THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1371, 23 February 1912, Page 8

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

LONDON INSPECTION OF PRODUCE, 'THE WORK INITIATED. Representation of the Dairy Trainee Division of the Department of Agriculture on British markets is (■according to the Department) now well established. ' The officer in charge, Mr. AV. Wright, formerly grader in charge at the port of Patea, has settled down to his-work, and has already been able to furnish valuable,information i to the grading staff at this end and to producers in general, raoro especially .in regard to the quality of our,butter and cheese as it opens up on the' Home ttiari kets. Butter Quality. While the quality of the majority of New Zealand brands of butter examined is reported on as satisfactory, the trade, it is said, has complained seriously of that of a few brands, and tho official inspection supported the complaints except in one or two instances.. In one case a firm contended that a butter graded "second" in New Zealand was really of first-grade quality. The London grader found on inquiry that the London criticism was based on a sample taken when the butter was in a frozen state, and thai when he sampled the line when defrosted the grading at the port of shipment fairly reproi sented the quality ol the butter as it reached the market. '"'■',.'„ The butters about which chief complaint was .made- wc-e cither made from whey or from home-separated cream. In one or two instances, however, distinctly unsatisfactory quality characterised the butters turned out by, well-equipped esfctblishmentfcCoiidiicTcd on the whole-milk system, the butters-displaying a tendency to fishiiioss. , . , , H Uristol strong complaint was made of the (jimlitv of a home-separation butter. A butter made -yithotit salt or pre- \ servative opened up stale in flavour, although tho trade made no complaint as to its quality. The defect was noticeable in several lines of the same brand .inspected bv the London grader. On. tho other hand, several brands nnsnltcd but containing a certain amount of preservative were found to be sweet in- flavour. -U Glasgow the inspector had an opportunity of examining a-number of brands of New Zealand cheese, which he ioiinu •to be giving satisfaction oi. that market, several brands being very.highly spoken of The chief fault found in the .cheese examined in Loudm wasirregulanry in ■ quality-Moisture-Content. . In several cases butters made in leading factories have contained a percentage p. moisture dangerously near the legal lun't, one brand Iwhig found with a water--:on-tent exceeding the "maximum allowance. Reporting on this case, Mr. Wright says: "From information I have received at this end quite a number of our best lactones- seem to be aiming at the 1G per cent., and working as near that amount of moisture as possible. It would be :r.ucli better for the reputation of our t'.airyproduco if wo woiv content with a lower nioistiire-confcout. Wo would then at least relaiu tho confidence of the buyers and ■users of our butter. At present there appears to be a growing suspicion in re- , gard to our butter in this respect. If this is allowed to continue it nniSt end in financial loss to our producers, as if buyers can obtain other brands of butter showing a safer margin of moisture-con-tent they will naturally pass over New Zealand produce in favour of it." Foreign Produce. Opportunity was afforded the inspect..! to examine rival, butter and'cheese. One siitnjlle of; Danish butter was of fair flavour, butiSllghtly sour; the other had been a little scorched. "We have met just tho sanifc; flavours in our own butters lm cofnirifents. :The .Siberian butter was stale and off. - English cheddars wero decidedly disappointing to the New Zealand grader. They showed excessive acid, and the texture li'as gone. Flavour was also defective. One sample, however, was a very nice cheese, mild in flavour and of. Vine body. Generally speaking, O.madian cheese was found to be rather clos-er in body than ours. Some had a nice waxy body, but others were inclined to pastiness. .Flavours ranged from fair to an inclination to "off." Generally they were milder in flavour tlian New Zealand cheddars. Dutch cheese, partly mado from skimmilk, was clean in flavour, but lough on rubbing between tho fingers. It was found iii'inore than one case that a lino of butter, or part of a line, had boon branded with a special mark to distinguish it for -i purpose, but the i- Hiking was so roughly done that it led to confusion, a simple letter being scribbled on tho boxes, with blue pencil in some cases and red in others. The shipping companies in particular complained of this unsatisfactory system. A Trouble With Cheese Weights. A number of complaints have been n-.ade to the London inspector regarding carelessness iii marking the weights on cheese-crates. Cases wero found where the numbering of cases had Veen duplicated. Then, one case was marked "lB71b." on the one end jind '16-llb." on the other. Considerable differences in loss of weights were found in one line. The first three crates turned out hod lost 61b., but tho next three exhibited a las,* a" 131b. Branding;' Individual Cheese. A ease came under the inspector's notice which demonstrated the ndvisableness of branding each individual cheese. A crate had reached a Margate retailer in a, badly damaged condition, so much so that the purchaser was under the impression that the New Zealand cheese had been removed and other.-, substituted. The Home grader was, however, able to prove that the cheese come from a Now Zealand factory by reason of the brand stamp, which could be deciphered, although the cheese was covered with mould. "This branding of cheese," Mr. Wright observes, "is of considerable importance, as it enables the buyer to recognise the product when ho buys it, and again, as in this instance, it quite settles any doubt as to the identity of tho cheese.". Cheese Packages. Many complaints are made by the lrc.de as to the packing of our cheese. Failure to nail the centre, boards to the batten*/ was pointed to by a Glasgow firm, which also complained that the crowns of tho cheese came away with the centre hoards, thereby causing considerable flnniirinl loss. The head of the firm urged that one inch cenlre board- at ..least should he used, and these should be securely nailed to the battens. The use of scale-hoards was recommended. The inspector met with a lino of medium cheese which had been crated without any dividing material whatever between tho livo top and the 'wo bottom rheeses., A case was opened, and the cheese separated, when it was found that the crowns of the cheese, ..where these had come in contact with each other, were j quite solt and white. Naturally it was only a question of time when these cheeses would become practically joined together, and tho skin destroyed. A London firm Js very emphatic in its opinion that no oheese should be shipped without scale boards. It declared that it had known losses of. as much as 7s. on individual cheese, which would have been obviated had scale-boards been provided, Reporting generally on the crating of cheese, the London Inspector remarks that ho would like to see it arriving in something like t -he condition of the butter packages- At the present time the package.-, too often present a soiled and unsightly appearance.

A factory may be .'supplied with the best cooled milk, giving splendid tests, and yet not be' a success. Good equipment is essential to sure profits, and in this connection "Victor" Cheese Vats are time and money-savers. They are far ahead of the old flat-bottomed vats, and should find a place in every factory. All sizes are obtainable from the manufacturer, Albert .1. Partem, P>egistcr*<l Plumber, Carterton—Advt. Jack—"There's one good thing about widow's weeds." Tom—"What's that?" Jock—"They rarely interfere with the growth of orange blossoms."