Hulling and Dehydration is a critical element of Food Safety. It requires a modern facility that is designed to address specific requirements. Several factors have to be considered:
- Keeping all hulling and dehydration components free of debris from the harvesting process.
- An accurate nut grading technique calibrated to maximize quality and minimize off grade.
- Dehydrators and supporting systems that bring the walnuts to a specific moisture percentage acceptable to buyers.
- Maintaining set point moisture uniformity across all loads. This can be a daunting challenge for any operation. Our ongoing success in this area sets us apart in the industry.
- Shipping logistics, including releasing care custody and control of your product to the buyer in a timely manner.
We continuously update our equipment, technology, and operational practices to meet the highest standards at all points throughout the process. This includes:
- Additional trucks for the yards
- Increasing drying space (now at 480 tons) to a transfer system allowing us to have real-time usage of part of our drying bins in a separated building.
In our experience the best approach to quality is to be in front of USDA rules and regulations, rather than merely trying to keep up with them. We are part of a consortium, working closely with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, entrusted with the task of defining and implementing an industry-standard for Best Operating Practices for Dehydrators. We take this trust very seriously to the benefit of our clients. A major focus here is our ongoing applied research regarding sanitation systems that lower the possibility of transference of bacteria within our facility.
