THE GRADING OF MEAT

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 16, 21 July 1921, Page 6

THE GRADING OF MEAT

GOVERNMENT ACTION NOT \ WANTED.

Considerable dkcussion took place upon the following leniit at .yesterday's conference of the Council of Agriculture : _ That, '.in order to obtain uniform quality of meat for export, the GovernnWnl should undertake' the grading of inxiat. : It wa,s. argued by supporteis of,the proposal that grading would result m Now Zealand meat securing an improved iroputation, with consequent benefit io' the v>roducers. Sir Francis Boyes, representiiig the .executive of the Soutli Island and associa.tei:l freezing companies, was invited to speak. In tlio first place, he • said, to accuse the companies, as had been done, of having changed, their grading during the war was to accuse them of dishon.egty—dishonesty .not ■ for themselves but for'tin? producers. He held that it wa-s not possible to grade meat on the same liucs. as butler. Butter was icanufacturp.d, and could be manufactured according to grade, but this was not so with sheep. IJnbil the formers produced the same cUiss of sheep from .Auckland to the .Bluff, he failed U> see how the companies could produce the, some grades. Mnat ■wji^ not uniform, but varied in the different -distri-cts. . The remit vine, lost on the voices. The conference carried unanimowly the following remit :— That the attention oi the frwwing companies be drawn to the fact thsti too large a- quantity- of badly-dressed meat is bedrig csparicl. to thp detriment of New'Z-ealand's rep-ntarion, and th.it. the companie-s be requostecl to make every endeavoHi 1 to ramedy this matter. Sir T?rancis Boyes .ndmitted that oi.recent years there had been ground for complaint, but an improvement was ei-pect-Ed.