600 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



Storing, Labeling, and Shipping. "Shrimp are usually held about 48 hours before 

 labeling and casing. Conditions of labeling, storage, and shipping are specified in the 

 inspection regulations. All inspected cans are now coded so that any lot may be identified. 

 No lot or code may be labeled until it has been examined and passed by the inspector. 

 In addition the thermometer chart must be checked to determine sufficiency of cook 

 and each cook must be identified with the corresponding code mark and date. The 

 packer is required to keep these records at least 1 year. A standard case of canned shrimp 

 contains 48 No. 1 picnic cans. 



"Any labels used for inspected canned shrimp must be approved by the U. S. Food and 

 Drug Administration; this ruling applies to canned shrimp only and not to other canned 

 products. Such labels may bear the statement 'Production supervised by U. S. Food and 

 Drug Administration,' which may not appear on uninspected canned shrimp or on shrimp 

 intended for export. Both labeling machines and hand-labeling are used in labeling the 

 cans. Each lot or 'code mark' is stored and must be held separate. No lot may be shipped 

 until the inspector issues a certificate to the packer, stating that the parcel complies with 

 all regulations." 



Shrimp Packed in Glass. "An increasing amount of shrimp is being packed in glass. 

 Only the best color grades in the larger sizes are packed in glass since appearance is the 

 principal sales appeal factor. The method of handling the shrimp is identical with packing 

 in tin up to and including filling. 



"Several sizes of glass containers are used; but the most common are 8-ounce tumblers, 

 with a drained weight of 5/4 ounces and a fill-in weight of 5 ounces, and the 9-ounce 

 tumbler, which holds 6% ounces drained weight and 6/8 ounces fill-in weight. If the 

 containers are overfilled, 'jelling' occurs, while 'slack-fill' shrimp soon present a ragged, 

 unattractive appearance. Other containers used are a tumbler holding 2/2 ounces, packed 

 principally for the English market, and a 'nappy' jar for 'cocktail' shrimp, filled in rosette 

 style. The containers are filled with a 3 per cent brine, filled hot at temperatures varying 

 from 160 to 180° F (71.1 to 82.2° C). The jars are sealed in a glass-pack vacuum- 

 closing machine under a vacuum of not more than 20 inches. Higher vacua cause 

 ebullition with loss of brine. 



"The sealed containers are placed in retort baskets with a rubber mat between each 

 layer. Mats protect the enamel lids against fading, scratching, or blistering during process- 

 ing. The process times specified for glass containers under inspection regulations are 

 5 to 9 ounces inclusive, 22 minutes at 240° F ( 115.7° C) (10-pound pressure), or 14 

 minutes at 250° F (121.1° C) (15-pound pressure). 



"The pack is cooled in the retort under pressure so that the lids will not be blown off 

 the jars. The cooling water is first admitted at a temperature of 190° F (87.8° C) until the 

 retort is one-fourth full; then at 170° F (76.7° C) until the half-way mark is reached; and 

 finally at 140° F ( 60° C ) until it is three-fourths full, when the temperature is dropped to 

 100° F (37.8° C). When the retort is full, water runs through at a normal temperature or 

 at from 60 to 70° F (15.6 to 21.1° C), for about 10 minutes. The entire cooling process 

 requires about 35 minutes. 



"After cooling, the containers are dried, labeled by hand, and packed in corrugated 

 fiberboard cartons, 2 dozen jars to a carton. Glass-pack shrimp are very attractive as a 

 display product, but the retailer should be warned that the glasses must not be left long 

 in a strong light as the shrimp may then become 'light-struck.' " 



Packing for Freezing 



When the shrimp have been graded, they are placed in 1-, 5-, or 10-pound 

 waxed cartons for freezing. The 1-pound size is marketed for family consumption 

 and the larger sizes go to hotels and restaurant trade. Some of these are fitted 

 inside with a liner of some wrapping material, which is further protection against 



