The chile was unloaded quickly, placed on conveyor belts where they are washed, cleared of culls, and then ground up in large hammer mills. The mash is placed in 21,000 gallon fiberglass tanks were it is held until loaded in tanker trucks that deliver the mash to customers, or it is piped to a rail siding where the mash is loaded into large rail tank cars. A significant amount of product is also loaded in tamper-proof barrels for shipment, through the Port of Houston, Texas, to international destinations such as Saudi Arabia. The Middle East is a big market for the mash because many countries citizens have fallen in love with hot sauce. Legend holds that oil rig workers from Louisiana introduced cayenne hot sauce into the region, where it has spread well, like wildfire.
Salt is mixed into the chiles.
Shown is a fork lift placing a sack of salt in the salt injector. The mash is then placed in a unit that is used to fill vats where the mash is held until it is shipped. After an ongoing expansion project, there will be one hundred 21,000 gallon holding tanks from which the mash will be shipped throughout the year. The blue barrels in the background are tamperproof when sealed and are used to ship the mash to both international and domestic processors. Tank trucks and railroad tank cars are also used to move the mash to destinations.