Excerpts from the report: Many types of egg-grading and packing equipment are available to the plant operator. They perform similar functions, but differ in degree of mechanization, capacity, cost, and labor requirements. Four representative systems of egg grading and packing, identified in this report as A, B, C, and D, were evaluated. Studies were conducted in plants utilizing these systems to determine ownership and operating costs, operating characteristics, and labor requirements. Many interrelated factors must be considered in the selection and utilization of egg-grading and packing equipment. Sound decisions cannot be made by considering the factors independently, but must be based on an analysis of the overall system. Manual-candling equipment should be available in all plants to handle occasional small lots or eggs of irregular quality, since even the most effective quality-control programs include occasional lots of poor quality. A procedure was developed for estimating the cost per case to grade and pack various volumes of eggs annually at any labor rate with each of the systems studied
