The Waikato Times. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1911. HANDLING FROZEN MEAT.

Waikato Times, Issue 12182, 18 September 1911, Page 4

The Waikato Times. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1911. HANDLING FROZEN MEAT.

Still another opinion has ibeen added to the vexed question of frozen meat handling in England, this time by Mr A. W. Rutherford, an ex-M.P., who has just returned from a trip to England. In the course of an interview at Ohristchurch he said: "The carcases receive rough handling on their landing) at the London end. They are shot down a chute anyhow on to the wharf, the result being broken shanks, . pieces of fat gouged out sometimes an > inch deep, and a generally chipped (appearance. Then they are shot down another chute into barges, with equally disastrous results. The barges are towed up the rives, and their cargo landed and carted to Smith field." With regard to the statement that the barges are dirty aiud rotten, and that there is unnecessary exposure to the sun, Mr Rutherford stated that the latter statement may be exaggerated, but there is truth in it. But it is reassuring to have his further statement, that notwithstanding the general rough usage, muoh of the meat makes a presentable appearance on the hooks. That there is room for groat improvement in the handling; of New Zealand frozen meat may be adduced from the treatment Argentine meat, which is under the American Trust supervision, gets. It appears that this escapes injury altogether, iand only the fact that New Zealand meat has a flavor which 'the Argentine product lacks, saves the situation. It appears that the American meat is landed at Liverpool : trains are in readiness, ami that required for immediate use is isent of! to London and the northern markets, the balance being stored. The important point is that it is handled by the Trust's own men. The outcome is that their meat is put on the market in prefect condition. Mr (Rutherford states 'that this is realised to the fullest extent when the meat is seen side by side with that from New Zealand in Smithfield. The whole position is

unsatisfactory and demands immediate and careful attention. No attempt, concludes Mr Sheldon, except impracticable talk, has hitherto ibeen made to remedy a well-known evil.