N.Z. MEAT IN BRITAIN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 110, 22 February 1950, Page 6

N.Z. MEAT IN BRITAIN

FEDERATED FARMERS’ DISCUSSION

CRITICISM OF BRITISH * MINISTRY

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, Feb. 21 Recent reports from the meat trade in the United Kingdom that certain imported meat products were not acceptable to English consumers were discussed by the meat and wool council of Federated Farmers to-day.

It was stated that the quality of New Zealand’s export produce was jealously guarded by the New .Zealand Meat Board. The meat grading system held rigidly .to exacting standards of certification and purity up to the time that meat was loaded into ships at New Zealand ports. Then the meat became the property of the British Ministry of Food and was entirely controlled and disposed of at the discretion of the Ministry. Any deterioration of meat was therefore the responsibility of the British Ministry of Food. Because of the care taken with the meat while it was in New Zealand, the council considered a grave injustice was being done to New Zealand’s export trade by defective storage and distribution methods in the conduct of which New Zealand had no part. “New Zealand has been publicised in newspapers in Britain as having sent inferior meat to GreatBritain,” said Mr G. Walsh. “I spoke recently to people from Britain and they were at a loss to understand why the high quality of New Zealand export meat should have dropped. Because of this recent adverse publicity it may well b*e that a reluctance to buy New Zealand meat will show itself in Britain. “The National Farmers’ Union of Great Britain is already accusing the British-Ministry of Food of unfairness Tfi’ contracts for overseas -meat. --We have «only a verbal assurance from Great Britain about our meat contracts and there is no written guarantee. We cannot afford to let this sort of complaint go unanswered. Our jurisdiction over the meat we produce ends as soon as it is loaded into ships at New Zealand ports.” Mr Walsh said many of the able and scientific administrators of the British meat- trade were going but of business .aricli young and for. the most part un- ■ trained people were going x in. That situation was becoming worse. If the Ministry of Food was having difficulty with the storage of New Zealand frozen meat, the Ministry had only to make a request and the .meat could be held in New Zealand until the 'Ministry was ready for it. Mr W. W. Mulholland said he did not know of a single case of c'omplaint about New Zealand meat that had not been immediately answered by the New Zealand Meat Board’s representative in London. New Zealand meat had a very high reputation for consistency of quality with the British meat trade. “All we can ask is that the Ministry of Food officials be more careful in future,” he said. Many of the publicised cases of allegedly inferior meat were the result of British butchers “trying to hammer the Ministry of Food,” said Mr Mulholland.