New Lamb Cut For Europe

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31346, 17 April 1967, Page 1

New Lamb Cut For Europe

New Zealand lamb Is being prepared for export to Europe in a new form. Mr M. H. Biss, public relations officer of the Primary Producers’ Co-opera-tive Society, Ltd., told farmers attending a field day at Wainui, Banks Peninsula, that it was known as the pistola cut.

It was the first time that lamb had been prepared in this way in New Zealand he said but he believed that a few years age the Argentine

had prepared lambs in this form for Italy. The cut comprises the hind end of a lamb and includes the loin heavily trimmed and showing no flap. The cut derives Its name from the fact that if It was cut down the middle, the leg and loin section would resemble a pistol. Mr Biss said that he could not reveal the 'market to which these cuts were going but they were destined for a fairly sophisticated market where they were prepared to pay for what they wanted. This might not develop into a large market but it was interesting that they were re-

quired and that thia market was prepared to pay enough

to justify the cost of cutting. “The majority of these will end up in superior restaurants and hotels in Europe,” he said. Processing Necessary Earlier Mr Biss said that to sell meat efficiently in mar' kets outside the United King' dom, it had to be processed beyond the carcase form but boning out of meat was expensive. Two freezing works and a processing plant had been approached about preparing the pistola cuts and the charges quoted varied by 3d per lb. At the highest figure there would be a loss in selling these cuts.

Some of the men working to boning rooms to fiteostog

works were taking home £6O a week. They might be entitled to this but if this country was going to process meat it bad to look at some of its costs. The cost of this sort of processing was expensive and it was almost pricing this country out of selling processed meats. In calculating what they were going to get from this venture, it had been thought that the flaps would be waste but in fact they were going into the digester, Mr Biss said. Mr Biss also showed the farmers boned, rolled and moulded shoulders of lamb as prepared for Japan. They were alieed into very thdq stripe for use, he said.