FROZEN FOOD PROBLEMS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19240, 2 August 1924, Page 19

FROZEN FOOD PROBLEMS.

TRAINING OF SEA ENGINEERS. HOAD TRANSPORT. (Fbom Ouh Own Correspondent.) LONDON, June 19. Some fifty papers are being read each day at the International Congress of Refrigeration. There are. seven sections, and each of these is dealing with a specialised branch of the general subject. The increased use whicn is being made of motor transport for the distribution of frozen produce was revealed in a contribution by Mr E. E. Farrow. There wore at the present time, he .stated, a considerable number of wholesale Depots in various parts of the country which had been established by the largo meat-importing firms for the delivery of meat, in relatively large consignments direct from tile port of shipment. Regular services were now in operation from the ports of London. Liverpool, and Southampton. From London 2b towns, including Birmingham, Portsmouth, Bristol, Brighton, Bournemouth, Northampton, and Leicester were served; from Liverpool motor lorries delivered to Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford. Manchester, Nottingham, Preston, and elsewhere; and from Southampton meat was consigned by motor transport to London, Reading, and south coast towns. It had been found that meat

distributors would willingly pay a fractional charge per pound mere for direct transport from shin bv rood motor than the railway rate on account of the difference in the number of handlings, and it seemed probable that for distances up to 100 miles from the port, of discharge the bulk of the frozen meat supplies imported would in future bo transported by road. It was pointed out in a paper written by Mr W. Wright, of the Agricultural Department, of New Zealand, that careful at-

tention to pre-cooling was necessary in connection with the ocean transport, of New Zealand cheese of the Cheddar type. The application of cold curing to cheese was of quite recent date in New Zealand, but the excellent results obtained in preventing loss of weight and in improving the flavour and condition suggested that the system would bo generally adopted. IMPORT OF FROZEN MEAT. Sir Henry Row said that a comparison of the numbers of live stock in Great Britain and Ireland at tno present time with 1880-84 showed an increase of 2,C00,0t'0 cattle and a decrease of 4,500,000 sheep. During the same period imports of chilled and liozen beef had increased from 56,913 tons to 514,293 tons, and m frozen mutton and lamb from 15,492 tons to 286,305 tons. The main sources of supply throughout the whole period had been the United States, Argontnc, Australia, and New Zealand. The United States, which 20 years ago

dominated tho beef trade, had now practically withdrawn from it, while Argentina had risen to a position of supremacy. In 1923 the imports of frozen and chilled moat were 925.131 tons, being about 80 per cent, •of the export output of the world’s freezing works. Twenty years ago home supplies amounted to nearly two-thirds of tho meet consumption of the United Kingdom; to-day the proportion was about 55 per cent. Mr W. Murray discussed the advisability of the adoption of a standard international method of inspection of all frozen produce. As the most important food products frozen were in the animal category, efficient inspection could only take place under an organisation _of specially trained and skilled officials who had no personal interest in (he trade, and he advocated tho employment of Government inspectors for inspection before shipment. The second inspection, at the

point of distribution, should be confined to ascertaining that tho froz.cn product,s wore being marketed- in good order and condition. TRAINING SEAGOING ENGINEERS. Mr 11. A. Garnett gave an account of ’ an enquiry into the facilities available for training sca-going engineers in the theory and practice of refrigeration. He stated that very little special work was being done by education authorities in shipping districts, and that shipowners and others engaged in the refrigeration industry relied for a supply of expert engineers on tho

training given by practical experience at sea. lie believed that a demand on educational authorities for additional facilities for training refrigerating engineers would receive sympathetic consideration. Air Crawford Heron reminded the Congress, although it was as long since as 1885 that a refrigerating appliance was first fitted to an Aberdeen trawler, this system had never been adopted bv the fishing industry, tho general opinion being that tho old method of keeping lish in ice was sufficient for all requirements. He questioned tho wisdom of persisting in the use nf this; crude - ’ system, as it was certain that unless greater care was taken in the handling and preservation of fish so that it reached the consumer in better condition, efforts to popularise fish-eating would fail.