UTILIZATION OF WASTE TOMATO SEEDS AND SKINS. 3 



uggests a method of separating the seeds from the skins by agitat- 

 ing the material with water and allowing it to settle, whereupon the 

 eeds fall to the bottom. The greater part of the water can then be 

 removed from the wet seeds by centrifugal machines, after which 

 the seeds are dried easily and the oil can be removed by extraction 

 or pressure. 



According to Consul Keena (8), Florence, Italy, the utilization 

 of tomato waste and the extraction of the oil from the seeds was 

 first attempted by a firm in Parma in 1910. The success of the 

 undertaking led to the establishment of two other factories the fol- 

 lowing year. About 5,000 metric tons (1 metric ton= 2,204 pounds) 

 of wet tomato Avaste, corresponding to 1,500 metric tons of dry waste, 

 were worked out for the extraction of the oil and manufacture of 

 the meal. These operations yielded 150 tons of oil, 800 tons of oil 

 cake, and 500 tons of tomato skins. 



Tomato-seed oil has been utilized in the manufacture of soap, and 

 the conversion of the crude oil into an edible oil is also receiving 

 attention. The press cake is used in the manufacture of stock feed, 

 while the skins are suggested as a fertilizer. 



The seeds are sold at Parma for 14 cents per 100 pounds, while at 

 Naples the wet residue is sold at 4 to 8 cents per 100 pounds. This 

 residue, which ferments readily, must be collected and dried daily. 

 When dry it sells at $1.75 to $2.20 per 100 pounds. 



More recently attention has been called by Shriver (14) to the vast 

 quantities of tomato seeds and skins accumulating as waste products 

 from the rapidly growing canned-tomato industry in Italy. The 

 problem of the proper disposition of this waste has been receiving at- 

 tention since 1908, at which time a manufacturing plant was estab- 

 lished in Milan, with branch drying plants at Parma, Ceriale, Cervia, 

 Piacenza, and Pilastro. 



The oil is sold in the crude state for $7 per 100 pounds, and the 

 refined oil for $8.75 per 100 pounds. The press cake is mixed with the 

 skins and other ingredients and sold as stock feed. 



The yield of oil from the seeds is stated by Shriver to be about 20 

 per cent by pressure and 22 per cent by solvents. In 1913, from 100 

 to 150 metric tons of oil and 1,000 metric tons of stock feed were 

 manufactured in Milan from the press cake and skins. 



Bailey and Burnett (3), working with American tomato seeds, ex- 

 tracted the oil by pressure and found that it could be refined and 

 bleached easily and was apparently a satisfactory food oil. 



ACCUMULATION AND DISPOSAL OF TOMATO WASTE. 



PERCENTAGES OF SEEDS AND SKINS. 



For the preparation of tomato pulp, the fresh tomatoes, after being 

 carefully sorted to remove the culls, are thoroughly washed by a 



