Chapter 71: Various Rules and Regulations

The construction of the Houjiatang Tofu Factory was proceeding at an almost magical speed. Everyone in the village had invested in it, and this was the first collective enterprise in Houjiatang Village, one that everyone looked forward to with great hope. This hope was evident in the construction of the factory. When building materials were needed, people brought red bricks, cement, wood, and river water from their homes. When labor was needed, men, women, and children all pitched in. A simple road was built between the factory and the village entrance, and it was completed in just twenty days, almost simultaneously with the factory.

During this period, the family workshops in Houjiatang Village did not stop. They now had dealers in six farmers' markets in the city, and the daily production of over a thousand pounds of tofu and preserved tofu was in high demand. This is why the villagers hoped the tofu factory would start production as soon as possible, not only to reduce the costs of their scattered production but also to increase output.

"Da Dong, this is all thanks to you," Hou Lihua said, holding Zhu Da Dong's hand with deep emotion. The reason everyone in the village was so united was because they saw the hope that the tofu factory brought, the hope of improving their living conditions, and this hope was brought by this young man.

"Secretary Hou, I can't take all the credit. If we're talking about contributions, it's you, the secretary, and of course, Ge Ge as well," Zhu Da Dong said with a smile. The speed of the factory's construction was something he had not anticipated. The power of the people is boundless, and once their potential is unleashed, they can create miracles!

"Let's not flatter each other. Da Dong, the equipment has been delivered, and we will start installation and testing tomorrow, as well as official production. You must come," Hou Lihua said with a smile. Although Zhu Da Dong was modest, he still believed that Zhu Da Dong was the greatest contributor to the village's tofu factory.

"Of course, tomorrow is a very important day for Houjiatang Village, and for me as well," Zhu Da Dong said with a smile. As Hou Lihua said, the tofu factory in Houjiatang Village, from the selection of the factory site, internal layout design, machine purchase, management system, hygiene regulations, to the workers, production workshops, and even the production process, had all been meticulously planned, forming detailed rules and regulations. One could say that the Houjiatang Tofu Factory was almost entirely his creation.

The next day, all the machines were installed and tested in the factory. The bright workshop had white tiles on the walls and floors. Upon entering, one first had to pass through a changing room, where everyone entering the factory had to change clothes and wear white hats, covering all their hair. On both sides of the factory, there were windows every two meters, each three meters long and two meters high, ensuring natural lighting and good ventilation in the workshop before production began.

The washing and disinfection room, production processing room, and finished product storage room were all designed and built to strict standards. Although the Houjiatang Village Tofu Factory was just a small workshop, its hardware already met the requirements of a standard enterprise.

On the walls of each workshop, detailed process flow charts and hygiene management regulations were posted. For example, the impurities in raw materials could not exceed one percent, the grains had to be plump, free of mold and disease, and stored in a well-ventilated, light-protected, low-temperature, and moisture-proof environment. The raw materials for the tofu factory were stored in a warehouse on the second floor and could be directly transported to the soaking workshop on the first floor through a gate. There were also specific requirements for cleaning time, water usage, and cleaning degree. For instance, cleaning had to last at least ten minutes, with at least 800 pounds of water used per bucket of soybeans, and no impurities should be visible.

There were also detailed requirements for soaking time, temperature, pH value; the concentration, fineness, and grinding time of the soy milk; the cooking time, temperature, defoamer addition amount, and soy milk volume; the mesh size and condition of the sieves used for filtration. Additionally, the coagulation, settling time, brain resting, cloth spreading, and the entire process up to the finished product had extremely detailed standards.

When these production processes were posted and all the workers were required to memorize and strictly follow them, many felt as if they didn't know how to make tofu anymore. In reality, any villager in Houjiatang Village could make tofu. However, Zhu Da Dong still required everyone to strictly follow the production process because only in this way could the quality of the tofu from the Houjiatang Tofu Factory be guaranteed, ensuring that all the tofu maintained consistent quality.

The hygiene management regulations were also comprehensive:

1. Hands must be washed with running water before work, after handling food, and before handling ready-to-eat food.

2. No long nails, nail polish, or jewelry.

3. No sneezing, coughing, or other behaviors that could contaminate food.

4. No smoking in food processing areas.

5. Wear clean work clothes and hats, with hair neatly combed and tucked inside the hat.

6. Refuse to process or use spoiled or otherwise unsanitary raw materials.

7. Knives, cutting boards, buckets, basins, baskets, cloths, and other tools and containers for raw materials, semi-finished products, and finished products must be clearly marked and used and stored separately, and kept clean after use.

8. Cooked food must be thoroughly cooked.

9. Cooked food, raw materials, and semi-finished products must be stored separately after processing.

10. Cooked food that has been left overnight must be thoroughly reheated before use.

The personal hygiene regulations for workers were also detailed:

1. All raw and auxiliary materials must be inspected before processing, and不合格的原材料不得投入加工。

2. The processing technology must be reasonable, and each process must be carried out strictly according to the processing technology regulations and hygiene requirements to ensure that the product is not contaminated and meets hygiene standards.

3. Ready-to-eat food should be packaged in a dedicated packaging room using hygiene-compliant packaging materials, and the hands of the packaging personnel must be washed and disinfected before packaging.

4. Food processing tools, containers, and equipment must be frequently wiped to maintain cleanliness, and tools and containers that come into direct contact with food must be disinfected.

5. Food production and business units must have enclosed garbage containers that match their production and business scale, and garbage must be cleared daily to maintain a clean environment. Cleaning must be done before and after each shift, and no clutter or garbage should be piled up.

6. The indoor and outdoor environment must be clean, with no breeding grounds for mosquitoes, flies, or rodents. Measures for fly control, rodent control, and cockroach extermination must be in place.

7. The floor must be clean, and the drainage system must be unobstructed with no standing water.

8. The processing area must be clean, with no dust accumulation, no mold on the walls or ceiling, and no peeling.

9. Food industry workers must obtain a health certificate and undergo an annual health check. Only those who pass the check can work.

10. Workers must wear light-colored work clothes and hats, with hair tucked inside the hat. When handling ready-to-eat food, they must wear masks, not wear rings, and not apply nail polish.

11. Workers must wash and disinfect their hands before and after handling food and after using the toilet. They must not enter the toilet wearing work clothes and hats.

12. Workers must not smoke, pick their noses, or dig their ears while handling food, and they must not sneeze towards food.

13. Workers must wash their hands frequently, trim their nails, get haircuts and baths, and change their work clothes and hats regularly. They must not spit on the ground or litter.

These regulations may seem cumbersome, but they ensure the production of qualified tofu products. Just like building a house, Zhu Da Dong laid a solid foundation for the Houjiatang Tofu Factory from the very beginning. No matter how high the building would eventually be, there would be no worry about an unstable foundation.