QUALITY DECLINES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 149, 1 September 1941, Page 5

QUALITY DECLINES

LOWER GRADE CREAM v - RANGITAIKT FARMERS CONCERNED A paragraph in the chairman's -annual report to the ' suppliers of the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Company, drew attention to the lowering in grade of cream supplied during the past year. The slip, he said, was inexplicable and naturally had a derogatory effect upon the payment. "This decline in the grade,'" said Mr McCracken, "is giving the • directorate a great deal of concern and steps have been taken to have investigation made by the Dairy Division in an effort to find the cause of the trouble. As a result & neAv system has been introduced which it was hoped would eventually eliminate the trouble. "The loss in grade was not limited to the Rangitaiki, but had ejffected Opotiki, T'e Puke and even Morrinsville. Just what was the cause it was difficult to say. It •could not be said that the quality of the raw material had deteriorated, but there were some districts where feed flavours were definitely affecting the manufactured article. Mr Lambert pointed out that the ■present grading was the lowest on record. He could not understand why in 1930 with a test of 90.5 per cent superfine it was feasible to slip back to 67.43 per cent in 1940 Avlien m the meantime the Company had installed deodoriser.!? and other modern equipment to assist in the process of manufacture., The importance of the grading figures was that they vitally effected Jhe payout to shareholders.