Presented By Kenny Daniel

Presented By Kenny Daniel

It is a project developed by a 4 members of the graduating class of 2004, of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. It was designed to create employment for themselves, future graduates and rural youth. The project started with $20EC and increased to $60 the next day The group targeted the barber shops hairdressing salons and gas stations

Availability of inputs, bottles and caps The availability of coconuts at farm gate The fluctuation in the yield of water from the coconut varieties available The access to finance Transportation

Members are all trained Agriculturist with a great appreciation for good agricultural and manufacturing practices, Standard Operating Procedures, Food Safety and HACCP They are very skilful and can use the cutlass very well They have respect for each other and work well within the group They are very articulate in the French creole, the language used by most farmers

To provide the consumers with value for their money To guarantee the consumers that the product they re drinking is safe For convenience To extend the shelf life of the product To facilitate traceability in the event of a problem

Nuts purchased are counted at the Farm The farmer is given a receipt which indicates the number of nuts purchased, the date and the person who received the nuts At the processing plant the duplicate copy is given to the supervisor who signs the triplicate copy in the book after counting the nuts received at the plant The nuts are then detached from the bunch and washed and sanitized using a mild bleach

The number of nuts processed and the volume of water produced is recorded by the supervisor The average yield per nut is calculated and the farmer paid per fluid ounce (fl oz) Based on the average yield of a farm a crop husbandry programme is designed and monitored free of charge for the farmer

The water is strained using a strainer and cheese cloth into 5gallon containers Once filled these containers are placed in a Blast freezer for about one hour before they are bottled. This reduces the risk of spoilage that can be caused by increasing temperature The water is pumped from the 5 gallon containers to a holding tank using a stainless steel pump The water then flows by gravity using PVC pipes calibrated to release the required volume for the bottles being filled

The filled bottles are then capped packaged and returned to the blast freezer The frozen packages are then stored in a freezer awaiting delivery The FIFO system is in place The product is monitored by the marketing team at all outlets to ensure that the product is displayed properly and at the correct temperature

Nuts are washed and sanitized to remove soil on the nuts and to kill any bacteria on the surface of the nut deposited there by the droppings of birds, lizards, opossums bats and rats.

Nuts are air dried for about 30 to 60 minutes on a conveyor belt or on a table in the cutting section of the processing plant Air drying prevents contamination of the coconut water with the water used for washing and sanitizing the nuts Wet nuts are slippery and could cause accidents during the cutting operation

Nuts are cut using a stainless steel cutlass, cleaver or chopper Use of cheaper cutting implements will require frequent washing to avoid metallic contamination of the water Continuous cutting of nuts prevents this from occurring in the processing plant

Check opened nut for cracks or signs of spoilage Water is strained and filtered into a sterilized glass or stainless steel cotainer to remove large and small particles from the water to extend the shelf life of the coconut water Storage of the water with these particles will reduce the shelf life to one day

Fill coconut water into sanitized bottles and immediately cool to 4⁰C. This slows microbial growth and enzymatic reactions

Keep coconut water on ice (0-4⁰C) during distribution, to maintain the quality of the water

Monitor retail outlets to ensure that the product is stored at the correct temperature not exceeding 4⁰C This maintain the quality of the product during display at points of retail sale