The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 1892. The Frozen Meat Trade

Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 151, 18 June 1892, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 1892. The Frozen Meat Trade

It is very evident from the following extract culled from the Ladies Column of the Illustrated London News that the New Zealand frozen meat is be- ! coming popular at Home : — " New ! Zealand lamb deserves attention from ' the house keeper, English lamb is, of i course, only procurable and still scarce and dear, but the colonial product has been for several weekspast (April 29th) in the wholesale market aud is even now to be had at half the price of English lamb. The Sraithfield quotation for the middle week of April is 6s id to 7s 4d per stone for English and only 3s 8d for New Zealand lamb. As regards the suitability of the latter for the table I can say from personal trial that it is the most delicious lamb imaginable and perfectly indistinguishable from the finest English. This lamb is imported in icy cold air chambers. The earliest attempts involving placing in ice, are responsible fpr much of the prejudice against colonial meat. But the dry air refrigeration now used is altogether different, leaving the meat übsolutely unchanged in colour, texture, and flavour. It is undoubtedly often sold as English meat, for some 15,000 lambs are imported and disposed of here annually ; but the New Zealand lamb is available much earlier than the English, besides being cheaper, therefore every housekeeper should ask her tradesman to supply her with New Zealand meat." Coming from such a source this is another good advertisement for our New Zealand frozen meat. The wholesale dealers at Smithfield have no doubt had it too much in their own hands ever since the introduction of frozen meat into London, and we are informed that many of them have amassed large fortunes, because as stated in the above quoted paragraph it has — the frozen lamb — undoubtedly been sold as English meat. We remember listening to a farmer who has recently returned from a trip to the Old Country giving his experience. Whilst in one town he heard a butcher calling out "This way for "prime New Zealand mutton." He went over to theshopand examined the " prime New Zealand mutton," but only found some miserable stuff which the settlers here would scarcely give to their dogs. He challenged the butcher, and offered to lay a bet that it was not New Zealand mutton at all. The butcher looked at him and said " I suppose you came from New Zealand." " Yes," said he " I did." "Oh well," said the butcher, " Come inside and I will show you some New Zealand mutton." He went inside and the butcher showed him some prime mutton and said 15 Well you see Mr we have to sell that pointing to the stuff called frozen meat — "to them as don't know any better and keep this for " — pointing to the New Zealand frozen meat — those who do know better." This, said our informant, has been the dodge of the butchers at Home for years past, palming off inferior meat as New Zealand frozen mutton and selling our meat as prime English. He was pleased to note, however, that the people were beginning to find out those frauds of the butchers and no respectable tradesman now would attempt to do such a thiug as the butcher referred to.