VEGETABLE AND FRUIT DEHYDRATION 123 



Table 12. — Estimated container requirements for dehydrated vegetables 1 



Vegetable 



Form 



Weight per 

 5-gallon 



Over- all 



shrinkage 



ratio 



5-gallon con- 

 tainers re- 

 quired per ton 

 of raw un- 

 trimmed 

 vegetables 



Beets 



Do 



Cabbage 



Carrots 



Onions 



Potatoes, white. 



Do 



Rutabagas 



Sweetpotatoes. -. 



Z A 6-inch slices. 

 %-inch cubes.. 



Shreds 



%-inch cubes.. 



Flakes 



36-inch cubes.. 



Strips 



J4-inch slices.. 

 do 



Pounds 

 10.0 

 17.0 

 7.0 

 17.5 

 12.0 

 16.0 



10. 0-15. 

 12.5 

 12.0 



13-16 to 1 

 13-16 to 1 

 13-22 to 1 

 14-16 to 1 

 12-15 to 1 

 5-8 to 1 

 5-8 to 1 

 6-10 to 1 

 4-6 to 1 



Number 



12-15 



7-9 

 13-22 



7-8 

 12-15 

 12-25 

 17-40 

 16-27 

 30-40 



1 No standard loadings per container have been established. Among the vegetables, sweetpotatoes re- 

 quire more containers per ten of raw material than are required by the other vegetables; however, a 50-ton 

 plant requires only 1,500 to 2,000 5-gallon cans or cartons per 24 hours, or 60 to 80 per hour. Because of this 

 low requirement, highly mechanized packaging lines have not been used with 5-gallon containers. 



laminated cellophane-to-glassine bags in which a degree of moisture- 

 vaporproofness results from the use of lacquers and a plastic laminat- 

 ing agent. These packages are less likely to be attacked by most tropi- 

 cal insects if no food particles are left on the outside of the package. 

 Food particles stimulate boring by the insects and perforation of the 

 lining of the package may result. 



For cut sulfured fruits with a moisture content of approximately 

 25 percent, strips of paper are used to line the boxes (type 9). For 

 pasteurized fruits, such as prunes, the largest standard package is the 

 vacuum 5-pound can (type 10) . 



Type 1. — The 5-gallon square can is approximately 9% inches in width and 

 13% inches in height, and weighs 2.4 pounds. The tin plate used in these cans 

 consists of 107 pounds of steel and 1.25 pounds of hot-dipped tin per base box. 

 (A base box consists of a bundle of 112 sheets 14 x 20 inches.) Provision is 

 made in current specifications for the use of electrolytic tin plate containing 0.5 

 pound of tin per base box for the entire can or for the side walls. The stud 

 hole is 67s inches in diameter. Where hermetic seals are required for gas 

 packing, lids may be soldered or the newer compound-coated lids may be used 

 in conjunction with double or single seamers. These must be of approved design. 



Type 2. — Thirty-pound frozen-egg or fruit cans were permitted by the United 

 States Army Quartermaster Corps for some vegetables until replacement foil 

 containers came into use. 



Type 3. — The 5-gallon round steel can with a clamping ring has been used as a 

 temporary package. Its relative cost and weight are high for single-trip packages. 



Type 4. — Some use has been made of No. 10 round, sanitary, hermetically sealed 

 cans with a tin-plate body (107 pounds of steel and 1.25 pounds of tin per base 

 box) and ends of black plate. Other combinations that reduce the tin require- 

 ment are also used. The side seam is soldered, while the end seams are closed 

 by compound and double seaming. 



Type 5. — The No. 2y 2 round can, hermetically sealed, contains the same types 

 of materials as type 4. 



Type 6. — This is a foil-protected package consisting of (1) 5-gallon inner 

 carton that is 13 x 6}£ x 14 inches in outside measurement with taped joints, 

 and consists of solid sulfite, kraft, manila, or corrugated kraft, (2) sealed lami- 

 nated envelope consisting of kraft, asphalt, lead foil, and heat-sealing cellophane, 

 which covers the inner carton, (3) a protective strip of chipboard, and (4) a 

 weatherproof solid-fiber outer carton. 



Type 7. — This is a smaller foil-protected package consisting of (1) various 

 permitted liners in contact with the food, (2) a laminated sheet containing lead 

 foil, made up as a heat-sealing bag outside of the liner, and (3) a chipboard 

 carton. An alternate package consists of an inner bag of amber glassine waxed 

 at the rate of 25 to 55 pounds per ream, a kraft-lined chipboard carton and a 



