New Zealand Meat in America.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 27 September 1910, Page 4

New Zealand Meat in America.

OFFICIAL ACTION REGARDING

INSPECTION

The New Zealand Department of Agriculture is advised that during April and May last shipments of X'ew Zealand mutton and lamb, aggregating 300 and 850 carcases respectively, wore made from British ports to New York. In accordance with an arrangement made in connection with a consignment of New Zealand lamb from , Southampton to New York last yea>r, the above-men-tioned shipments were -furnished by the Veterinary Officer of. the High Commissioner's Office in London (Mi Craibb) with a certificate of freedom from disease, etc., in the terms of the American regulations. Owing to a fresh interpretation of the latter, however, some of the shipments were held u pat New York by the authorities on the ground- that the certificate should be given by the inspector who actually passed tin. meat in the country of origin. The hitch was removed by means of cable communications between London, Wellington and New York, the department having the co-operation of the American Consul in Wellington.

The new situation, however, necessitated a definite arrangement being effected between tlf New Zealand and American an ties, to govern future shr ont" In the case of meat Iransl .oped . British ports, the .-' " ; it votoir ary representative ii. I .ed ] ingdom, (Dr. Wrav.,: : satisfied that the original required are in order. Au was able to convince I>r Wray of the efficiency of the inspection in New Zealand, and to obtain his accpetance of the officially marked tag as a certificate, on condition that he (Mr Crabb) also signed a prescribed general declaration in connection with the transhipment. The agreement necessitated the signatures of all the New Zealand Veterinary Inspectors being viseed by tlie American Consular authorities. Full sots of specimen tags used at the various meat-export works of the dominion wero therefore furnished by the Department to the Consul-Genera 1 of the Unii.ecj States at Auckland. Tlie latter official has now forwarded the tags through the Department of State at Washington, with his signature and the seal of the Consu-late-General affixed to the baok of each tag. In his last report on the subject, dated 24th June, Mr Crabb states that it is considered by Dr Wray that no further trouble should arise in connection with the importation of New Zealand meat into the United States.

The arrangement concluded affords notable testimony to the value and efficiency of the New Zealand sytem of meat-inspection, and to the estimation in which) it is held overseas.