paid Miss Julie a visit
at two of her cookies factories
she owns three in fact
photos are strictly not allowed
in the production site
I have done the best I could
pre-visit presentation
brief introduction.. blah blah blah
welcoming speech
declaration of health condition too
and donning the overcoat and stuffs
I used to hate lab work a lot
this is the very 1st time I am donning this
there was scarf, mask but no gloves
because gloves post the danger of
being swallowed into the running machine
and you can imagine the consequences
and working with gloves,
palms tend to get sweaty and more bacteria
plus our fingertips are the most sensitive detectors
to identify dirt or some unidentified objects
on the cookies
all the photos from this point onwards
I risked my life to take them
1st of all
the mixing
this is during fermentation
basically right after fermentation
the dough is poured into the
fully automated conveyance belt
where human labour is only required
at machine operation
the dough jus moved on and on
cut into cookies shape
moved through a couple of ovens
then came out as freshly baked cookies
then they will go through oil / salt sprinkler
and for some, the sandwiching processor
till the packaging department
human workers are seen, finally
they do the final QC of the cookies
and assist in packaging of the cookies
into the bigger boxes, containers etc..
so basically now I see
why do workers always come to protest
when their factory decided to go machinezed
yup you can argue about economies of scales
but the factory ended up hiring more sophisticated workers
such as engineers, food chemists,
these manual workers which are already with low paid
will end up getting nothing at all
migrant workers
who are willing to work for lower pay at longer hour
and at mediocre working conditions
will always take the lowest and poorest jobs
the mixing and fermentation site
do not smell as good
due to the leaving agents
like sodium bicarbonate, ammonium…
arrgh.. something like that
the workers there are mainly migrant workers
while till QC and packaging,
local labours are seen
well after the visit
I must say that
it’s not really an eye-opening experience
I mean yeah.. it’s just cookies
mixing, fermenting, shaping, baking, cooling
it’s basically the same as how we bake at home
but the concern is from where do our cookies come from
and so are the hundreds other foods that
we stuff into our mouths
well, I must say that
the hygienic condition of the factory
is of top-rate
at least I feel safe
to pop in a love letter or wafer from Julie’s
and the workers we met on our ways
they do not seem to be unhappy at work
under some exploitation
in fact they have satellite tv set at the canteen
the packaging store
closing chapter
p/s
this is how I always skin your love letters
and lick the chocolate
so is chocolate wafer
