Need to safeguard N.Z. meat exports

Press, 18 July 1980, Page 13

Need to safeguard N.Z. meat exports

New Zealand might have to accept some hygiene regulations applying to its meat even if they did not see Hi. to be strictly justified to protect its meat trade, Cbe director of the Meat Industry Research Institute, DrG.L. Davey, told a seminar at the institute this week. -

n ° t think that - Zealand should ever be put in the position that it is r _: said it- produces dirty meat” said Dr /Davey. •New Zealand’s exports represented only two per cent of total world meat production, 7 he’ said, emphasising its vulncrabil- . ity._ ”, . •; , • •- i;New Zealand’s meat was produced in much more hygienic plants than in other countries, and at ports. of entry overseas, New Zealand meat was regarded as a reference point •of high standard. As a result fewer samples were, taken 1 of it for examination. ■;. /-X !- i!

■ It might be for the reason of its high standard, rather than anything else, that New Zealand could get a better deal for its meat in Europe. Earlier in the day Dr C. O. Gill, head of the microbiology section at the institute, told the seminar that his section was looking at the basis of hygiene regulations. While being increasingly augmented he said that they . were unfortunately not. often revised. The people largely involved with these regulations had a veterinary training but did not .have ,

- much understanding of , microbiology. > If someone suspected 1 that a certain procedure 1 could be harmful and a regulation was imple-. merited, the data on which it and and the suggestion from which it came were based could be quite inadequate. Dr Gill said that the only way to get around this was to produce more basic data on which really effective regulations could • be based. He noted that there was some evidence some notice was being taken of their work, even in Europe.