Suggestion To Dispense With Term “Fat Lamb”

Press, Volume C, Issue 29672, 16 November 1961, Page 6

Suggestion To Dispense With Term “Fat Lamb”

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, Nov. 15. New Zealand should stop calling its export lambs "fat lambs”—because everyone was so sensitive about fat, said the director of the Meat Industry Research Institute (Mr N. Law) at Horotiu yesterday. "There is one word that it appears we should not use when discussing lamb. It is fat,” he said. “From the point of view of prejudice, it is perhaps better if we do not use the word—everyone is so sensitive about it. “It seems strange to me that in this very competition and others, the name ‘fat lamb' is used. Why don’t we just call them lamb competitions?” Mr Law asked. Also, New Zealand should

sell carcases as "quickfrozen” instead of frozen, to overcome prejudice against frozen, meat. Mr Law was speaking at a field day after the judging at the Meat Producers' Board export fat-lamb competitions. Mr Law said he was impressed by the receptiveness and awareness of industry to technical problems in the meat industry. New Zealand was a world leader in technical developments in the handling of meat, he said. Industry must have finance for this development. Exporters had to jealously guard their standards, and never be tempted to lower them, “new markets or not.” he said. When seeking new markets, standards should be higher. “New Zealanders are very modest, and sometimes they are too modest,” he said. “No-one can be ashamed of the meat industry in this country.” He appealed to farmers to co-operate in the presentation of their meat. The final product could only be as good as the product that came for slaughter, he said. Lambs had to be clean, and unbruised. Carcases with bruising were heavily marked down on the London market, he said. <