Milford chronicle., 1923-10-26
new MACHINE FOR
Use in CANNERIES
CONTINUED from first pagel

NSOAIAAuga LAOAn 1ISb Rd6Gy
output, some method had to be de-
vised for placing the tomatoes on the
steel conveyor belt by machinery.
Here Mr.. DUPONT brought into play
his observation that a tomato always
floats stem up.
New Islands Or Method
AS the mechanism is now arranged,
the tomatoes are dumped at the rate
of seven baskets a minute, into a steel
receiving tank, full of water, into
which water is constantly flowing and
into which tank the steel conveyor
belt is run. In this tank the tomatoes
are not only thoroughly washed, but
by means of propellors are driven to-
ward the opposite end Of the tank,
from the point where they enter, and
are picked up, each tomato with its
stem up by the conVeyor belt and car
ried in the form of solid blanket into
the scalding oven.
There they are subjected to fine jets
of high pressure steam, and they
emerge from the other end Of the oven
thoroughly scalded. At this point they
are treated to spray Of cold water,
which causes the skins to break. Then
they pass over the cutting knives and
then to the pressing rolls, which press
the tomatoes out of the skins. The
skins and cores are left upon the steel
conveyor belt and are then brushed off
into a conveyor and taken to the by
products department, where they are
converted into pulp, catsup, etc. IN
der the handpeeling method, the skins
and cores are lost.
The tomato passes to the inspection
table and is subjected, with the aid Of
a strong electric light, to the careful
scrutiny of well-trained women in
spectors, who pick out the defective
pieces, their hands being covered with
rubber gloves.
From the inspection table, the toma-
to passes to the hoppers of the Filing
machine, then on to the closing ma
chine, which deliver the closed and
fully processed can into its ultimate
wooden cOntainer.
Thus, in one continuous process,
from the basket to the can, the Hands
OFF, brand is prepared for the public.
Mr.. DUPONT organized the Clean
Food Packing Machine Company, with
offices in the Delaware Trust Build
ing, Wilmington, to test out the ma
chine and market it.
LabOr-SaVing Demonstrated
Owing to the very short tomato sea-
son, about six weeks, wherein it was
possible to subject the machine to &C
tual operative conditions, it has taken
nearly three years to produce COM
mercially perfect machine. During the
canning season just closed, one of
these machines, with only six opera
tors, packed approximately $4,000
cases of tomatoes in the Delaware
Packing Company's plant at Laurel
By the use of the machine an aver
age Of from three to four more cans
to the bushel of tomatoes are packed |
than when hand-peeled. The saving |
in labor costs in plant which would
require 100 hand-peelers, is approx
mately $3.50 a day for ten working
hours.
The Clean Food Packing Machine
Company is preparing to put out the
machine on a royalty basis. Mr.. du-
Pont is planning, with the assistance
of the Clean Food Packing Machine
Company and a number of canning in
terests, to organize a cooperative as
sociation to finance and market the
output of canneries which install the
machine. Under present conditions,
small Gamers must often sacrifice
their pack at losing figures. 1t would
be the idea Of the cooperative COM
pany to sell the output for the can
ners so that they could get the best
possible prices.
The Clean Food Packing Company
has secured patents in the United
States, Canada and Italy, the three
most important tomato-growing coun-
tries in the world.