sprayed on the onion pieces while on a separate conveyor located before the abovedescribed loader mechanism the onion pieces could even be dipped into the basic solution or flooded with a stream of basic solution the method of application of the base is not critical to the present invention as long as the onion pieces are contacted with the base after cutting the specific base utilized or its physical form are not critical in the present invention for conveniece of application a solution of base is recommended however liquid or gaseous bases can be utilized the base can be an organic or an inorganic base the term 34 base 34 as used herein is understood to include lewis bases and other materials which tend to increase the ph of the surface of an onion when in contact therewith and mixtures thereof relatively dilute solutions containing about 1 to about 10 base are preferred for their ease of application however any effective concentration can be used the dilution of the solution appears to be limited only by the practicality that excessive water on the onions must be subsequently dried according to the chemical rubber company handbook of food additives 1968 the following basic materials are generally recognized as safe for use as miscellaneous and or general purpose food additives under fda section 121 101 ammonium bicarbonate ammonium carbonate ammonium hydroxide ammonium phosphate mono or dibasic calcium carbonate calcium hydroxide calcium oxide calcium phosphate mono di and tribasic calcium pyrophosphate magnesium carbonate magnesium hydroxide magnesium oxide potassium carbonate potassium bicarbonate potassium hydroxide sodium bicarbonate sodium carbonate sodium dihydrogen phosphate sodium hydroxide sodium metaphosphate sodium phosphate mono di and tribasic sodium.