Inspection ng Conditioning Stabilising (2)Varieties Oregon-type Red Plums (3)Product Handling The plums are fed from a bulk feeder to the washing plant, which usually a reel washer with a powerful water spray. If the fruit carries an exceptional amount of soil and extraneous matter a second flood wash may The plums then pass over an inspection belt on which defective fruit and any remaining stalk or leaf are removed They are then loaded on to drying trays for drying in a stove dryer or a twoor three pass tunnel dryer. As the drying cycles 24-36hr-occasionall up to 48hr for large fruit- this is the only type of dryer suitable Drying tends to be uneven hence it is necessary to transfer the prunes on to tables for conditioning and here to remove any wet fruit for secondary drying The prunes are then transferred into boxes to be held for what is described as proces The second flow-sheet describes this supplementary handling The prunes are passed through a dry reel tobreak down any'clumpi They are then graded into sizes dictated by the count per kg weight largest fruit may be 55 per kg and the smallest 330 per kg. The local type of plum will dictate, by its average size, how many grades will be required to produce an acceptable presentation. To limit the number of grades, some blending of near equal sizes is done from the holding boxes of primary graded plums Moisture is then stabilised by some rehydration in steam to arrive at 20-22 percent moisture, then dewatering Where permitted by food laws aI I Inspection Holding I I Drying Blending I I Conditioning Stabilising I Dewatering I Sorting I Packing (2)Varieties Oregon-type Red Plums (3) Product Handling The plums are fed from a bulk feeder to the washing plant, which is usually a reel washer with a powerful water spray. If the fruit carries an exceptional amount of soil and extraneous matter a second flood wash may be necessary. The plums then pass over an inspection belt on which defective fruit and any remaining stalk or leaf are removed. They are then loaded on to drying trays for drying in a stove dryer or a twoor three pass tunnel dryer. As thcdrying cycle is 24- 36hr- occasionally up to 48hr for large fruit - this is the only type of dryer suitable. Drying tends to be uneven hence it is necessary to transfer the prunes on to tables for conditioning and here to remove any wet fruit for secondary drying. The prunes are then transferred into boxes to be held for what is described as 'processing'(B). The second flow-sheet describes this supplementary handling. Theprunesare passed througha dry reel tobreakdownany 'clumping'. They are then graded into sizes dictated by the count per kg weight. The largest fruit may be 55 per kg and the smallest 330 per kg. The local type of plum will dictate, by its average size, how many grades will be required to produce an acceptable presentation. To limit the number of grades, some blending of near equal sizes is done from the holding boxes of primary graded plums. Moisture is then stabiliscd by some rehydration in steam to arrive at 20-22 percent moisture, then dewatering. Where permitted by food laws a I87