EXPERIENCES IN FREEZING MEAT FOR EXPORT.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3483, 5 September 1882, Page 3

EXPERIENCES IN FREEZING MEAT FOR EXPORT.

A correipondence has taken place on this subject between Mr Coleman of Glasgow, the well-known inventor of refrigerating machinery largely employed in the meat export trade of the world, and Messrs Leishman, Inglis, and Co., the London agents of the Melbourne Frozen Meat Export Company. The matter being of great practical moment, tha correspondence—of which, at the request of Mr Dugald Little, of Hobart, we present a copy—will doubtless be read with interest alike by stockowners and those engaged more directly in the business in question : — (COPT.) Mr Coleman to Messrs Leishman, Inglis, and Co, Glasgow, June 23,1882. Dear Sirs, —Perhaps you know of the movements of Sir James M'Cullock, and I ■ball be glad if you will mention to him that I have noticed a paragraph in the Australasian just arrived, stating that a lot—several hundred —of the sheep prepared for the Cuzo were not allowed to be put on board, being soft and covered with fungus or other growth, and that a great deal of trouble appears to have been taken to examine the condition of the meat, the blame being laid upon the walls of the Melbourne depot containing organic germs. All this appears to me to be very well, but in my opinion the failure has been principally owing to the want of promptitude in reducing and keeping the whole carcase below freezing point, under which conditions these growths never take place.

The mis-shapen condition of almost every cargo of meat yet arrived proves the defective treatment to which they have been subjected. In the exceptional case of the Dunedin, which was under my control, the freezing-machine .was more than usually powerful. I have recently had occasion to call attention to the limited freezing power in the colonies, and to the stupid statements circulated in the papers there about the danger of freezing meat too soon after it is tilled. Provided the blood is drained off, the freezing operations cannot be commenced too soon. —I am, &c, (Signed) J. J. Coleman.

Messrs. Leishinan, Inglis. and Co. to Mr Coleman. London June 26,1882. J. J. Coleman, Esq.—Dear sir,—"We duly received your valued favour of 22nd insfc., the contents of which will be communicated to Sir James M'Cullock. We thank you for expressing your views in regard to the best method of treating meat to be shipped frozen, but from our experience of this trade we cannot coincide in your opinion that it is not necessary in the first place to get rid of all animal heat and as much superfluous moisture as possible. At all events we are not aware that the method you suggest has ever been successfully carried out. Mr Cott informs us that in the American trade the meat is neTer frozen. And ill the case of the Dunedin, which you quote, the cheep were allowed to cool for many hours before leaving the place where they were killed j after which they had a long railway journey and finally they would probably be some hours in the upper chamber of the Dunedin before the freezing process was actually accomplished. The Dunedin, therefore, proves nothing for your theory, while there is much evidence to show that similar precautions have been somewhat neglected in the case of such shipments as have come to us in good order. The mis-shapen carcases are the result either of insufficient power as you suggest, or, as we believe, of the neglect of proper precautions against thawing while in course of shipment—both preventible causes, but this has Inothing to do with the mildewing, though it may aggravate it. In spite of the somewhat imperfect examination which took place in Melbourne, a email per centage of the Cuzco sheep aro more or less spotted, but thus far not a single carcase has come in out of shape. On the other hand, in previous consignments we have noticed carcases much out of shape that were in sound enough condition. We have been informed, on the best authority, that the most suitable temperature for cooling meat for any purpose is 40deg., and we believe our Melbourne friends have the means, if they choose, of maintaining this temperature, in which meat will keep perfectly sweet for many 'days—certainly for as long as required to ensure the most favorable freezing conditions. :We maj say that every butcher here to whom we have spoken has acknowledged the risk of exposing freshly-killed meat to severe frost. Notwithstanding your longer experience in such matters, we feel sure you will excuse our expressing our opposite views—the result of experience gained under somewhat different conditions to yours. The question is of much practical interest, and it is well that it be thoroughly ventilated.— We are, &c., (Signed) Leishmak, Ikglis, & Co. Mr Coleman to Messrs Leishman, Inglish and Co. Glasgow, June 28, 1882. Dear Sirs, —I have your letter of the 26th inst.; the importance of the subject demands a full investigation. I note that you hare been informed, on the best authority, that the most suitable temperature for cooling meat for any purpose is 40deg., and that every butcher to whom you have spoken has acknowledged the risk of exposing freshly-killed meat to too severe - a frost. These statements are precisely what "were made to me a few years ago, when it was determined to entrust me with the construction of the first cold-air machine for oceanic traffic, and since then fully onehalf of the meat imported into Great Britain has been worked by machinery designed under my supervision, and the logs of every Toyage have been sent to me and filed in iaj office. I have also been in New York twice and returned with large cargoes of meat, and made careful inspection of the same during each voyage, and I may say briefly from the result of "all this experience—there can be no question about it—that for the prevention of low organic growths on the meat the sooner it is reduced below freezing-point the better. If freezing meat quickly after the death of the animal in any way injures or alters the flavor or color of the meat —which I consider as groundless an assumption ns thai advanced by tho same class of people, that 40deg. is the proper temperature in which to keep meat—it is most certainly a minor consideration to the paramount necessity of bringing down the temperature quickly in a tropical climate, the air of which is always more loaded with organic life than a temperate one. And, knowing the nature and powers of all the cold-air machinery yet erected in tho colonies. I do not think there is the least danger in putting on their full power to the meat immediately after the blood is drawn off. When the shade temperature is 98deg. as will doubtless be sometimes the case, such a course is absolutely necessary, as the blood temperature will then be no higher than that of the atmosphere, and under such circumstances it would be obviously useless delaying artificial refrigeration. Freezing is a question of timo, and as a matter of fact a large cold-air machine, discharging say 80,000 cubic feet of cold air per .hour, will not freeze more than about a ton

of meat per hour, so that in practice, when lO or 20 tons of freshly-killed meat are thrown into the freezing-chamber connected with such a machine, it is a physical impossibility for ifc to get the meat even surfacefrozen for many hours, so "that the supposition that the process can be in any way dangerous to the meat i 9 quite imaginary ; and any laxity in applying the cooling operations promptly and efficiently ie strongly to be deprecated. As a mere matter o£ economy it is advisable in all cases to take advantage of what natural cooling power the atmosphere will afford, so that if the outside air is so moderate in temperature as to allow of the meat being reduced to 50deg. or 60deg. by a few hours' exposure in the open air, then such a course is advisable ; but, to keep meat beyond a day at a temperature of '10 deg. or 50deg. will have a most detrimental effect upon its keeping qualities when the meat arrives and becomes thawed at this end. All these observations presuppose that the blood is properly drained off, otherwise the color of the meat; will be affected, especially if, owing to scarcity of drinking water before killing, the blood of the animal is allowed to become dark, venous and loaded with carbonic acid and other impurities.— I am, &c.,J (Signed) J. J. Colemak.