BONE TAINT IN BEEF.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1198, 5 August 1911, Page 8

BONE TAINT IN BEEF.

SOME SUGGESTIONS. . In the course of his latest report to the secretary of the New Zealand Producers' Association, Mr. F. J. v Shelton, tho Homo representative of the association, says:— | '"''l hiiVe''had all'^ulßWidtf''brt 1 this' subISP.'qffM'ki Jl''. BaTIiPK t|ie-,yeteriliaf,v ; offiaws lnTchargo.ai-IJif, Islington Live Cattle Market'and Slaughter Housed and inspected the. methods adopted there with the slaughtering and dressing of bullocks. "In order to let, out the heat an incision is made, clear into the-stifle joint, from which exhudes ;a quantity_-of oil. This Mr. Barnes recommends should always bo done. Some butchers, in addition to _ making a cut through to the stifle joint, also open, up the hip joint underneath tho tuberosity of the pelvic bone, about there to four inches from, towards the flnnk. This Mr. Barnes recommends should only be done if the weather is very hot and tho animal very fat, as he states that an unnecessary opening of the skin assists action of flies and bacteria.

' Somo butchers with very fat beasts make a slit in the front of thick flank, but this is not considered advisable except with very fat cattle, and for the same reason referred to with the hip joint..- . .

••'ln dressing cows.the method is: After the ;udder is removed, tho fatty portion on each side is either cut awav or inlo, and then remove a portion of the udder capsule, which is often left when the udder is being removed, which if left \vould cause contraction of tho fat when the carcass cooled. The removal of this allows the escape of any blood that' may have collected there.

"When in Chicago'I called on Messrs. owitt and Co-, and from them learn ("hat their system was to make the cut into the stiflo joint and to put' their cattlo into cold storo as soon as possible after killing, without leaving them to hang and cool outside; but thev explain that their business is for chilling onlv, at a temperature of 35. I discussed with Mr. Barnes the proposition of putting fresh killed beef inlo a freezing chamber at a low temperature of, say, 8; mid. while adwitting he had not had direct experience of this, he doubted its advisability until a proportion at least of the .heat was "P, 3 . 1 " , rernov ed, as the animal heat might vitiate the air in freezing chamber unless means wore -available of withdraw'"B same; and it was a (so : possible that the .heat l might be" frozen into the'meat. Practical experience will settle lliis point. t i° „ m!U '° inquiries f;om consignees of beet from Now Zealand, in thi« market, and learn that tho systdm adopted at the Gisborne Sheepfarmers' Works this season has resulted iu perfect freedom from bone taint, but that licet' jrom some - other works in \c-w Zealand is still being troubled with iliis-. As It IS desirable that all New Zealand beef should be free of this taint fas at present beef is handled as beef, irrespcctive of any particular works at which it is killed) it might bo advisable for the \ arious freezing companies to ascertain exactly the working and results of tho Wk m Wisborne Sheepfarincrs l