WATER USAGE AND WASTEWATER STUDY FOR A
SPECIALTY FOOD PROCESSING COMPANY
Frederick N. van Kirk, Consulting Engineer
Van Kirk Engineers
Los Altos, California 94022
A study was undertaken for a California food processing and distribution company
which packs a variety of specialty food items such as maraschino cherries, various types
of olives, capers, cocktail onions, mixed vegetables for salads and relishes, peppers, etc.
The purpose of the study was to determine the water usage associated with the processing
and packing of each product and to determine the pollutional load per product resulting
from these operations.
Products for packing are shipped to the company's plant in bulk containers. Most of
the vegetables are shipped in a salt brine, except for certain periods of the year when fresh
produce from California is shipped direct from the grower. Cherries are bleached elsewhere
and shipped in a sulfur dioxide solution. In general, the vegetable products are processed
and packed utilizing the following operations: leaching, washing, filling, brining, capping,
pasteurizing (only for certain products), labeling and packing. Cherries are handled in a
similar manner, except that the washing operation is eliminated. Substantial quantities of
water are used in some of these operations.
A review of pertinent literature was undertaken to determine if data were available on
similar processing operations. With the aid of a computer, an extensive search was made
of Water Resources Abstracts. In addition, the library at the Western Regional Research
Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, was searched. Also, the National Food Processors
Association Western Research Laboratory was contacted.
No data were found in the literature relating to water use or wastewater production
when processing specialty foods such as those described above. Instead, the literature considered the canning process as a whole. Twelve California companies which process similar
products were also contacted but none were able to relate any specific water usage figures.
This chapter describes the methods used to determine the water usage for each product
operation and the pollutional loads resulting from these operations. It presents the total
water required to leach and process each product and the total pounds of various pollutants in the process wastewater resulting from the processing and packing of each product.
The amount of product brine salt to be disposed of per thousand pounds of product is
also presented.
DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS OPERATIONS AND WATER USAGE
Process Operations
The items most frequently processed and packed include cherries, olives, onions, mixed
vegetables, peppers and, to a limited extent, capers. Occasionally, such items as pickles,
bean salad and cauliflower are also packed, but in much smaller quantities than the foregoing. For each product, there are several sizes of product (e.g., medium, large, jumbo, etc.),
which are packed in jars of various sizes ranging from 3.25 oz to 1 gal. Also, vinegar and
cooking wines are bottled in substantial quantities; however, the water usage and pollutional
loads associated with these products are not included in this chapter.
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