It turns out that ice cream is boiled. Important things were discussed without interrupting production at Minsk Cold Storage Plant No. 2

Topic news Information hygiene is on the agenda. Many organizations and institutions of various profiles, and industrial enterprises in all corners of the country held unified information days. Authoritative speakers reminded Belarusians how to learn to critically analyze data, what tools and methods will help distinguish truth from fake, and what to do to protect themselves from the unenviable fate of becoming a victim of disinformation. BELTA correspondents also joined one of these meetings. Presidential Aide - MINSK City Inspector Yury Frolov visited the ice cream factory of the capital's refrigeration plant No. 2 and met with the plant's staff to answer questions of concern to the plant workers and once again emphasize the importance of observing information security rules.

First of all, to the workshops

Today, 115 people work in the ice cream factory workshops. By the end of the year, they plan to produce at least 4.5 thousand tons of sweet treats in over 100 varieties: the famous Eskimo, ice cream in waffle cones and in briquettes,Family-type ice cream and large packaging. This year, the company launched the production of two new products at once: the well-known "Kashtan" with the taste of cappuccino in MILK glaze and plombir with a shell of fruit ice with APPLE flavor appeared at points of sale.

The inspection of the production began with the hardware department - the heart of the factory, where the heat treatment of mixtures takes place: their homogenization and pasteurization, allowing to destroy all pathogenic microflora. After the completion of the technological processes, the mixtures go to the packaging department, where they acquire the appearance of familiar ice cream. As it turned out, the refreshing delicacy first needs to be cooked.
"The process of making ice cream is not the fastest. It takes about three days from start to finish," explains the intricacies of production, leading engineer and technologist Elena Sycheva. "At our factory, the entire production process takes place in a closed flow, which allows us to preserve the taste of the ice cream and the vitamins in the composition. After all, we make ice cream exclusively from natural raw materials: pasteurized milk , butter , condensed milk. And we work with raw materials from domestic manufacturers who have proven themselves well in the market. We buy only what does not grow in the country: coffee beans, peanuts, raisins. By the way, we make the coffee extract ourselves, which is why it is very high-quality and natural. There are no flavors, no dyes - nothing extra."
When the mixture has gone through all the necessary stages and has reached the required condition, it is moved to the packaging department. Today, four production lines are operating here, two of them pour ice cream into waffle cones. As the specialist specified, the enterprise is constantly modernizing and monitors new products on the market. Accordingly, the equipment at the sites is modern. They are focused on producing only safe products. "Quality and safety - we have always followed this principle, and in the Year of Quality we are especially diligent in implementing it," Elena Sycheva emphasized. By the way, the enterprise is studying the possibilities of producing ice cream on goat's milk . Perhaps, in the future, they will also produce this innovative and healthy product.

"The enterprise is operating steadily, there is an increase in all key indicators. You are on the right track, thank you all for your work," Yuri Frolov summarized his tour of the production sites.
Facts on the table

The meeting continued in the assembly hall with a lively conversation in the format of an open dialogue, dedicated to information hygiene and the fight against disinformation. The Presidential Aide - Inspector for the city of Minsk immediately called on the plant workers not to be shy and boldly ask questions that concern them or their families.

"Our world has changed a lot over the past few decades. Many of you sitting in the hall were young in the 70s and 80s and remember how much more personal communication there was then. Today the situation has changed dramatically," Yuri Frolov emphasized. "After the advent of computers, the development of the global Internet and the introduction of IT into all spheres of life, the information impact on our minds has increased many times over. Today, we are directed at tens of times more information than before. And not all of this information is harmless."
The speaker turned to statistics. Belarus is among the world leaders in the development of the information space. According to the Global Innovation Index for 2023, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, Belarus ranked 22nd out of 132 countries in the "Access to Information and Communication Technologies" indicator. Almost 90% of the population of our country are active Internet users.

"On the one hand, this is very good, but at the same time, it is also very scary, because many have learned to manipulate other people's consciousness," Yuri Frolov noted. "I think there are those among you who often use social networks and notice how search engines, following a certain algorithm, allow you to receive information based on personal interests. This is one of the striking mechanisms of manipulation of consciousness, based on the absorption of information you expect, which will form your opinion and correct it later. However, the expected is not always complete and reliable, often such information is fragmentary and does not reflect the full picture of events."
The Presidential Aide - Inspector for the City of Minsk called on employees of the Minsk Cold Storage Plant to take a more critical approach to analyzing information received from the Internet, filter it and trust information from verified sources. For example, from state media. As Yuri Frolov added, the level of trust of Belarusians in state media has a positive growth dynamic and in 2023 amounted to 54.3%. For comparison: in 2022, the figure was 49.6%, and a year earlier - 38.4%.

There is something to be grateful for

The plant workers thanked the speaker for the informative speech and hastened to voice the problems that worry them. Deputy DIRECTOR for Ideological Work, Personnel and General Issues Elena Kontsevaya asked Yuri Frolov to facilitate the repair of a small section of the roadway in the Molodechno District. The fact is that this road is regularly used by employees of the Minsk Cold Storage Plant No. 2, taking their children to the nearby Lesnoy camp. The quality of the road surface on a 1.5-2 km section leaves much to be desired. Elena Kontsevaya fears that, if necessary, emergency services, such as an ambulance, may not be able to get to the camp.

"I will definitely find out the reason and how things are going. I think the issue can be resolved," answered the President's aide - Minsk city inspector.
The next sore point was shared by a young employee, deputy chief accountant Vladislav Demidenko. The guy noted that the housing issue is still relevant for the capital, and asked whether the government is currently considering the possibility of allocating additional benefits for housing construction.

"This is a difficult issue for Minsk. The government has a consistent approach to helping specialists in professions in demand on the market resolve the housing issue. We are talking about rental housing. The rent for it is much lower than the prices set on the housing market, especially in the capital," suggested Yuri Frolov. He also advised Minsk Cold Storage Plant No. 2 to think about the possibility of constructing departmental housing. The economic indicators of the enterprise allow this.

The topic was continued by the chairperson of the trade union committee, leading specialist of the HR department Anna Burak. The girl's question concerned rental housing. The employee clarified whether the state would provide the opportunity to buy out this type of housing, provided that the person has lived in it for 15 years or more.
"I can say that these issues are being discussed. There are proposals, but there is no decision yet. There must be economic feasibility for the state. But such an option is possible. I believe that after a certain period of living in rental housing, people should be given the opportunity to buy it out, since during this period people already partially reimburse the state for the cost of the apartment," Yuri Frolov noted and added: "You must understand that the budget in the republic is not elastic and it will not be possible to provide everyone with apartments at once. The emphasis will be on socially protected categories: large families, families raising disabled children, and others. Work is underway."

The meeting ended on an extremely positive note. The refrigeration plant's caretaker Lyudmila Dikevich, who has worked at the enterprise for 28 years, on behalf of all her colleagues asked the President's aide - Minsk city inspector Yuri Frolov to convey a big thank you to the HEAD of state for the peaceful skies over Belarus, for the opportunity to work and the willingness to help always and in everything.

"Thanks to the President, our blue-eyed Belarus is known throughout the world as a peace-loving country that has something to be proud of. Please convey our deep gratitude for this," Lyudmila Ivanovna addressed words of gratitude. She was supported by loud applause.

Photo by Maksim GUCHEK,
BELTA.