RESEARCH WORK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 February 1943, Page 4

RESEARCH WORK

VEGETABLE DEHYDRATION

PRODUCTION ON COMMERCIAL SCALE. NEW ZEALAND’S ACCOMPLISHMENT. The Hon D. G. Sullivan, Minister in charge of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, today reviewed the research and developmental work in vegetable dehydration which has been initiated in New Zealand by his Department and now been successfully brought to the stage of full-scale commercial production for the Armed Forces.

The main advantages of dehydration lie in the great saving of weight, the saving of bulk and containers, and the ability to provide vegetables in the diet in localities where fresh vegetables cannot be grown. The magnitude of the saving of weight may be appreciated from the fact that the equivalent of approximately 18 tons of fresh cabbage, 10 tons of carrot or onion, and 6 tons of potatoes is contained in 1 ton of the dehydrated products. Research is proceeding in Great Britain, the United States of America, Canada, and Australia, as well as in New Zealand, and while commercial production is now being achieved in countries overseas it'must be emphasised that further improvements in several directions are still waiting to be effected. The New Zealand Department of Scientific Industrial Research has kept in close touch with overseas work and is posted with the latest developments in both research and commercial production. NEW ZEALAND EXPERIMENTS. Work in New Zealand was begun in April of last year in response to a request from the Fighting Services to investigate the possibility of producing dehydrated vegetables in the Dominion for their requirements. Preliminary investigations were carried out by officers of the Department of Scientific Industrial Research at its Plant Chemistry Laboratory at Palmerston North. The vegetables studied were potato, cabbage, carrot, parsnip, and onion. Successful methods for the processing of these types were worked out, and samples of the finished products were submitted to and approved by the three Services. COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION In view of the success of the initial experiments it was decided to commence full-scale commercial production. The Government, through the Food Controller, has arranged for the first commercial plant to be installed at Messrs Wattle Canneries, Ltd., Hastings, and for the output to be supplied to the Armed Forces. The erection of the plant is now in progress and operation will commence in, the coming season. The plant is the first of its kind to be established in New Zealand, and will be capable of processing several thousands tons of .fresh vegetables per annum. Since the plant has been developed expressly for vegetable dehydration it will be one of the most up-to-date units in Australasia. It has been designed for continuous operation 24 hours per day, and special attention has been paid to the hygienic handling of raw material and finished product, and to conservation of the valuable food constituents of the fresh vegetables. Retention of Vitamin C (the anti-scurvy vitamin) in such vegetables as potato and cabbage is a feature of the process, and, contrary to what' might be expected, it is actually possible by adoption of scientific control to produce dehydrated cabbage which when cooked will have a higher vitamin C content than cooked fresh cabbage. The dietetic value of the products will thus be beyond question, and in flavour and appearance they can scarcely, if at all, be distinguished from the fresh product. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT WORK. Comtnon to all countries engaged in vegetable dehydration are certain problems of production and packaging that need further study, e.g., the compression of the dried vegetables into a still more compact form, the development of a satisfactory continuous scalding apparatus, and the packing of the product in nitrogen instead of in air. As soon as the dehydrator is in operation, the Department of Scientific Industrial Research is proposing to carry out investigations on these probelms so that still further improvements can be put into practical effect as soon as possible. Another essential investigation being carried out by the Department is the growing of every obtainable variety of the different vegetables to ascertain which are suitable for dehydration and which are unsuitable. Considerable variation is being found to exist, and the results of this work will enable mistakes in planting to be avoided.