4 BULLETIN 632,, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



stream of water under pressure, then passed into receptacles where 

 they are cooked with steam, and afterward are transferred to a 

 cyclone machine, which removes the pulp. The seeds and skins pass 

 out and are discarded. By the cold process the washed tomatoes 

 pass directly to the cyclone machine. 



The total quantity of tomato waste which accumulates annually 

 in the United States depends not only upon the pack of any particu- 

 lar season but also upon the percentage of seeds contained in the 

 fresh tomatoes. The seed content varies with the variety of tomato. 

 Estimated from the figures given by Accomazzo (1), Italian-grown 

 tomatoes contain 14.7 per cent of wet waste, of which about 80 per 

 cent is water. After removing the greater portion of the water, 

 the waste amounts to 4.8 per cent. Of this waste, which probably 

 still contains some moisture, 73 per cent is seeds. The dry waste as 

 it occurs in Italy is stated to contain about 66 per cent by weight of 

 seeds (15). These percentages are considerably higher than the 

 results obtained from American-grown tomatoes. 



Two experiments in different localities were made with American- 

 grown tomatoes which had been used for pulping purposes, to de- 

 termine the percentage of seeds and skins. The quantity of fresh 

 tomatoes used in the two experiments was 2,320 pounds and 5,344 

 pounds, respectively. The results were as follows: Wet waste, 5.43 

 and 5.44 per cent; dry waste, 1.11 and 0.95 per cent. The dry waste 

 in these experiments contained 46.3 and 42.8 per cent seeds and 53.7 

 and 57.2 per cent skins, respectively. 



According to Street (16, p. 128-129), fresh tomatoes contain 1.35 

 per cent dry waste, consisting of 49.3 per cent seeds and 50.7 per 

 cent skins. Using these figures as a basis for calculation, American- 

 grown tomatoes contain on the average about 1.13 per cent dry waste, 

 of which 46.1 per cent is seeds and 53.9 per cent skins. Fresh toma- 

 toes therefore contain the equivalent of 0.52 per cent dry seeds and 

 0.61 per cent dry skins. 



In order to learn the approximate annual output of tomato refuse 

 in the United States, the writer personally visited 21 of the largest 

 tomato-pulping firms. These manufacturing concerns operate largely 

 in Indiana. Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio in the Middle West, and New 

 Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, and Maryland in the 

 East. Detailed figures regarding the output of refuse were not 

 available in each State. The extent of the industry, however, may 

 be realized when it is learned that in Indiana alone 120,000 tons of 

 tomatoes are pulped annually. Applying the percentages previously 

 mentioned, the amount of dry waste in this one State would be about 

 1.356 tons, or 624 tons of seeds and 732 tons of skins. 



Not all the firms engaged in pulping tomatoes could be reached; 

 therefore accurate information in regard to the total quantity used 



