Meat Preserving Process.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 257, 7 February 1889, Page 3

Meat Preserving Process.

A party of influential citizens were present at the Australasian Wool Stores, Collins-Street, on Wednesday, to witness experiments with a novel process of meat preservation, introduced into the colony by Colonel House, of thS United States, where, it is stated, the success of the method has already given rise to a flourishing trade in the exportation of fresh meat from that country. As demonstrated on 11th inst,, the process by which flesh of all kinds may be preserved for an almost indefinite period is exceedingly simple, consisting merely in the steeping of the flesh in a liquic preparation patented as ‘f Beniana,” the effect of which is to render the meat entirely unsusceptible of decomposition. By this means meat has been kept in a fresh state for over nine months, exposed to the influences of the atmosphere, and yet at the termination of that time bas not showh any effect of the treatment, being in taste hardly distinguishable from the butcher’s, article. The company were shown samples of pork that had been thus preserved for over 8 months, after having been kept in the liquid for less than 60 hours. The samples were declared by all present to be perfectly fresh and devoid of any undesirable effeotfrom their immersion in “Beniana.”

Although the efficacy of this preparation has been well established in the United States, the patentees have conducted a series of experiments in Victoria, with the object of testing whether the effectiveness of the process was likely to be interfered with by different climatic conditions, but the result of these trials has been perfectly satisfactory. The liquid has been submitted for analysis to Mr Blackett, the Government analyst, who has certified that it contains no deleterious ingredients likely to prejudice the fitness of tha meat for human consumption, The gentlemen who inspected the process on January 11 were so satisfied with the results of the experiments that they appointed a .committee to act as promoters of a public company to acquire the regulation rights for the Australasian colonies, consisting of the following;—Or Godfrey, Messrs O. Smith, S. Strettle, J. N, Walton, H. Byan, and G. Brown. It is the intention of these gentlemen to bring the scheme for the establishment of preserving factories in Victoria prominently before the publie, and ail the want of an effective preservative has been tho only obstacle militating against the success of the] meat preserving industry,—Sydney