§ Mr. Marplesasked the Minister of Food what is the loss expressed as a percentage when lean meat is processed into chicken food; and to what extent a saving could be made by the separation of the lean meat from the fat.
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§ Mr. StracheyThe loss on processing lean meat into meat meal for animal feeding is equal to the moisture driven off which, though variable, is approximately 40 per cent. There would be no saving in the processing by separating lean meat from fat; the loss would still be the extent of the moisture driven off. The resultant products would still consist of edible fat, grease or tallow (according to the raw material processed) and meat meal.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Minister of Food if he will grant an allocation of animal lean meat to Wallasey, Cheshire, as the nearest knacker yard is at Saltney, near Chester.
§ Mr. StracheyI assume that the Question refers to meat condemned at Government slaughterhouses as unfit for human consumption. This is normally disposed of to licensed technical fat melters who process it into urgently needed tallows, greases, glues, fertilisers and rationed protein feedingstuffs for farm animals. I am afraid I cannot agree to treat Wallasey exceptionally by diverting local supplies of slaughterhouse condemned meat to pets' meat shops.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that knackers' yards in Lancashire and Cheshire are opening their own retail shops and refusing to supply the trade elsewhere; and what action he proposes to take to end this practice and to remedy the shortage of animal meat in Wallasey, Cheshire.
§ Mr. StracheyI do not control the distribution of meat from knackers' yards. It is largely obtained from sick or casualty animals, whose flesh is not fit for human consumption, and supplies are consequently intermittent and limited in many areas. It would be impossible to operate any allocation scheme.