In Harvested fresh prunes are delivered by the grower to dehydrators where the fruit is mechanically spread on 3 by 6-foot wooden drying trays and stacked 26 trays high on small rail cars. These are rolled into 40-foot long concrete tunnels where the fruit is exposed to hot circulating air to dry. It takes about 18 hours at 185 F to remove about 80 percent of the moisture in prunes. Dried prunes are mechanically removed from trays and stored in 4-foot square bins which are transported to this processing plant. The fruit is treated with sulfur dioxide to preserve color and food value.
Fruit remains in the dry yards from one day to a week, depending upon the temperature.
After drying, the trays of fruit are stacked in the shade to complete the curing. Dried fruit is then removed from the trays into lug boxes or bins for storage and shipment to the plant. All fruit delivered to the Sunsweet plant has been dried. Dried fruit receiving season is from August through mid-November. Peak season processing occurs each year between September and December.