♪♪ Narrator: ALMOND CONSUMPTION
DATES BACK TO BIBLICAL TIMES. THEY'RE EVEN MENTIONED
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. AROUND 100 A.D., THE ANCIENT ROMANS SHOWERED
NEWLYWEDS WITH ALMONDS. THIS RITUAL CAME FROM THE BELIEF
THAT THEY INCREASED FERTILITY. BUT TODAY, IT'S THE NUTRITIONAL
VALUE OF ALMONDS THAT KEEPS US
COMING BACK FOR MORE. ♪♪ ALMONDS ARE A GUILT-FREE SNACK. THEY'RE FULL OF VITAMINS,
MINERALS, AND PROTEIN. MORE THAN 80% OF THE WORLD'S
ALMONDS COME FROM CALIFORNIA, WHERE GROWING CONDITIONS
ARE IDEAL. UPON ARRIVAL AT
A PROCESSING FACILITY, THE ALMONDS ARE STILL
ENCASED IN LEATHERY HULLS. THEY FLOW THROUGH EQUIPMENT
THAT COMBS OUT DEBRIS. THE NEXT MACHINE, CALLED
A DESTONER, TARGETS ANY ROCKS. AIR BLOWS THROUGH IT TO SEPARATE THE LIGHTER
ALMONDS FROM THE STONES. THE ALMONDS TRAVEL BETWEEN
A RUBBER ROLLER AND BELT. THIS SPINS OFF THE HULLS
AND RELEASES THE ALMONDS. THE OPERATOR PERIODICALLY
EXAMINES THE DE-HULLED ALMONDS. VIBRATING DECKS WITH SLOTS
SORT THE ALMONDS BY SIZE. THE SYSTEM ALSO SHAKES OFF
HULL MATERIAL AND VACUUMS IT UP. THE ALMONDS HEAD TO A GRAVITY
TABLE FOR FINER SEPARATION. THE SPENT HULLS AND OTHER
MATERIAL FLOAT TO ONE SIDE WHILE HEAVIER CONTAMINANTS
FLOAT TO THE OTHER. THE IN-SHELL ALMONDS
TUMBLE DOWN CHANNELS. CAMERAS EXAMINE THE SHELLS
FOR IMPERFECTIONS AND LOOK FOR CONTAMINANTS. THEN A BLAST OF COMPRESSED AIR
KNOCKS THEM OUT OF THE FLOW. THESE ARE SOME
OF THE CONTAMINANTS THAT HAVE BEEN REMOVED. AT ANOTHER FACILITY, MACHINERY
WILL NOW GRADE THE ALMONDS ACCORDING TO THE CONDITION
OF THEIR SHELLS. ONCE AGAIN, THE ALMONDS
FALL THROUGH THE OPEN AIR, AND A COMPUTERIZED CAMERA
SCANS THEM FOR BROKEN SHELLS AND OTHER FLAWS. ♪♪ A COMPRESSED AIR GUN
THEN KNOCKS THE FLAWED ALMONDS OUT OF THE MIX. THE ALMONDS BOUNCE
ALONG A VIBRATING GRID, AND ANY KERNELS OR MISSED
SHELL FRAGMENTS FALL THROUGH. FINALLY, PEOPLE SORT
THROUGH THE ALMONDS AND REJECT ANY THAT
DON'T HAVE PERFECT SHELLS. THEY ALSO TOSS OUT
ANY CONTAMINANTS THE MECHANIZED
SORTING SYSTEM MISSED. SOME BUYERS WILL PAY
A PREMIUM FOR THE BEST NUTS. ♪♪ THE ALMONDS WITH BROKEN SHELLS
WILL HAVE THE SHELLS REMOVED. ♪♪ THESE RAW ALMONDS
ARE ALSO SORTED BY SIZE. THEY FLOW ONTO
A VIBRATING CONVEYOR. FURTHER ALONG,
THE CONVEYOR HAS HOLES. THE SMALLER ALMONDS FALL THROUGH
THESE HOLES AND INTO BINS. THE LARGER ALMONDS
CONTINUE FORWARD. THESE LARGER KERNELS
ARE WORTH MORE AND WILL BE SOLD SEPARATELY
FROM THE SMALLER ONES. ♪♪ AS WITH THE IN-SHELL ALMONDS,
GOOD LOOKS ARE IMPORTANT. A CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHS
THE CASCADING ALMOND KERNELS, AND A COMPUTER SCANS THE IMAGES. THE SYSTEM KNOCKS
THE LESS-THAN-PERFECT ALMONDS OUT OF THE PRODUCTION STREAM. ♪♪ NEXT, THE ALMONDS
HEAD TOWARDS A ROBOT. ALONG THE WAY, ANOTHER CAMERA
SENDS THE IMAGES TO A COMPUTER SCANNER. THIS ONE HAS BEEN PROGRAMMED
TO FIND CHIPS, SCRATCHES, AND EVEN SMALL BROKEN BITS. THE COMPUTER SENDS
THE COORDINATES OF THE DAMAGED ALMONDS
TO THE ROBOT. THE ROBOT THEN FINDS THEM
AND PLUCKS THEM OUT OF THE MIX. A HUMAN INSPECTOR NOW
PICKS OUT ANY IMPERFECT ALMONDS THAT THE ROBOTIC SYSTEM MISSED. THEIR FLAWS
ARE JUST SUPERFICIAL. THEY STILL TASTE THE SAME, SO THESE ALMONDS WILL BE
PROCESSED INTO CHOCOLATE BARS, ALMOND BUTTER OR MILK,
BAKED GOODS AND CEREALS. THE PERFECT ALMOND KERNELS
TRAVEL FORWARD. ♪♪ JUST AHEAD, MACHINERY
MOVES CARDBOARD BOXES INTO AN OPEN POSITION
ON A PACKAGING CAROUSEL. SPRAYERS APPLY GLUE
TO THE BOTTOM FLAPS, AND PUSHERS CLOSE THEM,
SEALING THE BOXES. THE ALMONDS NOW ARRIVE
AT A SCALE. IT RELEASES THEM INTO THE BOXES IN APPROXIMATELY
50-POUND BATCHES. ♪♪ THESE BIG BOXES OF ALMONDS WILL
BE SHIPPED TO OTHER FACILITIES TO BE PROCESSED
INTO OTHER PRODUCTS. SMALLER AMOUNTS WILL BE PACKAGED
FOR CONSUMER USE. ♪♪ A SNACK ANYONE CAN CRACK
OR ENJOY PRE-CRACKED, ALMONDS ARE A NATURAL
AND NUTRITIOUS CHOICE. NO WONDER THEY'RE CONSUMED
BY THE HANDFUL. ♪♪
