N.Z. BUTTER AND CHEESE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1693, 8 March 1913, Page 8

N.Z. BUTTER AND CHEESE.

ENGLISH COMPLAINTS ABOUT QUALITY. According to a cablegram received from London 5n Thursday, complaints are made about the poor condition of recent shipments of butter and cheese from certain New Zealand factories, experts declaring the "poor condition" to- be duo to uncleanhness.

From inquiries made yesterday by a representative of tlia Dominion, it would appear that there may be some justification for the complaints about some of the cheese shipped, but that the butter has been uniformly good. The suggestion that thero is uucleanliness at any of the factories is not treated seriously by those knowing the position at this end. As far as the export of -butter for the present seaspn is concerned, it is stated that examination of the produce prior to shipment has not shown that there has been any falling off in quality, but that as a matter of fact butter from many of the factories lias shoHfii'-sonio improvement in flavour this year. There are only three or four butter factories in tho whole of the.Dominion that have not adopted the principle of pasteurising- their cream, the result being that the butter made now is more uniform than hitherto, and in the opinion of experts it possesses better keeping qualities. As is generally known, the Government inspectors of dairy produce in London send to New Zealand weekly reports on the quality and condition of each New Zealand shipment of butter arriving on the Homo market, and as far as the present season's butter is concerned these report Tiavo contained fewer complaints than was the ease last year.

With regard to cheese, it is understood that a number of complaints have been received this season, and that these have already , been made known to the com-panies-concerned.' The cheese exports have increased enormously this year, the figures being something like one-third higher at the end of last month than they were at the end of February last year. The first shipments this season, it is staled, opened up fairly well in London, but complaints have been received in regard to recent shipments. It is these complaints which have, according to custom, been forwarded on to the companies concerned. In fact, these faults are generally detected at tho time of shipment, and the grade certificate issued will in many cases agree with'the later complaints, and have warned the factory of the need for improvement.

Discussing the suggestion that the cause of the defects in the New Zealand produce under notice was uncleanliness, a gentleman who is in close touch with factories throughout New Zealand remarked that this could certainly not apply to the way in which New, Zealand dairy factories are conducted. It was no doubt true that some of them might be kept in a good deal better condition, but anything in the nature of unclean or unwholesome conditions were especially guarded against both by tho factory managers and Government officials." The gospel of cleanliness has been consistently preached lo tile dairyman in this country, and seeing the proportions to which our dairy produce exports have now attained, it ljehoves every factory manager to give particular care to both what comes into his factory and what leaves it.