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THE UTILIZATION 01 IRUITS Ai^ID VEGETABLES ILT TEE'pJO GRA|iDE VALLEY.* 



^^■S. Department of >^^,;«,,y,, 



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J. L. Hold, Chemist 

 United States Department of Agriculture 

 Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering 

 Fruit and Vegetable Products Laboratory 

 We s la CO, Texas 



In our Laboratory v;e investigate the utilization of Texas fruit 

 and vegetable crops by canning, freezing, drying, fermentation, and re- 

 covery of constitiient products. Ife also s tuc.y methods for disposing of 

 wastes and residues v;hich result from processing. In developing and 

 demonstrating advantageous methods for using perishable crops, our ob- 

 ject is to provide grovrers with facilities for disposing of grades un- 

 suited for shipping, and for stabilizing marine ts by diversion of sur- 

 pluses, compensating for seasonal fluctuations in production and demajid, 

 although not correcting the over- or under-planting of a crop. 



CI THUS PRODUCTS MID C ITRUS V/ASTE DISPOSAL: 



About 500,000 tons of grapefnit are produced annuo.lly in South 

 Texas; and approximately one-third of this crop is diverted to citrus 

 prodTicts, chief Iv canned cand. barrelled juice for domestic and foreign 

 markets. The equivalent of 5,000,000 cases of twenty-four No. 2 size 

 cens of juice and sections is packed, principally from fruit whose 

 size, shape or external appearance renders it least desirable for 

 fresh fruit markets. At J':55.00 a ton, vr^ ' ch should be a minimuiu price 

 accepted by growers, 200,000 tons of fruit returns a gross of one 

 million dollars annually^ this being incidental to the protection 

 of fresh fruit markets afforded by diversion of blemished fi-uit. 



Most of the canned grapefruit juice is consumed during summer 

 months, v;hen fresh fruit from South Texas is not available. There- 

 fore, the juice pa.ck does not compete v;ith fresh fruit, but in effect 

 extends the grapefruit marketing period throughout the entire year. 

 Ue demonstrated in this section the methods developed in laboratories 

 of our Bureau for rc8,ming, screening, deaerating, flash pasteurizing 

 and rapid cooling, by means of which grapefruit juice may be canned 

 without excessive cooked flavor or darkening and without the develop- 

 ment of bitter or ranlc terpeny flavors during storage. The forty-five 

 canneries established during the Ip.st five years have sufficient 

 capacity to process the entire Texas grapefruit crop. 



As a result of the operation of citrus processing pla.nts in 

 Texas, it is necessary to dispose of about 120,000 tons of solid can- 

 nery residue, consisting of peel and pulp, in a.ddition to millions of 

 gallons of liquid v/astes, ranging from 1,000 to 80,000 parts per mil- 



