MEAT BRANDING.. .

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1620, 11 December 1912, Page 10

MEAT BRANDING.. .

'• ANILINE INDELIBLE MAEKS. The unwisdom of placing aniline indelible brands on tho surface of frozen rrieat carcasses has been, remarked on.before, and tho following note from an Australian paper emphasises the undesirability of the branding idea:— The Commercial Department of the Agent General's Officio in London, recently informed tho "S.M. Herald's" representative there that two small shipments of frozen mutton and lamb have recently been landed from Sydney by the Moravian, hearing on the carcasses the 'brands "Springfield" and "Concordia," placed, on the inside of the legs 'with rubber stamp. The brand comes, out. in. an indelible blue mark 2| inches by 1 inch. "Presumably,", he says, "this is the beginning of.the policy favoured by the official Australian Government Departments, advocating the branding of Australian meat, so that it can be sold as 'Australian.'. Experts, merchants,, and commercial people of ell classes have urged the unwisdom of branding upon the Australian shipper, on tho ground that as soon as.the meat begins to thaw the colour begins to run. No better illustration of the practical nature of this recommendation can be mentioned than •the two shipments in question. The meat has been inspected by. request, by. the Agent-General's representative, who reports that,- as the meat has got a bit soft,' the blue colour, has gone all round the adjacent parts, and that it has been absolutely impossible to sell, the meat without having the whole of' the muscle on which the brand was placed, and some of the surrounding tissues, cut away." -