Water content in milligrams (mg) iscalculated electronically and displayedto the nearest 0.1 mg on the LEDreadout. Sensitivity is 2 ppm of waterin a 50 g sample, with accuracy of ± 1.2percent at 10 mg and ± 0.3 percentabove 50 mg. The Turbo Titrator can ac­commodate samples from two to 250mg. After one titration is completed, anAutoHold switch readies the instru­ment for the next test.

The new Turbo Titrator is designedto measure water content in coal andcrude oils, food stuffs, soaps, plastic,foams, fertilizers, and in other solids orliquids that do not readily mix.

Easy-to-Clean Panels

A new line of tough, durable Ex­celiner panels of fiber glass reinforcedplastic (FRP) is being produced byGraham Products Limited of Ingle­wood, Ont., primarily for wall and ceil­ing applications in the food industry.

With their easy-to-clean, chemical­and moisture-resistant properties, theExceliner panels are particularly suitablefor meat and fish processing plants,dairy operations, beverage plants, cargotanks on fishing trawlers, chick hatch­eries, frozen food plants, animal pensand confinement areas, slaughterhouses and refrigerated truck trailers.

Exceliner panels are accepted byAgriculture Canada and Health &Welfare Canada, as well as by the U.S.Department of Agriculture.

Produced on a continuous processmachine at the Inglewood plant, the48-inch-wide Exceliner panels are of­fered in standard 8-, 10- and 12-ftlengths, but are also available in lengthsup to 200 ft to meet special customer re­quirements.

The panels are made with a texturedfinish - incorporating a resin-rich sur­face and with integral color through thedepth of the panel, providing an abra­sion- and scratch-resistant unit whichis also shatter-resistant over a widerange of temperatures.

Easy to install with non-rusting nylonfasteners or adhesive on virtually anysubstrate, the panels are impervious to

xvi / Affaires de l'Institut

most mild acids and alkalies, to rust, rotand mildew. Their bright white finishreflects light to improve working con­ditions with reduced artificial lightingrequirements.

Among the food processors that havealready installed Exceliner FRP wall andceiling panels are Quinte Meats ofBelleville, Ont.; Monarch Fine FoodsCompany Limited, Toronto; Port Col­borne Poultry Ltd. of Port Colborne,Ont.; Tasty Chip Steaks Products Ltd.,Toronto; and the Stouffer Division ofNestle Canada Ltd.

Spray-on Films Cut Storage CostsA spray-on film may soon give small

apple growers the marketing benefits ofcontrolled atmosphere storage at a frac­tion of the cost. Perry Lidster, apostharvest expert at Agriculture Can­ada's Kentville Research Station inNova Scotia, and Dr. Ernie Hayes ofAcadia University are working on aspray-on film made from chitin, a non­toxic by-product of the fishing industry.The film, which is semi-permeable,restricts carbon dioxide release and oxy­gen penetration into the fruit, achiev­ing the same result as controlled at­mosphere storage.

Under normal storage conditions, thetraditional Canadian apple varieties(MacIntosh, Idared, Spartan andDelicious) are marketable untilDecember or January. With controlledatmosphere (C.A.) storage, apples canbe kept in good condition for up to ayear, allowing Canadian producers tocompete with the spring and summerimports from the southern hemisphere.

However, C.A. storage is expensive,requiring an air-tight building in whichthe oxygen can be burned off to providejust the right balance of oxygen andcarbon-dioxide for the particular applevariety involved. Dr. Lidster says C.A.storage costs about six dollars a bushelfor construction plus 75 cents a bushelfor operating costs.

Growers using the semi-permeablefilm would then only have to use theless expensive cold storage facilities.The coating is not intended to be ashelf-life extender. It would be wash­ed off before the apples are sold, butsince it is made from a non-toxic foodproduct, there is no health risk if it iseaten.

Citrus growers in the United Statesand elsewhere have had some successwith a plastic film, but plastic is un­suitable for apples where the skin of thefruit is generally eaten. There are anumber of films to meet each applevariety's unique characteristics, but

each of the films is different in theirstructural make-up.

The films are not yet on the marketalthough a number of fruit andvegetable companies across Canada areconducting semi-commercial trials. Dr.Lidster sees the films being of particularbenefit to small producers who may beable to market their produce pastDecember without going to the expenseof building C.A. storage. The films havea wide range of potential uses beyondthe apple industry and can be appliedto any product that responds to C.A.storage, such as cabbage, broccoli, cher­ries and pears.

New Film for Citrus Fruits

These wrapped lemons were unre­frigerated for one year. Only the dried­out lemon in the foreground was un­protected by a special high-densitypolyethylene film created by Israeliscientists.

Doctors Shimshon Ben Yehoshua andDavid Nahir of the Volcani AgriculturalReseach Organization developed themethod of seal-packaging individualfruits and vegetables which canpreserve produce far longer at roomtemperature than present methods can,even using optimal, artificially cooledstorage places.

The scientists concluded that longevi­ty of fruits and vegetables was strong­ly affected by the rate of moisture loss.Rejecting the technique of waxing inwhich cracks can form, they then dis­covered the benefits of high densitypolyethylene which are that it preservesfreshness, prevents rot from spreadingfrom one fruit to another, and createsa limited micro-atmosphere for eachwrapped fruit which scientists can useto artificially speed up or slow down theripening process with the injection ofchemicals inside the wrapping.

Following the wrapping's success inIsrael, it is now being used in manycountries such as Japan, Morocco,Spain, Italy, the United States and ThePeople's Republic of China.

J. Inst. Can. Sci. Technol. Aliment. Vol. 17, No. 2, 1984