On Tuesday, 17th November 2015, Years 8 and 9 went on a field trip to the Dolait Factory in Calavi. We were accompanied by Mr. George, Mrs. Tobi and Mrs. T.

When we arrived at the factory we were excited. We put on lab coats and we also covered our hair. These were things we had to do so we could be able to enter the factory. Mr. Yousef showed us the way they make the yogurt. It was a very clean process. First, they put the milk powder into a mixing machine that mixes the milk powder with water. Secondly, it is passed to another machine that pasteurizes the milk, which means that it will kill all the bacteria that are in the milk. Thirdly, it is passed through many pipes and into the machine that cools the yogurt.

After this the results that they get are taken to the lab for it to be tested so that if there is anything wrong with the yogurt they would know before sending it to the supermarkets.

When the yogurt has been checked and it is good, it is then sent to another machine that shows us the way they make the plastic bags for the yogurt. Then the plastic bags are opened one by one and get filled with yogurt and are moved to where the straws are then put in. Last, they close the plastic bags and your yogurt drink is ready. There are many different flavours such as: banana, strawberry, etc. Mr. Yousef also showed us a way to make yogurt at home while we were in the lab.

Finally we all got small gifts and we took pictures with Mr. Yousef at the end. I had fun and I learned many new things about the making of yogurt.

By: Aya Kafal, Year 8

On the 17th of November 2015 Year 8 and Year 9 went to the Dolait Factory in Calavi. We carried on the breeze and faster than the post train with excitement. Soon we arrived at the factory, and unfolding before our eyes was a clean, white building with bushes around.

The guide of our visit was Mr. Yousef. He let us come inside and he started passing around the lab coats and hats. He told us the factory was a totally hygienic place, which meant that we could not drop one hair strand on the floor. The first stop we made was the storage room; they kept the raw materials there. The room contained canned tomatoes, milk powder and the packaging for the yogurts.

We then crossed a huge room and went into a smaller room which contained pipes and containers. The floor was very slippery there. Mr. Yousef was the engineer who made all the technological instruments. In that room the mixer was rolling the milk powder with water and sugar, at 2000 times per minute. The mixture was then sent through a pipe to a heater which could kill all the bacteria inside the mixture when the temperature was increased to 90 degrees. After, the mixture was stored in a big container with the lactobacillus.

When the yogurt is stored for enough time, it will go through the pipes to the packaging area. All the work is done by machines, until the end of the packaging.

I learned a lot of things from this field trip: about how to make yogurt and about how bacteria could be divided into bad and harmless. At the end I got a bag of yogurt that could let me enjoy the natural miracle of turning a normal liquid (milk) to a sweet, amazing solid (yogurt).

By: Tina Tian, Year 8