2 BULLETIN 664, l". B. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUBE. 



The need for the elimination of waste and loss in the transfer of 

 food from the producer to the consumer suggests that the breakage 

 of eggs in transit carries with it a loss of both money and food which 

 it is highly desirable to prevent. The investigation reported in this 

 bulletin was undertaken to determine the causes of such damage. 

 Suggestions for lessening the extent of the damage are also in- 

 eluded. The investigation was made with the hearty cooperation 

 of the shippers and receivers of eggs, as well as of the carriers. 

 To obtain the maximum of ease and efficiency, the joint confer- 

 ence committee 1 acted for both shippers and carriers, and handled 

 all matters requiring concerted action on the part of the cooperators. 

 AYithout such an organization this investigation could not have been 

 made, and this opportunity is taken to express to the committee, to 

 the industry, and to the carriers an appreciation of the assistance 

 rendered. 



AMOUNT OF DAMAGE TO EGGS DURING MARKETING. 



The amount of damage sustained in the marketing of eggs can not 

 be stated with exactness. Estimates by those familiar with condi- 

 tions, and experiments conducted to determine the rate of deteriora- 

 tion in eggs during their journey to the consumer, however, have 

 given figures which are worthy of consideration. In 1909, Hastings 2 

 stated that the usual western produce dealer, whose supplies come by 

 local freight, receives from 4 to 7 per cent of cracked eggs, and that 8 

 per cent of broken eggs from the hen to the market is probably a fair 

 estimate. In 1913, Lamon and Opperman 3 studied egg deterioration 

 between the farm and the egg-packing house, and shipped eggs undei 

 conditions distinctly better than the average. They reported 2.7 per 

 cent cracked eggs, and so tVvv leakers that the percentage is not given. 

 A study made in the Food Research Laboratory, of the Bureau of 

 Chemistry, instituted for another purpose, which will be reported in 

 detail in another publication, showed that about 6.19 per cent 

 of cracked eggs were received by one shipper in a western State dur- 

 ing the months of April to August, inclusive, when the total volume 

 of eggs handled amounted to over 1,357.000 dozen. In 1910. Pen- 

 nington and Pierce 4 reported that the examination of over a quarter 

 of a million dozen eggs, received in the city of New York, showed 

 8.98 per cent cracked. 



1 The joint conference committee consists of representatives from the National Poultry, 

 Butter, and Egg Association, for the industry, and from tho General Managers Association 

 of Chicago, for the railroads, in cooperation with a representative of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. Its object is, primarily, to improve the quality of poultry, 

 butter, and eggs on the marker, and prevent waste and loss. 



2 D. S. Dept. Agr., Bureau of Animal Industry Circ. 140. 

 - T*. S. Dept. Agr.. Bureau of Animal Industry Bui. 160. 



4 The Effect of the Present Method of Handling Eggs on the Industry and the Product. 

 U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook (1010 ) Separate 552. 



