CSIR/O Division of Food Preservation and Transport (1940 - 1960)

Summary

The CSIR Food Preservation and Transport Section, established in 1931, became the CSIR/O Division of Food Preservation and Transport in 1940. The Division was located in Homebush, Sydney, but moved to new premises in Sydney's North Ryde at about the same time as adopting the new name of Division of Food Preservation, in June 1960.

Details

From "CSIRO research for Australia" (1962) pdf page 32
"During the early years of C.S.J.R. there were a few scientists engaged in research on the ripening of bananas and on freezing of meat and fish. A survey of food preservation and transport, with special regard to refrigeration, was made in 1931-32, and it became clear that much more work was needed in order to reduce waste and improve quality. In J 932 a Food Preservation Section was established and Dr. J. R. Vickery, an Australian who had been engaged on a survey of the New Zealand meat industry, became its leader. Dr. Vickery has been Chief of the Division since the group acquired Divisional status in 1941 [sic]."

"When war broke.-0ut-in 1939 it was necessary to gear the resources of the Division to the needs of the armed forces. There was a great upsurge in requirements for canned, frozen, and dehydrated fruits and vegetables and much developmental research in pre-processing treatments and processing practices was called for. The Division became a source of information for the many new food processing factories which were established.

Since the war a wide range of basic and applied research has developed. The Division's chemists, for example, have made fundamental contributions to our knowledge of the waxy coatings of fruits, the physical chemistry of proteins, the chemistry of the destruction of vitamin C, and "non-enzymic browning" which is responsible for spoilage in a variety of foods.

The physicists have studied the transfer of heat and moisture through foodstuffs and given us a new theoretical understanding of the canning process. Work on the transport of highly perishable foods has influenced the design and performance of refrigerated and ventilated railway vehicles.

Basic work in the microbiological section has been concerned with the water requirements of micro-organisms, and the resistance of food spoilage bacteria to heat, cold, and high-salt concentration.

The plant physiology group has advanced our knowledge of the physiology of salt uptake of plant cells, and the growth, development, ripening and ageing of fruits.

In the applied field, solutions have been found to many of the problems encountered in the preservation of meat, fish, eggs, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, canned foods and dehydrated foods. Acceptable conditions for freezing, storing and canning Australian species of fish have been worked out. The Division has devised ways of predicting the optimum maturity of vegetables, such as peas and sweet corn, for canning. Treatments have been found to combat mould growth on citrus and grapes, bitterness in orange juice, and superficial scald in apples. Variety trials are conducted to show which varieties of fruit and vegetables are best suited for processing.

In 1961, after nearly thirty years tenancy ofabattoir accommodation, the Division moved into fine new buildings at the Sydney suburb of North Ryde."

Related entries

Timeline

 c. 1926 - 1931 CSIR Cold Storage Investigations
       1931 - 1940 CSIR Food Preservation and Transport Section
             1940 - 1960 CSIR/O Division of Food Preservation and Transport
                   1962 - 1971 CSIRO Division of Food Preservation
                         1971 - 1988 CSIRO Division of Food Research
                               1988 - 1992 CSIRO Division of Food Processing
                                     1992 - 1997 CSIRO Division of Food Science and Technology
                                           1997 - Food Science Australia - CSIRO

Published resources

Books

• Bastian, J. M.; McBean, D. McG.; Smith, M. B., 50 Years of Food Research (Melbourne: CSIRO, 1979). Details
• Schedvin, C.B; Trace, K., Historical Directory of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, 1926-1976 (Canberra: CSIRO, 1978), 101 pp. https://csiropedia.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/csiro_historical_directory_1926_1976.pdf. Details

Resources

• Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-556691. Details

Resource Sections

• 'Primary description of agency CA 4367; CSIRO, Division of Food Science and Technology, New South Wales. Registration of entity: 23 September 1987', in RecordSearch, National Archives of Australia, 2000, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?Number=CA%204367. Details

See also

• Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_c.html. Details