How Del Monte Processes Canned Fruits

How DEL MONTE^® Processes Canned Fruits

RAW PRODUCT

Fruits are picked, or shaken, from the trees as close to full ripeness as possible. Fruit that is "canning ripe" is more firm than fruit that is consumer fresh; yet the flavor development is near complete. Firm fruit is necessary so that the product will not disintegrate as it is handled and cooked. The notable exception is pears; they are picked green and ripened under controlled conditions.

RECEIVING

Fruit is received at the cannery in pallet-bin boxes. As the product enters the cannery, the fruit is washed to remove orchard debris and other foreign materials. Washing is accomplished by a combination of revolving screens, soaking tanks and/or high-pressure sprays.

PREPARATION

The fruit is next graded for size through shaker screens of progressively larger sizes or graduating belts or rollers. Pitting/coring is accomplished by machinery specifically designed for the variety. Cling peaches, for example, are pitted by a machine that first aligns the unit so the stem end is down and the suture is parallel to the direction of flow. A scissor-like clamp cuts through the peach and holds the pit. Mechanical fingers approach from each side and spin the halves in opposite directions. This tears the fruit flesh from the pit.

Peeling may be mechanical, as in the case of pears, or accomplished with lye, as is done with peaches. The fruit is then washed by high-pressure sprays to remove any remaining peel. It is conveyed in front of inspectors who remove defective units or foreign materials. The last preparation stage is cutting the fruit into the desired style such as dices or slices.

FILLING AND SEAMING

The empty cans and fruit lines converge at the fillers. The cans are inverted, cleaned, and conveyed to the filler. Cocktail fruit is generally filled by fillers that consists of many chambers arranged around the periphery of a horizontal rotating table. The volume of pockets is adjusted so that they will contain the specified fill weight of fruit. As the filled pocket rotates over the empty cans, the bottom of the pocket slides back allowing the fruit to fall into the can. Fruit halves and slices are filled with Solbern fillers. The cans are then filled with hot syrup at the same time a vacuum is removing any entrapped air. Lastly, the seamer seals the ends of the cans.

COOKING/COOLING

Fruits are acidic products that only require cooking at boiling temperatures (atmospheric pressure), generally in large rotary cookers, to sterilize the contents of the sealed can. Some fruits, such as Yellow Cling peaches, are cooked beyond the point of sterilization to achieve a softer texture. The cans are cooled under water sprays so that the hot cans do not continue to cook after they are labeled and cased.