Production of Potato Chips

Sample Answer IELTS Writing Task 1 – Report Writing

The diagram illustrates production and packaging of potato chips in a factory on a production line.

Overall, the production of potato chips consists of six steps: sifting, washing, slicing, frying, seasoning and finally packing. Only one stage involves human intervention: at the beginning when workers select the right potatoes for the job; the rest of the process is fully automated.

The process begins with the workers carefully handpicking potatoes to ensure quality and consistency. Then, these potatoes are tumbled in a washer filled with cold rinse water to get rid of grit. A chute, then, funnels the washed potatoes into the peeler, where they are both peeled and starched in the process. Later, they are placed in the bucket conveyer which then feeds the peeled and starched potatoes one by one to the slicer. The slicer cuts the potatoes into bite-sized slices, after which, the slices are placed onto a moving flat bed conveyor and exposed to jets of air in order to dry them off. Next, these slices are deep fried in a fryer and the fried potato slices exit the fryer on a flat belt conveyor. Before the chips reach the bag packer and the bulk can filler, they are seasoned with salt by the Salter. Finally, the flavored potato chips are either channeled to the bulk can filler or the bag packer for packaging, according to the sales order.