FROZEN MEAT

Evening Post, Issue 50, 27 August 1935, Page 12

FROZEN MEAT

N.Z. BACONER TESTS

CHILLED BEEF PROGRESS

' (From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, August 1.

There is still a shortage of graded home-fed baconers to fulfil' all the requirements of the curers under the bacon scheme contracts,. and good frozen carcasses continue- to gain popularity now that satisfactory commercial methods of defrosting have been adopted. New Zealand, already ■to the fore, is rapidly drawing ahead of other overseas suppliers in regard to. quality and standardisation, and home curers have shown considerable interest in the series of tests conducted by the.New Zealand Government in conjunction with the New- Zealand Meat ■ Producers' Board and expert breeders, curers, and research workers in England. ' . Suggestions made by Dr. Hammond, of Cambridge, and Mr. H. R. Davidson in regard to feeding, crossing, and litter recording have been adopted in 'the Dominion and the results carefully compared when carcasses have been cut up at Smithfield. Measurements of back fat, etc., are taken, and various cuts are photographed for the edification of the overseas producer. After five years the tests are still uncomplete, although up to the moment the Large White-Essex cross seems to be leading the way in the production of the ideal baconer.

Test consignments of Tamworth car.casses have produced some excellent bodies which have been more in the heavy porker than in the baconer class, a tendency to run to too much fat being noticeable when the 1401b mark is reached. One great defect- that will ;have to be overcome is the dried-up appearance of the skin of all New Zealand baconers, which^is .probably "due to incorrect scalding and delayed cooling. EMPIRE CHILLED BEEF. New Zealand still requires plenty of fresh blood in her herds if she is to secure a leading position in the Empire chilled beef trade. Consignments recently sent to Smithfield are still on the heavy side and from much older cattle than the home meat -trade requires., Australia seems to be making an outstanding effort to gain the confidence of the butcher in her chilled beef, and Smithfield has just- received !the best consignment- yet from any Empire source from Aberdeen, N.S,W. The quarters: came from prize-winning Aberdeen-Angus cattle, and a fair percentage of the hinds were fully up to the usual Argentine standard, although ,the crops were hardly in the same category. Carried in chambers ' containing 10.per cent, of carbon dioxide gas at a temperature of 29.5deg. Fahr., the hinds were quite free from gas, but some of the crops were badly stained, pointing to faulty stowage and conse-' ■quent interference with the air-circula-tion. The butchery at the New Zealand: works leaves' little' to be desired now, and the Australian meat works are also effecting big ■ improvements in that connection. The , chief defects are -faulty top-piece veining and piping, •corrugations due to delayed flaying, , and poorly split aitches. ' ROAD-RAIL SYSTEM. .'ln connection with the visit 'of the Dtiminion delegates to the Government meat talks, the British railways staged an exhibition of the latest freight rolling stock illustrating the ■methods used, principally the refrigerated road-rail container system, to distribute New Zealand meat from ' Smithfield to the provinces. Under the container system, door-to-door or i point-to-point transport is effected between the sender and the consignee with the assistance of mobile truck bodies, which are interchangeable be- , tween road or rail vehicles and can be ' ifreely moved by either. The con- ■ tamers for frozen meat are refrigerated by solid CO2. The bunkers are replenished from the roofs, and the shutters ;of the bunkers are controlled from outside *to regulate the rate' of diffusion of the gas, and thus ensure fairly efficient temperature control. There are now in service no fewer than 10,636 containers on the British railways, whereas in 1928 there were,only 1574. As indicating the rapid rise to popularity which this transport system has achieved, the number of container . movements in 1934 showed an increase 1 of 146 per cent, over those in 1930 and 700 per cent, over the movements in 1928.- ■-.-■■■ . Fixed station cranes, yard gantries, runways, and mobile cranes, which are > available at a large number of depots, enable containers to be moved from rail to road vehicles and vice versa with speed and efficiency. The dimensions are kept within such limits as to permit the containers being loaded inside ordinary wagons. Goods loaded into a container are not touched until they reach the consignee. The refrigerated containers, have a capacity-of two tons. Specially insulated' containers are employed for .the carriage of New Zealand-fruit and dairy produce.! ANOTHER; LAMB "DRIVE*' j The New. Zealand Meat Producers' Board have Just completed'yet another of their1: success'fu! ■■'"drives."; 'This . time activities .covered the Potteries area, and a shop was occupied during the period of the campaign for the attractive display of Dominion produce. A section of this display was also devoted to promoting the reciprocity of trade between Great Britain and New Zealand, many of the largest pottery manufacturers displaying chinaware and pottery-,. A distinguished party of visitors inspected the shop and afterwards attended a luncheon given in their honour by the civic authorities of Stoke and Burslem. The party, headed by the Prime Minister of New .Zealand (the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes), included the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, Minister' of Finance,- and < Sir James Parr, the High Commissioner, and many other officials. Cash prizes were givGn for the best retailer's advertisement appertaining to New' Zealand lamb, and a carnival parade of decorated bicycles had seventy-three entries, the decorations consisting of advertising material issued by the board. In the New Zealand lamb -. window.dressing competition seventy-four ' shops entered and were judged ;by independent judges appointed by-the board «nd the National Federation of Meat Traders' Associations. The usual joainting competitions for children attracted thousands of entries.