| |
The dried grapes are moved from the storage bins to
the processing plant. Here they are emptied out onto a conveyor line and mechanically
modified. The residual sand and other debris are first removed by running the
raisins on a fine mesh screen while air is blown on them. Immature fruit is removed
by suction devices. Next, the raisins are separated from the bunch stem by shaking.
The cap stems on each raisin are removed by being passed through two rotating
conical surfaces. If there are seeds in the raisins, they are mechanically removed.
When all these processing steps are completed, the raisins are run through a series
of mesh screens to sort them according to size. At
this point the raisins can be put into a variety of packaging. These range in
size from small half ounce cardboard containers for individual consumption to
1,100 lb (499.4 kg) containers for industrial use. Each package is run through
metal detectors, in order to detect any unwanted metal particles, and then checked
for the appropriate weight. They are packed onto trucks and shipped to customers.
The whole process of receiving the raisins at the factory, processing them and
putting them into packaging takes about 10 minutes. | |