14 BULLETIN 467, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



only, even 30 days might seem a long time. But it should not be 

 forgotten that with the best modern methods of refrigeration poultry 

 several weeks old reaches the consumer in better condition than 

 some only a few days old which has not been properly cared for. 



Until some definite standard for fresh and cold-storage poultry is 

 generally adopted it will be easier for the ordinary retail buyer to un- 

 derstand what is being offered if he realizes that there are two gen- 

 eral methods of marketing birds from cold-storage warehouses. One 

 deals with those which are expected to reach the consumer within a 

 few weeks and which are known to the trade as fresh poultry, and the 

 other with birds which are to be held in cold-storage warehouses for 

 some time, usually until the fresh supply runs low again, and which 

 are often called frozen poultry. 



The so-called "fresh" poultry, from typical large, well-equipped 

 establishments where the birds are bought alive and specially fattened 

 at the shipping plant, is killed by cutting the main veins of the neck 

 and pricking the brain, is hung head downward to drain, and is 

 plucked without scaldhig. v It is then hung on special racks hi a chill 

 room, where it is kept for at least 24 hours, usually at a temperature 

 between 35° and 30° F. For long journeys in hot weather the birds 

 are sometime frozen stiff at a much lower temperature. The next 

 step in the process is packing, which should be done at about the same 

 temperature as the chilling. The birds are graded according to size 

 and quality and are usually packed in uniform boxes with not more 

 than 12 birds to a box. Birds of the best quality are sometimes sepa- 

 rately wrapped in parchment paper and packed in cartons holding 

 only a pair. Such separate packing not only prevents the birds 

 from losing shape and from rubbing against each other, but also keeps 

 the flesh from becoming too dry. 



Frequent changes of temperature seem to increase the rate at which 

 the undesirable microorganisms develop in the flesh of poultry, and 

 hence such variations are avoided as much as may be both in the store- 

 house and during transit. The special refrigerator cars designed for 

 shipping such produce as poultry, with their insulated walls and their 

 ice bunkers for use when the outside air is warm, make it possible for 

 the 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of poultry which constitute a carload to 

 travel literally from one end of the country to the other without hav- 

 ing the temperature vary more than five degrees. 



Under the present conditions of marketing, poultry may have to 

 pass through the hands of several dealers — wholesaler, commission 

 man, retailer, etc. — before it reaches the consumer, and it is almost 

 impossible to prevent its becoming more or less warm during the 

 various transfers. In order to reduce such changes as much as 

 possible the stock is kept in cold-storage chambers by each dealer, 



