The Washington herald., 1920-12-20
View s Of
Visitors, in
Capital
Interviews with Guests
From ALI Parts of
The United States.

Dehydration of vegetables and
/ fruits In the interests of conserva.
tion of our food supply should have
the continued support of the De.
| partment OF Agriculture. according
to Aubrey J. Parody, OF New York
City. who Is registered at the New
Ebbitt.
/ Parody is here In the interest,
! of the industry. and will appeal
before the House Appropriation
Committee to urge an additional
appropriation to continue the work
already begun by the division OF
dehydration OF the Bureau of Chem
istry of the U. s. Department OF
Agriculture.
This division was established BY
Congress to assist in the study, de-
velopment and Standardization OF
this new branch of the industry.
Little short of magical Is tn,
process outlined by Parody. by
which the moisture Is removed from
fresh fruits and vegetables to in.
sure their preservation against
spoliation and decay. The product
is light. easily packed and easily
transported foodstuff which may be
kept Indefinitely.
PRESERVES FRUITS
AND VEGETABLES.
The layman perhaps does not
realize the great scope of this new
industry. which received such i'm.
petus from the needs of the worlc
war" Parody said. The process Ia
not complicated. The basic principle
| Of dehydration is the reduction oi
| moisture in fresh fruits and vegeta'
bles to the point where bacteria
yeasts and mold, the chief agents OF
| spoliage. are unable to multiply and
destroy. Nothing is added to tho
! fresh stock in this process. neither
| chemicals. preservatives nor foreign
| substances of any kind.
"ln the process of drying" Parody
explained, "the weight of fresh vege-
tables is reduced from so to 30 pei
cent. The bulk Is diminished from
one-sixth to one-fourth of the orig
inal volume. The fresh flavor and
nutritive value are not only re-
| tained, but are concentrated in di-
rect ratio to the amount of water
| eliminated from the fresh material
I'm the interest of economy and
conservation, an industry which Of
fers such ready relief should have
the consideration OF Congress.
"Sun-drying and artificial dryine
of vegetables and food products had
been practiced in the United States
for many years prior to the World
War. The war with its great de-
mand for extra production and con-
servation of food stuffs, gave a
great impetus to the whole drying
industry, and especially to the COM
mercial drying OF vegetables.
Congress Aided New Industry.
ITO assist in the study. develop
ment, and Standardization of this
newly established branch of the dry
ing industry, Congress appropriated
SI50,00O for the use of the Division
of Dehydration in the Bureau of
Chemistry.
The systems employed by the
various manufacturers of the de-
hydrated products throughout the
country were examined and set of
standards drawn up to insure proper
sanitary conditions at the factories,
the use of suitable raw materials of
proper quality and the amount of
moisture in the finished product was
determined upon to guarantee
against spoilage. Many manufac-
turers of dehydrated products
throughout the country suffered
severe losses through insect infes-
tation. In nearly all cases il was
found to be the India meal moth.
THE Division of Dehydration, in
cooperation with the Bureau of En-
tomology, made careful investiga-
ton with the result that it was
possible to advise manufacturers
how to avoid their losses by the
practical elimination of the insect
pests"
An increase in the appropriation
for the maintenance of the division
will be asked for. The Secretary
of Agriculture has asked for $780,
900 and Mr.. Parody declared that he
thought this would be granted.
If the dehydration industry in
this country is developed to its full
lest possibilities" Parody said, 1--WE
shall have taken a definite step for
ward in the interests of food con-
servation. The excess production
of the seasons great yield can
be stored and made available when
the crops are smaller and prices
high. 1t will also mean a greater
diversity of crops and as a result
there will always be a good variety
for the table. 1t will ultimately
mean the stabilization of crops and
the conservation of materials"
F. w. c..