is usually loaded with an assortment of merchandise, and the order is 

 put up at the store. The small retail store that does not have adequate 

 frozen food cabinet or storage space expects to receive service based on 

 immediate needs. 



The relative volume of frozen foods sold at large and at small 

 food markets indicates that more sales are being made on receipt of an 

 order in advance than are made at the store by the truck salesman. The 

 trend, therefore, is toward large orders rather than toward small ones. 



Exposure of the food to temperatures higher than that of the 

 cold storage rocm should be as short as possible during the transfer of 

 frozen foods from storage to the order-assembly room. Frozen foods that 

 are held over from one day to the next in the order -assembly room should 

 not be stacked against walls, ceiling, or directly on floors, as the 

 product may absorb heat. Inventories in the assembly room shoiild be 

 limited to one week's supply, and there should be a complete turnover 

 of the products in the room every week. Order-assembly rooms should be 

 maintained at 0° F. and should be defrosted regularly to prevent loss 

 of refrigeration efficiency. 



Figure VI - 1 shows a possible layout for a frozen food whole- 

 sale plant with an extra order-assembly room in the basement for the 

 assembly of mixed cases only. As each customer's order comes to the 

 assembly room, the items requested are listed on an order sheet. Items 

 that require less than a full case are repacked with other items to make 

 full cases. Containers axe then marked with the customer's number that 

 corresponds to his nxiraber on the order sheet. Each order, when assembled, 

 is stacked carefully into tiers that will not fall and are marked clearly 

 with a lot number to avoid loss of time and vmnecessaxy opening of the 

 truck doors when the order is loaded into the truck. Orders should not 

 be placed on the loading platform until the truck is ready to be loaded. 

 If the temperature of the order-assembly room is above 10° F., the orders 

 should be made up promptly and returned to storage at 0° F., unless they 

 are scheduled to be loaded immediately. 



A more common type of order-assembly room has frozen foods in 

 cases stacked on both sides of a conveyor belt running the length of the 

 room and out onto the truck-loading dock. Cases destined for delivery 

 are transported via the belt directly into the truck. 



Transportation from Wholesaler to Retailer 



Frozen shrimp products are delivered to small food stores in 

 trucks of 3- to 5-ton capacity, and to food-msirket chain stores in trucks 

 of 10-, 15-, or 20-ton capacity. Other frozen foods may be delivered at 

 the same time. The amount of refrigeration provided in delivery trucks 



U 



