344 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



or for short distances by truck reach their destination in excellent condition and 

 command a premium price. The containers of fillets are kept as close to 32° F 

 (0° C) as possible until the fillets are sold at retail. This is usually accomplished 

 by packing them with crushed ice in large wooden boxes. 



After being individually wrapped in moistureproof vegetable parchment or 

 cellophane, fillets are sometimes packed in 10-, 20-, or 30-pound wooden boxes for 

 "sharp" freezing. Heavily waxed folding cartons, holding 5 or 10 pounds of in- 

 dividually wrapped fillets, are commonly used for quick freezing by the "Birdseye" 

 and other processes. After being frozen, a number of these waxed paperboard 

 cartons are packed into a corrugated fiberboard container for storage or shipment. 



The One-Pound, One-Piece Package 



Under a process invented by Harold E. Crowther and Lawrence T. Hopkinson, 

 assigned to the Atlantic Coast Fisheries Company, a commercially acceptable one- 

 pound, one-piece package of cod, haddock, and pollock has been developed. In this 

 process the skinned fillets are laid lengthwise in a moving trough, measuring 

 4 inches wide and % inches deep. The trough passes under rollers which level 

 out the fish without exerting any substantial pressure, thus avoiding the break- 

 down of tissue. 



The moving trough actually consists of segments, each segment measuring 

 8 inches long, mounted on a belt. The belt moves around pulleys and at the 

 breaking point the ribbon of fish is cut crosswise, thus producing a piece of fish 

 measuring 4 inches wide X 8 inches long X % inch thick. As the segments come 

 oflF the moving belt, they fall into waxed cardboard trays, which in turn go 

 through an automatic wrapping machine. The final product is frozen. On defrost- 

 ing and cooking it remains in one piece. 



The advantage of this product to the housewife is primarily in the matter of 

 cooking. When baked, broiled, or fried all parts of the fish are evenly cooked, 

 whereas in the case of an ordinary fillet the thin end must be overcooked to get 

 complete cooking of the thick end. Another feature of the one-pound, one-piece 

 package, having the dimensions referred to above, is that it fits conveniently in 

 the ice-cube compartment of an ordinary household refrigerator. 



Freezing Whole Fish 



Sharp Freezers. As previously stated, the sharp freezer is a room which is usually 

 much smaller than a cold storage room. It is preferably located so that its walls 

 adjoin other cold rooms rather than outside walls, and has doors opening 

 through anterooms so that the cold air cannot circulate with the outside air. 

 The refrigeration pipes are arranged vertically on 8-, 10-, or 12-inch centers and 

 horizontally on 4-, 6-, or 8-inch centers in banks of shelves. These dimensions 

 depend on the chosen ratio of piping, on the size of fish or pans, etc. 



Panned fish are placed on the pipes. In public freezers the first and last pan of 

 each lot may be marked with a slip of paper to indicate the lot. If large fish, such 

 as salmon, halibut, sturgeon, swordfish, etc., are frozen, the shelves must be farther 

 apart and covered with sheets of 14-gauge galvanized iron. The fish are either laid 

 on shelves, or else, as is done in some places, on the floor or on slatwork along 

 the floor. In some well-systemized plants 2 or 3 men are assigned to a particular 

 room at each loading; a record is kept and the men are held personally responsible 



