BLOOM ON LAMB

Hokitika Guardian, 5 August 1931, Page 5

BLOOM ON LAMB

SCIENTIFIC SURVEY. THE EXPEDITION TO NEW ZEALAND. LONDON, June 25. A review of scientific investigations into methods of improving food supplies is made in the report of the food investigation Board for the year 1930. The publication is issued by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (H.M. Stationery Office, price 3s). Mention is made of the expedition that went to New Zealand in September, 1929, under the leadership of Dr. Ezer Griffiths, F.R.S., to make a comprehensive scientific survey of the trade in frozen mutton and lamb from the abattoir in the Dominion to the wholesale market in London at Smithfield. Thanks to the whole hearted cooperation of all concerned (says the report), and in particular to the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, the expedition was able to secure very full data. Messrs Griffiths, Vickery and Holmes contribute a brief statement regarding their work.

The investigation, they state, was directed not merely to the elucidation of the factors influencing the “bloom,” but also to the critical examination of all the technique relating to the treatment of the lambs from the farm to the wholesale market iu Great Britain, except, of course, for subsidiary purposes relating to the treatment of byproducts, etc. The survey wag concerned primarily with the measurement of the temperature, relative humidity and movement of the air surrounding the carcases, as well as with the temperatures of the carcases themselves, in the various stages of storage and transport from the freezing works in New Zealand to Smithfield. the principal market in Great Britain. These stages comprised the cooling floor, the freezing chambers, storage in New Zealand, transport from the freezing works to the overseas boat, ocean transport, transport from the boat to the cold stores in Loudon, and, finally, storage in London.

CONTINUOUS OBSERVATION. Specially designed resistance thermometers were used for the measurement of temperature. In the determination of the relative humidity of the air at temperatures below 0.C., a novel form of instrument was devised, based on the use of multiple thermojunctions and distant-reading in'di Ltor. This type of ’lnstrument was essential for the measurements taken on hoard! ship, since the bulk of the cargo was inaccessible during the voyage. Continuous observation was also made of the rate and extent of th'trldss iu weight <j? <v groups of carcases. Consideration was also given to th« problem of distorted carcases, a defect frequently observed in Smithfield Market. Separate experiments have shown that this defect can be avoided by the maintenance of low temperatures during storage and transport. During the survey, the particular points where the softening of the carcases could take place were noted. Preliminary enquiries showed that, probably, a considerable percentage of New Zealand lambs were initially defective in “bloom,” i.e., immediately after slaughter their appearance was unattractive. Certain preliminary investigations, therefore, were carried out to determine the effect on the “initial bloom” of such ante-mortem factors as breed, age and nutrition. Certain other ante-mortem factors that mieht possibly affect the rate of loss of “bloom” later, such as the period of rest allowed the lambs before slaughter, were also investigated.

LOSS OF WEIGHT. The scientists then explain the general practice obtaining in the treatment of the carcases from slaughter to the wholesale markets in Great Br'iuin. During the survey, several representative freezing-works situated in the chief lamb-producing districts of the North and South Islands were thoroughly investigated. At- each of these works batches of lambs of similar history were obtained, and were thereafter uaed as experimental material to illustrate the effects of the observed environmental conditions on Htir “quality” and “bloom.” In all, observations were made on approximately 1200 carcases.

This material also served in investigations of the conditions of .transport by rail and lighter to the boats. By systematic distribution of comparable groups of carcases in the ’tween decks and lower holds of three boats, one refrigerated by the dry-battery aircirculation method and the others by the circulation of brine througu grids of pipes, the conditions during loading and ocean transport were observed. In Great Britain the survey covered two phases, viz., transport by barge, road-van and rail way-waggon, and storage in five cold stores in London. At successive stages the loss of “bloom” of each hatch of carcases was noted' and, as far as possible, correlated with the rate of loss of weight and the physicial conditions of the environment. The extent of the loss of weight not onlv partly determines the j decree of the loss of “bloom” but is, j in itself, important from purely monetary considerations. Tt is estimated, for instance, that a saving of 1 per cent, in the total loss of weight in an average season’s export from New Zealand would result in a gain of some £IOO,OOO to the) industry.