214 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
ce. Screens.—All doors, windows, and ventilators should be sereened. Screen 
doors should close automatically and should fit tightly for protection against 
flies, other insects, and vermin. As an extra precaution, flypaper or a non- 
poisonous insect spray should be used to destroy flies inside the plant. 
d. Toilets and hand-washing facilities —Toilets should be of sanitary construc- 
tion and be of the type approved by the State board of health. Privies should 
be located at least 50 feet from the plant and be so placed that drainage from 
them will not contaminate the water supply if the supply is from wells. Toilet 
paper should be provided at all times. 
Facilities for washing hands should be provided in the picking room and the 
packing room. Running water, liquid soap, paper towels, and a chlorine solu- 
tion of at least 100 parts per million available chlorine, should be available at 
all times. 
e. Plant layout.—Separate space should be provided for each of the various 
operations. Picking and packing should be done in separate rooms. The cook- 
ing room should be separated from the cooling room. A dressing room should 
also be provided and the hanging of garments in any other place should be 
strictly prohibited. 
f. Lighting and ventilation. — Adequate light and ventilation should be provided. 
Windows should be large and numerous. If windows are obstructed, skylights 
should be provided. Artificial lights for night operation should be so placed as 
to provide for even illumination, 
g. Cooking.—The space provided for cooking should be well screened. Retorts 
should be provided with vents to permit escape of air. 
h. Cooling.—Cooling rooms should be used for this purpose only. They 
should be well screened and rat-proofed. The retort baskets should not be al- 
lowed to touch the floor. They should be suspended from the ceiling or allowed 
to rest on supports from the floor. The supports should be cleaned and sterilized 
before coming into contact with the baskets. If cooling platforms are used, they 
should be covered with metal, preferably noncorrosive, with all seams soldered. 
Low sides should be provided to prevent the crabs from falling from the plat- 
form. The surface of the cooling platform should be inclined slightly to permit 
thorough drainage. Crabs falling to the floor during the cooling process should 
not, under any circumstances, be replaced into retort baskets or on cooling 
platforms. They should be either reprocessed or thrown away. 
i. Picking and packing tables —Table tops should be covered with metal. Non- 
corrosive metal is recommended for covering tables. Concrete should not be 
used for table tops due to porosity, cracking, chipping, etc. Corroded or rusted 
table tops should not be used; tops should not be painted. Tables should be 
so constructed as to permit easy disposal of waste. They should be inclined 
slightly to provide for drainage. Tables next to walls should have the metal 
covering extend at least 10 inches above the table along the wall. 
j. Stools —Great care should be used to provide the proper type of stool or 
chair. Stools without backs are preferable to chairs, in that they are easier to 
clean and sterilize and also minimize hand contacts. 
k. Picking pans.—These should be provided only for holding the 1-pound 
shipping cans during picking. 
1. Picking knives—These should be of one-piece construction, preferably of 
stainless. steel. 
m. Blocks.—Blocks used for cracking claws should be of smooth metal. Wooden 
blocks are not recommended. 
n. Cupboards or cabinets—These should be provided for storage of sterilized 
utensils when not in use. They should be constructed with screen doors and be 
provided with metal shelves. 
II. OpERATIONS. 
a. General cleanliness of plant.—For sterlizing the equipment, either steam 
under pressure or a chlorine solution should be used. Steam, if available, is 
preferable to chlorine for sterlizing purposes. Before sterilizing the equipment, 
all particles of shell, meat, viscera, ete., should be removed with soap and water. 
If chlorine solution is used for sterilizing, it should contain from 100 to 200 parts 
per million of available chlorine. Directions for making this strength solution 
will be found on the containers in which the concentrated chlorine is sold. 
1. When cleaning the cookers, all shell, crabs, and foreign matter should be 
removed. The cookers should be cleaned with water under pressure at 
the close of operations each day. 
