The Processing Plant

The peaches are brought in from the orchards in 850-1000 pound net weight bins. Each load is randomly graded for size, color, insect strikes, evidence of pit fragmentation and foreign content. The growers are paid according to this grade report. In addition, random samples of the fresh fruit are taken to the on premise State Certified Pesticide lab for analysis, where very elaborate testing equipment is used to determine what, if any, pesticides are present in or on the fruit. The concentration of these pesticides is analytically determined. This testing is done to assure our customers and ourselves, that no illegal pesticide is present or if a chemical agent is detected that the concentration is at or below state and federal mandated levels. These tests often are detecting concentration levels down to one or 2 parts per billion. From there, the fruit is placed into refrigerated storage at 35-40 degrees F. to remove the heat from the fields and slow down the maturation process. It can be held here from 24 hours to over a week as needed before being staged for processing.

The first processing steps include washing, sorting, pitting, cleaning and halving

The freestone peaches are either run directly out of the cold storage or may be brought out to warm up 12-24 hours in advance of processing, depending on the fruit's maturity. The processing begins with the dumping of the bins of fruit into wash tanks where the dirt and leaves are washed off. Initial hand sorting of the peaches is done at this stage. Over-ripe fruit is sorted and directed towards processing into purees and juices. Immature or green fruit is sorted out and set back into the staging areas for one to two days to fully ripen and then is either re-dumped into the main process line or is sent to the puree/juice production area.

Daryl Wood examining peaches in an orchard where the trees are planted in a trellis system, like grapes.

From here the peaches travel through an enclosed conveyor area where they are exposed to a heated solution of Potassium Hydroxide. This serves to scald the skin and loosen it. Once loosened the peaches go through scrubbers which gently rub and wash away the loosened skin. The whole peeled fruit is then mechanically sized and directed to a bank of 11-13 peaches pitters, depending on which plant the fruit is processed in. At this point, the peaches are cut into halves and the pit is knocked loose from the center flesh of the freestone peach.

The halves are separated from the loose pits over a shaker that has holes in it of sufficient size to allow the pits to fall through, but the halves must pass over the holes. The halves are orientated by this shaker onto a moving conveyer with the pit cavity facing up. Now, visual and touch inspection is done on each halve to search for whole or fragmented pits that may remain in the pit cavity. These are removed in a very labor-intensive portion of the process to try and eliminate them. The fruit travels over another shaker and wash section to help remove more fragments that may still be on the halves. This shaker also services to orientated the fruit into a 'cup-down' fashion. Now the pit cavity is laying on the moving conveyor and the outer peeled surface of the peach is available for visual inspection, trimming and sorting. The fruit is sorted for character and color at this point, any visible remaining peel or surface bruise is trimmed off and the peach halves then go on to be cut into various styles of cut.

Peaches being sliced in half.

The halves can be sliced, diced, cut into a strip or left as a halve dependingon customer orders and needs. Once cut, the fruit goes through another inspection where the inspector is looking for bad cuts, pieces, peel, defects, pit fragments, poor color, fruit that is too firm or too soft for the particular type and style of pack we are running at the time. The sliced peaches can be mechanically sized at this point by the thickness of the heel of the slice and kept separate according to this size. The fruit can now be packed into a number of sizes and styles of containers with specific fruit to sugar ratios, using dry sugar, liquid sugar or even water. Container sizes can be from 4 ounces to 430 pound drums, once again depending on customer needs. The fruit that is solid packed at this point is then palletized and transported to blast freezers to be frozen. This could take 24 to 48 hours. Once frozen the peaches are then transferred to sub-zero storage warehouses.