VEGETABLE AND FRUIT DEHYDRATION 177 



cal figures — moisture content of the raw material and estimated peel- 

 ing and trimming losses, with perhaps allowances for inspection and 

 screening losses. Suppose that a mixture of No. 1 and No. 2 potatoes 

 is being used. The moisture content is found to be 78 percent, cor- 

 responding to a drying ratio of 4.3 to 1. The total loss from raw to 

 finished product is assumed to be 25 percent, giving an over-all shrink- 

 age of 5.7 to 1. Few people would assume a loss of 39 percent, which 

 would raise the ratio to the 7 to 1 value frequently found in actual 

 operation on raw material of this character. The difference may lie 

 in dirt and cullage losses and leaching losses during preparation or 

 failure to use representative material in determining the moisture 

 content. 



The cost of raw material includes the following items: Purchase 

 price, brokers' fees and other costs incidental to purchase, hauling 

 charges, costs of handling and storing prior to delivery to preparation 

 line, salaries and expenses of personnel engaged in raw material pur- 

 chase, and other expenses, including indirect and overhead costs. 



PREPARATION COST 



The preparation of a vegetable or fruit for drying is usually under- 

 stood to include all of the steps that take it from storage through the 

 last operation prior to loading on trays or belts, or into a kiln, for 

 drying. If the product is blanched or sulf ured on trays, tray loading 

 is a drying cost and blanching and sulfuring expense is still a prepara- 

 tion cost. The major steps for most fruits and vegetables are pre- 

 sented below. They may be in proper order for some but not for 

 others; certain of the steps will not be necessary in all cases, and 

 additional operations may be needed on some products: (1) Feeding 

 to preparation line, (2) sorting, (3) washing, (4) sizing, (5) peeling, 

 (6) trimming, (7) slicing, dicing, cutting, stripping, ricing, etc., (8) 

 washing, (9) blanching, sulfuring, or checking, and (10) disposing 

 of waste. 



Two factors in preparation largely determine the economy of op- 

 eration : The judicious use of labor and the yield of prepared product 

 from unprepared. Equipment costs are also important but are usually 

 small in the long run, compared to the cost of labor displaced. Total 

 labor may run as high as a third of all processing costs, and prepara- 

 tion labor is by far the largest single cost item or combination of 

 items in preparation alone. Capital and operating charges on prepa- 

 ration equipment amount to only a small fraction of preparation labor 

 in most vegetable- and fruit-dehydration plants. Studies on labor 

 efficiency and labor replacement offer a most promising means for 

 effecting reductions in operating costs. 



Increased output per employee may be achieved by proper training 

 and intelligent supervision. A piece-work or bonus system, coupled 

 with rigid supervision and inspection, usually results in lower labor 

 costs, especially in the trimming operation. A reduction in the num- 

 ber of workers can often be made by more uniform operation, the elim- 

 ination of process steps, or the installation of labor-saving equipment. 

 The importance of the last point is sometimes underestimated even in 

 large plants. 



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