Cereal.Com S.C.R.L. Consortium is our very own drying and storage facility, directly managed and controlled by Molino Nicoli S.p.A..
The drying centre has the storage capacity of 20 tons and is used exclusively for drying and storage of maize, a gluten free cereal. This way no cross-contamination can occur and the compliance of our centre with the requirements of a gluten free processing facility is guaranteed.
Cereal.Com S.C.R.L. Consortium is located in Costa di Mezzate (Bergamo, Italy), 2 km away from
Molino Nicoli S.p.A. factory.
Before every stocking campaign, the centre is meticulously cleaned and sanitized. Detailed schedules for collection of green maize are drawn in order to avoid keeping stocks at the facility for longer than necessary and to prevent the development of fermentation and the risk of onset of mould, two phenomena that can easily compromise the quality of the grain.
Maize stocking normally takes place on a yearly basis, in the period between the months of September and November. All green maize, once it has arrived at our facility, undergoes the process of cleaning in order to ensure that the grain is free from impurities such as corncobs and weed seeds.
Two driers are employed during the most delicate phase of the production cycle. These driers are used exclusively to process maize and are set to low temperature (between 45°C and 55°C) so that the original nutritional properties of the germ remain unaltered even after the drying process.
After the maize has been dried, it undergoes a second cleaning procedure in order to ensure that only completely pure grain will be placed in storage.
Dried product is stored in cells in stone with truncated pyramidal bottoms. This design allows easy and thorough cleaning and prevents waste accumulation. In each cell there is on opening for aeration and/or for cooling. In addition, the cells are fitted with three gauges each that constantly monitor the temperature of the product.
The storage facility is equipped with automated maize extraction system that collects maize from silos and loads it onto transportation vehicles.
The quantity of maize stocked at our storage facility satisfies Molino Nicoli S.p.A.’s annual production demand.
In fact, Cereal.Com S.C.R.L. Consortium is the only storage facility that supplies maize as part of a controlled agricultural supply chain. This is an element of fundamental importance for ensuring a steady and constant quality control of the maize used in our production.