Excerpts from the report Summary: The 11 commercial freeze-drying plants in the United States have a drying shelf area of about 22 thousand square feet. They have a capacity of drying about 26 million pounds of frozen food, but in 1963 dried only 12 million pounds. By 1970, the 42 plants in the freeze-drying industry may have an annual production of about 250 million pounds and a capacity for drying 400 million pounds. In 1970, about 700 full-time workers will man the drying operations. Another 6,300 workers will perform associated work--making a total of 7,000 persons engaged in the new-fledged industry. In spite of the several advantages of freeze-dried foods, their volume is limited by high processing casts. Even though their palatability characteristics are better than most other dried foods, many items are still in need of flavor research. Freeze-dried foods are not now ready nor able to compete for a large-volume market, but they will be used successfully in special areas where the unique qualities give them a particular advantage.