172 MISC. PUBLICATION 5 4 0, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



Summary of Quality Testing 



Methods of reconstitution must restore and preserve to a maximum 

 the appearance, edibility, and nutritive value of the product. Since 

 dehydrated vegetables are blanched before drying, the restored ma- 

 terial will have the characteristics of a partially cooked vegetable. 



Color, taste, flavor, and odor are highly concentrated during de- 

 hydration, but because of losses during blanching and drying, optimum 

 quality in the rehydrated material is usually obtained before all the 

 water has been replaced in the material. 



Because of variations in raw material and techniques of blanching, 

 drying, and storage, it is recommended that each plant provide staff 

 and facilities for daily rehydration and quality tests on the samples 

 being produced. 



PROCESSING COSTS 



The subject of operating costs is discussed below in two sections : 

 (1) Labor requirements and (2) segregation and analysis of process- 

 ing costs. The general problems of labor distribution and labor re- 

 quirements are discussed first and certain aspects of labor which are 

 closely connected to segregation and analysis of costs are considered 

 further under the latter heading. 



Labor Requirements 



The number of employees in a dehydration plant is by no means 

 fixed, and, because a large number of factors affect labor use, prelim- 

 inary estimates of labor requirements are usually rough approxima- 

 tions. Labor requirement is affected by type of process, degree of 

 mechanization, efficacy of equipment, effectiveness of plant lay-out, 

 proper balance between operating steps, condition, variety, and grade 

 of raw material, specifications for finished product, labor laws and 

 customs, working conditions, ability and training of employees, safety 

 measures, method of pay, morale, and operators' individual prefer- 

 ences and policies. 



Not all of these factors can be evaluated in advance. Observations 

 made in canneries and dehydration plants and the opinions of ex- 

 perienced plant operators are the best source of information on this 

 subject. The discussion presented here has been developed largely 

 from such sources. 



Table 18 shows the approximate labor distribution in dehydration 

 plants of moderate size, handling about 50 tons per day (unprepared 

 basis) of 7 vegetables important in the dehydration program. The 

 trimming, sorting, and inspection labor varies almost in direct pro- 

 portion to the size of the plant. Thus a 100-ton plant drying potatoes 

 can be expected to require from 60 to 100 women on the trimming belt ; 

 a 10-ton plant, 6 to 10. This direct relationship does not hold true 

 for the other operations. As size of plant increases, the labor re- 

 quirement per unit of output for these other operations decreases. 

 Because of the need for at least one or more employees for each of 

 many operations, regardless of the throughput at those points, the 

 smaller plants are at a disadvantage as compared to the larger ones, 

 which can make more efficient use of labor. Except for sorting, trim- 

 ming, and blanching, the labor requirements are substantially the 

 same for these 7 vegetables. 



