Instructional Guide

Manufacturing: The Fudgeville Crisis

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During this unit you are going to:

Explore and identify how the process and preservation of food has changed over time.

Become a member of a food company.

Mass-produce and package ingredients for shipment to a factory.

Processing of Food

Primary Processing - changing raw agricultural materials into food commodities or ingredients.

Secondary Processing - converting food commodities and ingredients into edible products.

Preservation of Food: Refrigeration

1000 BC - the Chinese cut and stored ice.

500 BC - Egyptians and Indians made ice on cold nights by setting water out in earthenware pots and keeping the pots wet.

1700’s - servants in England collected ice in the winter and put it into icehouses.

Preservation of Food: Drying

Sun drying - allowing foods to dry naturally in the sun.

Hot-air drying - exposing food to a blast of hot air. Freeze-drying - using a vacuum chamber to draw

water out of frozen foods.

Some Background on Fudgeville

Company originated in 1900 by a local dairy farmer. Based on bringing the highest quality fudge to customers at a low price.

Ingredients always purchased from the United States. Fudge always manufactured RIGHT HERE in Fudgeville!

In the last 10 years, the family dairies have been purchased by Dean Foods and Walmart. Prices on raw materials

Design Challenge

Design a way to package and preserve ingredients for up to 5 days.

Step 1 – Identify the challenge

• Design a package to keep a marshmallow fresh for five days through shipment.

What is the problem?What are the specs?What are the constraints?What tools and materials are

available to make the package?

Step 2-3: – Explore Ideas

• Brainstorm ways of packaging the product• Sketch 3 possible packages per person• Label all materials on the sketch.

√ Identify a challenge

Step 3-5: – Plan and Develop

√ Identify a challenge

√ Explore Ideas

• Present ideas to your design team• Select best design and have

approved• List steps and materials to make

package• Construct package

Steps 6-7: Testing and Evaluating

√ Identify a challenge

√ Explore Ideas

√ Plan and Develop

• Test packaged and unpacked marshmallow over five day period with Quality Assurance Team

•Evaluate package design

•Get feedback from people not in the class

•Rate packages based on criteria

Step 8 – Presenting the Solution

√ Identify a challenge

√ Explore Ideas

√ Plan and Develop

√ Testing and Evaluating

• Summarize activity Best and worst things about your

team’s package Further improvement of package How would you work differently as

a team if you had to do this activity again?

Conclusion

Compare all of the packages with the class.

How are they different? How are they similar? What improvements could be made?

Discuss and design a final package with the whole class.