The production of oat flakes – flaking – starts with groats. Groats are the resultant products that have undergone the processes of cleaning and drying of the cereals and then hulling which separates the hulls from the groats. The groats of this stage further undergo the following processes.
· Groat Processing - This involves polishing, sizing and cutting
· Steaming – The processed groats pass through steamer which would increase the moisture content of the groats from 8 – 10% up to 10 – 12%. Flavoring ingredients such as sugar, salt are added at this stage.
· Flaking – The resultant products pass through rollers to obtain the required thicknesses. The flakes are then cooled in the open or through cooling devices.
· Baking - The flakes are then baked in rotary oven.
· Packing - The baked flakes are then conveyed to the storage tank for packing
The project does not have any adverse impact on environment since the plant will have a dedusting unit to avoid emission of flour dust. The by product (oat husk) is saleable for animal fattening establishments.
