cat lover
07-30-2006, 08:15 AM
After harvesting from the vines, raisins are sun-dried then loaded into bins for preparation. Before they are unloaded from their bins, government inspectors take long prods to gather samples from the middle of each box. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards must be met to ensure that each box is free of imperfections. Next, raisins are processed, which means they go through a series of conveyor belts and drums to remove remaining stems, chaff or lightweight fruit. The raisins also are sent through a vacuum air stream to catch any other indesirable materials. Finally, they're size-graded and thoroughly washed in pure water.
In preparation for packaging, the raisins are moved through a laser sorter. The sorter's light beams, along with a computer, see if anything besides raisins is passing through the stream. If material other than a raisin is present, the computer sends a burst of air to knock it out of the stream of raisins and down a trough.
Raisins are inspected under the most rigid standards. Quality control technicians inspect the raisins by hand thoughout the packaging process, thus assuring that raisins are the cleanest, highest quality in the world.
After final inspections, raisins are automatically weighed and packed in a variety of convenient sizes. Raisins are then shipped around North America and the world for consumers to enjoy.
Part of the crop is used to make raisin juice (a minimum of 70 percent natural fruit soluble solids) and raisins paste (made from 100 percent raisins), which are added to a variety of foods, including dairy, confectionary and bakery items.
Source: California Raisin Marketing Board
In preparation for packaging, the raisins are moved through a laser sorter. The sorter's light beams, along with a computer, see if anything besides raisins is passing through the stream. If material other than a raisin is present, the computer sends a burst of air to knock it out of the stream of raisins and down a trough.
Raisins are inspected under the most rigid standards. Quality control technicians inspect the raisins by hand thoughout the packaging process, thus assuring that raisins are the cleanest, highest quality in the world.
After final inspections, raisins are automatically weighed and packed in a variety of convenient sizes. Raisins are then shipped around North America and the world for consumers to enjoy.
Part of the crop is used to make raisin juice (a minimum of 70 percent natural fruit soluble solids) and raisins paste (made from 100 percent raisins), which are added to a variety of foods, including dairy, confectionary and bakery items.
Source: California Raisin Marketing Board