Self-service for fresh fish vas provided by about 69 percent of 

 the supermarkets in Washington, 28 percent in Oregon, and 19 percent in 

 California, The prepackaging for self-service was done primarily at the 

 retail level. E^qserienced retailers prepackaged fresh fish shortly before 

 it was sold in order to prevent wet and unattractive packages. Retailers 

 recognized that displays should be kept relatively small in order to con- 

 trol the freshness and quality of the product offered to the public; and 

 to encourage faster turnover. 



Roughly 26 percent of the retailers had complaints about the 

 quality of delivered fresh iish. About I4I percent of the complaints was 

 that "fish are not fresh", Maiy other retailers reported the generally 

 poor quality of fish. In the opinion of retailers quality is, by far, the 

 most iitpjrtant factor affecting fish sales. 



The chief problem in handling fresh fish was the lack of efficient 

 display cases. Most retailers used their meat cases for fresh fish. These 

 cabinets are not properly adapted for icing and consequently less than half 

 the retailers utilized icing for their fresh fish while the fish were on 

 display. Thus the quality of the fresh fish deteriorates rapidly and dis- 

 courages sales. As losses occur, retailers become discouraged about han- 

 dling the product. 



Many retailers were of the opinion that fresh fish icing waa 

 desirable even in modern refrigerated cabinets. However, only a minority 

 of those interviewed actually cari*ied out the practice. Much work needs to 

 be done by \*holesalers in developing satisfactory display case utilization 

 and in teaching retailers how to handle fresh fish properly. 



60 



iiO 

 30 

 20 



10 



Cali- 

 fornia 



Oregon 



Washing- 

 ton 



FIGURE - 10. — Percent of all stores using ica in fresh fish 



display cabinets. Pacific Coast States, 1955 



13 



