural community.

The main source of raw material for the company are from Adwa, Atsbi, Eurobe, shire, Adigrat,
Axum, Hawuzien, Wukro and mekelle of tigray region and sekota of amhara region. The main
quality parameters that are checked in the laboratory are Moisture content, Ash content, Water
insoluble solid, Reducing sugar, specific gravity and acidity. The company has commercial
Apiary farm in the site where unique bee flora found for production of extra honey in Atsbi
Womberta Woreda to ensure the consistency supply of inputs of the honey processing plant and
from the point of organizational capacity.

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- The main products of Dimma honey are extra white honey,crame honey and liquid
honey.
- Pure wax and Pure mead are by product of the processed honey.
- Due to the presence of a fine glucose crystalline structure the raw honey undergoes a
natural process of crystallization
- Dimma honey have not any objectionable flavor, aroma, or taint absorbed from
foreign matter during its processing and storage. .
- The color of the honey is uniform throughout and may vary from light to dark brown
- Water is the main enemy of honey.
- One of the biggest challenges that continuously observed in Dimma honey especially
of the processed honey is early crystallization.
- Promotion and Advertising is the most important element to improve the sales volume
of the company

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4.2 Recommendation
We recommend the company

 Fulfill all laboratory materials which are necessary to check the quality of the honey.
 Reduce manual working by planting filling , capping and labelling machines in order to
reduce contamination and produce good quality product
 Make sure that the workers use glove when there is direct contact with the honeyTo
check the alcohol content and other quality parameters of mead before it is distributed in
order to ensure the safety of the customers.
 Dry packing containers by using paper towel instead of using sun drying outside the
production area since dust may contaminate them.
 Buy generator since there is a problem of electricity most of the time.
 Train the workers of the company on how they should keep the quality of honey properly.

Providing valuable recommendations which can strengthen success and minimize or

eliminate in efficiency and ineffectiveness is vital for any good achievement.
Therefore, the following are valuable recommendations to achieve the expected
objectives of the company.
 Plan, organize and co-ordinate the different manufacturing process of the company.
 Design strategies, operational manuals and procedures to implement production
plants and programs.
 Review plan of production to ensure conformance with organization objectives
and policies.
 Prepare itemized annual recurrent and capital budget and work plan of the
department.
 Check the availability of adequate raw and packing materials, materials, utilities
filters and machine size parts.
 Prepare and finalize the monthly and weekly production plans.
 Assess production standards in relation to plant capacity, materials supply,
manpower availability and financial limitations..
 Ensure that all standard yields are maintained by production lines.

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 Control production processes, production lay out and production facilities.
 Design systems to prevent and avoid wastage of raw and packing materials
 Sort out problems faced during regular production and solve them with the help of
service departments.
 Initiate and follow-up the maintenance of production premises and facilities.
 Assist in pilot scale trials of products under development. With the objective of
applying of reducing loss through effective strategies your distribution and sales
activities will made as efficient as possible and it will comprises of
 Keeping proper purchase timing
 Economical purchase system
 On time delivery
 Proper documentation related to raw material supply
 Ensure that there is a general discipline and a good work culture among the staff.
 Conduct the technical meeting and report the technical problems incurred during
routing routine production.
 Perform all related jobs upon request.
 Since the product or processed honey is not widely adopted in the existing market
aggressive advertisement and continuous promotion is required through mass
communication Medias like, participating in exhibitions, trade fair and bazars, and
own sells force to promote door to door and sponsoring of public holidays.
 Performe production as per the plan and do the following:
 Product diversification
 Dealing with food quality issues through different inspection and test
activities and working on corrective and prevention actions.
 Product quality improvement

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5. Reference
1.Arhiv veterinarske medicine, Vol. 7, No. 2, 99 - 109, 2014 Prica N. et al.: Moisture and acidity
as indicators of the quality of honey originating from vojvodina.

2. COMPOSITION AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF HONEY. In E. Crane, ed., Honey

Review,p. 157-239. Heinemann, London (1975)

3. Code of practice. Processing of bee product. Part 3: HACCP application, New Zealand Food
safe Authority (2005)

4. Townsend, G.F. Processing and storing liquid honey. Chapter. 9 in “Honey.”

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12.Appendix

Organizational Structure of the Company

Board Director

General Manager

Executive Secretary

Administration & Finance Commercial Production & Technique

Department Department Department

 Department Head  Department Head  Department Head

 Accounts  Apiculture & Supply Service  Industrial engineer
 Cashier  Purchaser  Operators
 Personal & general Service  Marketing expert  Electrician
 Driver  Sales Clerk  Cleaners & Packers
 Guard  Store Keeper
 Cleaner