QUALITY OF BREAD STILL HIGH

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 30, 19 February 1937, Page 12

QUALITY OF BREAD STILL HIGH

•Pre«» Asaooiation.)

Minister Replies to Accusations SAFEGUARDING STEPS

(By Telesrraoh-

WELLINGTON, Last Nlght. S'I am glad to have the opportunity jbo make a statement regarding the neWspaper reports in eonnection with the contract supply o'f bread to the Auckland , Hospital Board," aaid the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, Minister of InduStries and Commerce, in an interview to-day. (As far as this partieuiar controversy is concemed, it is merely . local in its applieation but it is likely *to leave a wrong impression in tle iminds of the people of the Dofliinion jfegarding the quality of the flour supplied to bakers generally and to plaCe in a wrong lighfc the work beihg dono (by the Government to ensure the very, highest quality of bread being supplied jto the consumer. "In the firet place, Mr Thomas' .statement in to-day's Press arose otlt of the Hospital Board 's complaint re-, garding the quality of the bread being supplied by Mr Thomas under an existling contract. I am not in a position at the moment to comment upon the justiflcation for the Hospital JSctard ;s; attitude, but I would point out that, in replying to the bdafd's Oriticisto,, Mr Thomas sets out by drawing atten-l •tion to ihe quality of the flour supply j ,and makes the positive statement fhat, rthe flour supplied by the Government is; not fit for human consumption. Eeference is made to our experiment 3 carried cut in conjunction with ,the poultry .induatr^ to ascertain the suitability of ! sprouted wheat for poultry food and ithe inference is that the Government pays more regard to the quality of poultry food tban it does to foods for human consumption. Mr Thomas'' ■arguments, however, are immediatelyi vitiated by his statement that 'it isi absolutely piffle to say that the lowest! grade of bread is being Supplied to the j Hospital Board. Low grade bread can' be manufactured only from low grade' flour and that as flour in New Zealand' to-day is stattdardised, there cannot be; any great variation in the standhrd of bread baked throughout the Dominioh. ' That is a frank admission that the COnsumer is safegu&l'ded by the imposition of a high Standard of quality and .that, in the final analysis, that standaid is the xeal test of the effieiency of partieuiar bakers," said the Minister. "It is stated by the board that Mr Thomas' bread is below standard and it will require an investigation to prove the truth of the statement. "I say emphatically that; the quality of bread has not sufi'ered as the resulti of .the Government control of flout ahd wheat in NeW Zealand, but that contfoi ihas brought about a great improvemeht •in the methods of production and dis*j jlribution and the public has greatiy ibenefited as the result. We are atill pressing forward in our eflfofts to im!prove quality and much excellent work is being done by the Wheat Eesearch Institute in the direction of wheat breeding and wheat and flour testing >for millers, while the services of a; ttravelling baking expert are constantly at the disposal 'of the bakers of the Dominion. The value of these services; was amply demonstrated last year When much useful information was gifen to both inillers and bakers. "The flour supplied to bakers last season was perfeetly wholesome and its food value wa* not iu the ieastj damaged by the use of a eertaia pro-> portion of sprouted wheat. Its only, def ect, if any, has been that it did require some extra skill on the part of the bakers to make good bread, and as: an instance of the high standard of' bread-baking in New Zealand, it is, signiflcant that other bakers through-1 out the eountry, and incidentally a great majority of the bakeis in Auckland, have managed to produce high quality bread from the flour of which Mr Thomas makes sueh serious complaint*. It is clear that wh&t other. .bakers oan. accomplurh it is not un.reasonable to expoct Mr. Thomas' Ibakery to aceomplish also. It is a comrnon experience that many of the ,fault* which h&ve appeared in eommorjcial bread havo been due to poor work^manship or to attempts to cut priees .'but our experience is that, generally .speaking, our bakers are more concern:ed with regard to the quality of their (Products than they are to eutting j costs at the expense of quality. ! "It is my dcsire as the Minister rogponsible for the quality of bread sup;plied to consumer*, to investigate jthoroughly such complaints as the preisent one and I have arranged for Mr. 'Hansen, travelling baker expert of the ? Wheat Eesearch Institute, to proceed at once to Auckland to see what practicalassistance can be rendered to ensurerthat everything possible is being done! ito supply the hospital authorities withi jthe best type of loaf. On receipt oi] ■Mr. Hansen 's report I shall take suchi jacfcion a* will be necessary to safe-j jguard all the interests concemed. ! ] "Mr. Thomas has not hesitated toi jgive public expression to his statement j iin attacking the Government in thisj |connection and Ijpresnme he will have! ino objection if • I make public the re-| sult of the investigation which • I am] ! now institutinsr. ' ' ' 1 & •