U.S. inspector seeks meat works slowing

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33058, 27 October 1972, Page 1

U.S. inspector seeks meat works slowing

Because he believes that chains at some Canterbury freezing works are working too fast to dress meat properly, a United States Department of Agriculture veterinarian has been asking works to slow down.

The veterinarian is normally based in Wellington, but at present he is inspecting local freezing works.

His “slow down” ruling is unpopular with the companies concerned, because their production suffers, and because they feel he is not being reasonable. It is, however, believed that the slaughtermen, whose pay is geared to output, are in most cases having their pay made up to normal rates in spite of any enforced slow-down.

Asked to comment yesterday, one freezing works executive said he felt the veterinarian was being “more fussy than ever, almost un-

reasonably so, in regard to the dressing. “Everything seems to be wrong. The thing that is so annoying is that things he accepted here last year, he is not accepting today.” The regulations had not changed in the interim, he said.

But another company reported it had experienced no problems with the veterinarian’s inspection. Killing stopped for a period at the North Canterbury Farmers Kaiapoi works yesterday after the veterinarian had raised certain points about the operation. Work resumed later after what the works described as "remedial action.”

It is believed the day’s kill dropped from the usual 5000 to about 3000.

A spokesman for another company said that it, too, felt that the veterinarian was being much more stringent than in the past. His objections were to dressing procedures as regard cleanliness and standards of inspection.