MEAT GRADING EXTENSION

Chronicle (Levin), 28 April 1947, Page 2

MEAT GRADING EXTENSION

yres*> Associc-^on

By Telegrapn—

WELLINGTON, aprU 27. Referring to an amendment gazetted last week to the Board of Trade (meat grading) Regulations 1943, under which meat sold on the local market is graded in terins of the relevant standard speci fieation, the acting Minister of Industries and Commerce, Hon. A. H. Nordmeyer said tonight that the amendment applied to the grading to ali meat killed in abattoirs and meat export slaugliterhouses whereas previously meat sold outside an abattoir district was not re quired to bear grading marks. The eft'ect of the amendinent was therefore to extend the beneiit of meat grading to all consumers who purehased meat killed in abattoirs and meat export slaughterhouses regardless of where it was purehased. The amendinent also . exempteil from grading requirements any portion of a earcase which was to be proeessed or canned and at the same time ensured that grading would apply to sueh parts of a earcase' as. were sold as joints or cuts. A furtlier provision of the amendinent stipulated that frozen meat which, at the time of killing, was I intended for the local market, shall be graded and branded before freezing. Einally the amendinent required heads to be left on carcases, claimed to be hoggets, in order that graders could iinally determine by the examination of the teetli, whether sucli carcases -were actually hogget. This was necessary to reinove a conflict which had arisen in some cases as to whether j or not carcases were hogget or mutton. The overall efifect of the amendment j was, therefore, to extend the benehts of i meat grading to as many consumers as j practicable within existing circum- j stanees.