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The
baby clams are delivered to the cannery either precooked fresh or frozen,
or shell stock. The shell stock is washed with the temperature, time,
and quality of the water being monitored.
After
the shell stock has been washed it goes through a precooking process.
Then the shell stock goes through the shucking process. The precooked
fresh and frozen baby clams are put into cold storage until needed for
canning.
When
the canning process begins the baby clams are thawed and washed. Any
shell fragments that are detected are removed. The baby clams then under
go the smoking process. After being smoked, they are manually culled,
sorted, and graded. The time schedule is very strict to keep bacteria
from growing. Empty cans and lids are received and inspected for contamination
and defects.
The
cans are filled with the smoked baby clams manually and weighted. Then
cottonseed oil is added to the cans. The cans are then sealed hermetically
to prevent recontamination through poorly made seams. Each can will
go through the thermal process. A cooking process done under pressure
to commercially sterilize the product. After the thermal process the
cans are cooled in sanitized water. The cans are then dried and ready
to be labeled and cased. The finished product is either shipped or stored
at the warehouse for a later shipping date.
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