Excerpts from the report: Preliminary surveys made in poultry processing plants in California indicated a strong desire by the packers for the development of better, less expensive containers for distributing fresh, ready-to-cook, icepacked chickens as an aid in offsetting the disastrous effects of declining and periodically depressed prices on farmers and the industry. Researchers observed that most of the commercial poultry plants surveyed were near urban areas. As a result, the researchers concentrated on the development of shipping containers for delivering icepacked broilers and fryers to local and nearby markets. The objectives of this study were to develop improved and less costly containers; to evaluate new or improved containers developed by container manufacturers; and, in cooperation with poultry processors, to compare the advantages and disadvantages of these containers.
