Tomato paste is unloaded from bag-in-box packages by lifting and rotating the box so the bag slides out into a flat position on a conveyor bed. It is moved to the end of the conveyor where it is automatically cut open. The opening is cut the width of the bag to minimize product retention. A cantilever press roller, which is automatically positioned behind the bag, presses the paste out of the bag into a hopper. The bag is supported by the flat conveyor bed as it is emptied. Less than 0.1 percent of the tomato paste is left in the bag. A screw feeder supplies the paste to a Waukesha positive displacement pump for transfer to a continuous standardization system or other use points.