596 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



cold room, diiectly to the picking tables, where the meat is separated from the 

 heads and shells by women, girls, and boys, who are compensated according to 

 the weight of shrimp headed. 



According to the 1945 statistics of production there were 41 shrimp-canning 

 plants, 19 of which were located in Louisiana. The total pack of canned shrimp 

 was 153,551 standard cases, made up of 48 cans of 7 ounces each with a total 

 value of $1,918,633. Canneries were operated in five states and in Alaska. Table 

 131 contains a breakdown of the production. 



Table 131. Production of Canned Shrimp. 



Inspection. The shrimp-canning industry has developed a self-inspection serv- 

 ice under the supervision of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration. Each canner 

 requests the inspection; if his plant meets the standard requirements of arrange- 

 ment, type of equipment, and facilities of sanitation, the request is granted. Under 

 this service the raw shrimp are inspected when unloaded at the plant and prior 

 to final shipment. If all conditions have been met, the cans may be labeled as 

 being packed under the supervision of government inspectors. A few cents per 

 case is added to the sale price of the shrimp in order to cover the costs of the 

 service. About 90 per cent of the total pack is under this system of inspection, 

 and it has done much to improve the quality. 



Washing. When the shrimp are landed at the canning plant, they are unloaded 

 into a washing tank. Jarvis (1943) gives the following description of the opera- 

 tion in a shrimp-canning plant: 



"There are many minor diiferences in the mechanical setup of the apparatus used for 

 washing and inspecting shrimp upon unloading at the cannery. Generally they are 

 unloaded into a metal water tank, having a baffle plate fixed several feet from the end 

 extending above and below the surface of the water. The shrimp sink and are carried 

 under the baffle plate and out of the tank on a conveyor belt. The ice in which the 

 shrimp may have been packed is held back by the plate. The shrimp then fall into a 

 revolving dnmi or 'squirrel cage,' where they are tumbled about, removing surplus 

 water and any bits of debris, such as seaweed; this is important as shrimp are bought 

 by weight. In Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana some canners use wire-mesh belt 

 conveyors or vibrating screens for this purpose. 



"From the drum the shrimp are carried to the sorting conveyor, which is usually an 

 endless belt of wire mesh, about 3 feet wide and 8 feet long, situated on a framework 

 approximately 3 feet high. As the shrimp pass over this belt, they are sorted by employees 

 who work under the supervision of a government inspector. Shrimp that are broken, torn, 

 soft, discolored, or otherwise defective are removed. This is an inspection for freshness 

 and condition of raw material only. Other grading factors are not considered. 



"The shrimp fall from the end of a conveyor into a basket or metal lug box standing 

 on platform scales. When the scales show a reading of 100 pounds net, the weight is 

 checked, then noted down on tally sheets by a plant employee, and the government 



