MANUFACTURING
Receiving
Shucked oysters are delivered to canneries under
refrigeration or iced. Incoming quality evaluations
are performed, which include monitoring the
temperature and condition of the oysters and
performing sensory evaluations. Lots found unacceptable
are rejected.
Cleaning/Sorting
Oysters are thoroughly washed with potable water
and sorted by size. Broken or tiny oysters are
removed to be packed as pieces. Additional quality
and sensory evaluations are performed at this
stage.
Cooking
Oysters are given an initial cooking under controlled
conditions prior to being smoked and/or canned.
Smoking
Oysters to be packed and labeled as smoked are
put through the smoking process under controlled
time and temperature conditions.
Can Filling
Cans are filled with a permanent production
code that identifies plant, product, date packed
and other pertinent information. The integrity
of the hermetic seal is evaluated at frequent
intervals during processing to ensure product
safety.
Thermal Processing
Sealed cans are retorted (cooked) under
pressure utilizing process time and temperature
schedules designed by processing experts to
render the product commercially sterile. All
aspects of thermal processing are strictly monitored
and controlled.
Finished Product Evaluation
Samples of each finished production code receive
qualitative (e.g. color, odor, flavor, texture
and cleaning) and quantitative evaluations prior
to being released for labeling.
Labeling & Casing
Product lots meeting finished product evaluation
criteria are labeled and cased. Cased products
are appropriately marked with information necessary
to facilitate product tracing.
Warehousing & Shipping
Cased products are shipped or are staged in
warehouses for later shipment.
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