RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

Timaru Herald, Volume CXL, Issue 20261, 9 November 1935, Page 15

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

A GREAT SERVICE « Magnificent work is being done by the research activities of the British Government in the interests of the carriage overseas of perishable foodstuffs. The principal centre of research is the Cambridge Low Temperature Research Station, while there is another station at Ditton, where there is an experimental ship’s hold for carrying out refrigeration and dunnage trials, while at Aberdeen there is a station which investigates the problems of refrigeration and the storage of fish. The total cost of the work is £50,000 per annum, of which New Zealand contributed last year £3OOO, towards which the Meat Board made a grant of £1250, the Fruit Board £4OO, the Dairy Board £2OO, and the New Zealand Government £llsO. The Low Temperature Research Station of Cambridge University has undoubtedly rendered great service to our fruit industry, it has done much to perfect the meat chilling process and is rendering appreciable assistance to the dairy industry. Valuable research work is in progress in regard to the pig industry. When the export of bacon was first suggested it was declared to be out of the question because of deterioration of the fat during transit. Now it is being shown by Cambridge that the maintenance of bacon in an atmosphere of pure carbon-dioxide gas can overcome the trouble, though it is not yet fully practicable. However, in the meantime New Zealand frozen pig carcases can be converted into high-class bacon in English curing establishments. It is estimated that the growth of the chilled meat industry which has developed largely from the research work of the Cambridge Low Temperature Research Station, should mean £50,000 per annum increase to New Zealand, or the difference to that extent between the value of frozen and chilled beef. This gives some idea of the value of the research worker to an industry.