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Processing Plant |
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Needle Sorter
Nutmeat
Color Sorting
In_Shell
Color Processing
Hand Sorting
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Needle Sorter
This barrel is lined with thousands of sharp needles. The in-shell
pistachios are fed into the back of the turning barrel. As the nuts roll across the
needles, the needles hook into the split of the shell. Those pistachios that do not have a
split shell have nothing for the needle to hook into and therefore, roll on out the end of
the barrel. The pistachios that are caught on a needle ride to the top of the barrel,
where a brush cleans them off the needles and drops them into a chute which channels them
into the waiting container in front of the needle sorter. This is the way we separate the
split shells from those nuts that do not have split shells. |
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Nutmeat Color Sorting
This machine is a highly sophisticated color sorter. The nutmeat naturally has a
variety of colors but we still need to sort out those nutmeats with discolorations. This
sorter can be set to differentiate specific colors. |
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In-Shell Color Processing
The in-shell pistachio also goes through a
color sorting process. In America, the consumer likes "pretty" food. Even though
we don't eat the shell, we still want it to be unblemished. This sorter will
"see" stains on the shell and separate those nuts from the rest. Those
pistachios that are separated out because of a blemish on the shell, will go to the
Sheller to remove the shell, and be sold as a nutmeat. Those nuts that have been sorted
out because of the shell not being split (from the needle sorter) will also be shelled and
be sold as a nutmeat. |
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Hand
Sorting
Our market niche is a premium product. To insure that our pistachios are the best,
every nut goes past the eyes of the ladies working on the sorting table. They pick out
anything that isn't up to standard. Although 98% of the separation and sorting is done by
machine, there is nothing as good as looking at it with the human eye. These sorters are
looking for that 2% that the machines have missed. |
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