As the leader of Trinidad and Tobago’s flour milling industry, National Flour Mills Limited (NFM) sets the standard for manufacturing the widest variety of wheat-based flour products.
NFM produces signature brands such as Ibis, Good N’ Natural, Hibiscus and Lotus for general baking needs. NFM also caters to the special needs by offering special purpose mixes such as Cake Flour, Self-rising Flour and Roti & Doubles Flour, and higher nutritional options, such as Whole Wheat Flour, Cracked Wheat Flour, and Multigrain Flour. NFM imports over 100,000 metric tons of wheat annually from the USA and/or Canada with an average raw material to freight cost ratio of 12:1.
PRICE OF WHEAT
Wheat is traded on international commodity markets, where supply and demand determine prices. Prices rise when there is a high demand for wheat and supplies are limited, but prices fall when there is enough supply to meet demand.
The landed cost of wheat is divided into three components: ‘futures,’ ‘basis,’ and ‘freight.’ Futures refers to the price negotiated for delivery of an agreed volume of wheat at a specified future date. NFM monitors grain prices on the commodity exchange on a daily basis to determine the best price for purchasing wheat on the futures exchange, i.e., The Chicago Board of Trade. Basis is the cost of transporting grain from storage sites to the vessel, and freight is the cost of shipping the wheat from North America to Trinidad. Basis and freight are negotiated separately.
WHEAT VARIETIES
NFM uses Dark Northern Spring (DNS), Hard Red Winter (HRW) and Soft Red Winter (SRW) wheat varieties to manufacture blended flour products that meet the very high standards and specifications of our retail industrial customer specifications.
DNS, HRW and SRW each contain different amounts of protein. The quality of the flour, particularly its protein content, varies based on its intended application. For example, flour with a low protein content (less than 10%) is appropriate for confectionery products such as biscuits and cakes. Flour with a protein content of 10–15% is best suited for bread. The protein, or gluten, is responsible for the elasticity of dough and gives bread the ability to rise during baking. SRW flour is widely used for cookies, snack foods, and cakes. It is versatile for blending with other types of wheat to improve crumb texture and the quality and appearance of many food products. By blending flours from one or more wheat varieties, NFM can optimize flour performance more effectively.
ENRICHED FLOUR vs FORTIFIED FLOUR
NFM produces enriched flour. The purpose of enriching flour is to replenish nutrients in the flour that may have been lost during the manufacturing process to restore it to be nutritionally equivalent to the unrefined product. NFM restores the nutrients (calcium, iron and B vitamins) to provide added nutrition for consumers as required by the Ministry of Health’s Chemistry, Food and Drugs Division.
Fortification is different. Fortified flour is flour in which chemical enhancers such as bromate are added to improve the rise and elasticity of the dough. Bromate is a banned food additive in many countries including Trinidad and Tobago because of its carcinogenic risks.
NFM DOES NOT USE BROMATE OR ANY OTHER PROHIBITED HARMFUL CHEMICALS IN ITS PRODUCTS.
Wheat-based food products are unique to each region, country, and culture. For example, locally, leavened bread is widely preferred to the flat breads that are widely consumed in Middle Eastern countries. Flour imported from Turkey is inferior to locally produced flour, which gives our bread and roti that distinct traditional taste and texture.
FLOUR PRODUCTION
National Flour Mills operates a highly automated flour production plant with first-class cleaning and milling equip- ment. Our highly-experienced, cross- functional team manages all aspects of production, packaging and storage. Our end-to-end process follows:
Receive Wheat Shipments: offioad, weigh and move wheat via conveyors to storage silos
Expedite Internal Requests: transfer wheat from the silos to the Raw Wheat bins (milling area)
Cleaning: remove impurities such as dried grass and tiny stones
Tempering: add moisture (water) to soften the wheat kernels
Resting: allow the moisture to reach the wheat’s inner endosperm under controlled conditions
Milling: gradual reduction of the wheat kernels through a process of grinding and sifting to produce three distinct products: flour, wheat germ and bran Extraction: extraction of milled cereals: coarse bran, fine bran, semolina wheat cereal and wheat germ
Bulk Storage: flour is stored in bulk bins awaiting transfer for blending
Blending: stored base flour is blended as prescribed for the various flour types
Packaging: blended flour is packaged into various sizes (2lb, 1kg, 2kg, 10kg, 45kg) and stored in the packaging warehouse
Warehousing: goods are transferred from the packaging warehouse to the finished goods warehouse prior to delivery to customers.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
NFM’s Food Safety and Quality Policy is maintained through its Food Safety and Quality Management System, managed by strong and effective leadership with the involvement of our stakehold- ers. To assure customers, the public, and regulatory agencies that NFM’s food safety programme is well-man- aged, NFM employs Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), an internationally recognised method of identifying and managing food safety- related risks.
NFM’s stringent food safety and quality control system begins well before the wheat arrives in T&T. Wheat samples are sent for inspection via air courier before receiving bulk wheat from the USA and Canada. Pre-shipment tests assist NFM in holding suppliers accountable for delivering the grade of wheat ordered and loaded onto the vessel, which is certified by the written guarantee from the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS).
After the vessel has docked, inspections are performed prior to off-loading and at various stages of the wheat transfer from the vessel to NFM’s silos. NFM checks for moisture levels, the absence of stored product pests and other factors that could jeopardise the quality of the wheat.
During production, real-time monitoring in the plant is supplemented by manual tests at NFM’s on-site laboratory to ensure optimal moisture and protein levels. As the flour passes through the mill, it is monitored online for moisture, protein, and ash content at least twice per shift until the end of the production process. Pre-operation inspections of packaging equipment and materials are also mandatory. Further, while packaging consumer-sized products, frequent checks confirm the quality of each batch of the finished product. For industrial volumes, more extensive testing, such as for Farinograph and rheological characteristics, is performed.
The laboratory then issues a product release stating that all aspects of the product, e.g., actual flour, physical properties of the packaging, best before date, conform to the necessary quality standards.
The goods are then transferred from NFM’s packaging warehouse to its finished goods warehouse, where they are subjected to periodic inspections while awaiting delivery. Trucks/ containers used for transport are checked before loading for local/ export sales, to ensure that products will not be compromised en route to NFM’s customers.
At National Flour Mills, we take our role of supplying flour to feed the nation as a serious responsibility. From sourcing wheat to delivering the final product, we continue to manage the variables within our control so that our customers can continue to enjoy our high-quality products.