PART-SKIMMED CHEESE.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 August 1922, Page 8

PART-SKIMMED CHEESE.

IS EXPORT ADVISABLE? REQUEST OF DEPARTMENT. That the question of the advisability or otherwise of making part skimmed milk cheese for export is agitating those concerned in dairy pursuits at the present time was evidenced at yesterday's meeting of the Egmont Box Company, which entered into a discussion on the subject. The discussion was opened by Mr. J. Marx moving that "as the question of partially skimmed milk cheese as against full cream cheese has suddenly become an urgent and pressing question for dairy company directors, this meeting of Taranaki cheese company directors asks for the definite attitude of the Dairy Department in permitting the export of partly skimtmed milk cheese as against full cream, cheese obtaining In the past. Should the export of partly skimmed ' cheese be permitted and companies manufacture whole or part skimmed cheese? In such case a clear distinction in the two classes of cheese be insisted on. Full cream cheese be. left as at present with two cheeses of 80 each per crate, and, say, two cheese of part skimmed eheese of 561bs. each, or cwt. crates.”

Mr. J. Marx -said it would be a huge mistake to damage the reputation of New Zealand produce by permitting the export of part skimmed eheese. New Zealand was going to be a cheese country in the big producing districts. Many parts of the. world were rushing into butter, and there would surely be a slump in butter. There should be distinctive marks on full cream or part skimmed cheese. Mr. F. Ranford (Stratford) seconded. He said he would have liked Mr. Marx to go further and ask the department to make it compulsory that part skimmed cheeses be made a different shape to full cream cheeses. They should take every step possible to safeguard the reputation New Zealand enjoyed in respect of its cheese.

The chairman said the usual stencil mark on the crates was not sufficient. In Holland cheese was sold according to its fat content. The cheese was simply bought on its fat content, and one knew what he was buying, whereas in New Zetaland both, makes were simply sold on grade. He did not wish to condemn the making of skim milk cheese, but they should safeguard the rights of the first grade article. Mr. H. D. Forsyth (Eltham) said they would be getting on dangerous ground in attempting to standardise the butter-fat content of milk for making cheese. The thing would be too open to abuse. They had been endeavoring to build up a reputation for their cheese, and even If they altered to the shape or weight of cheeses the consumers were liable to mistake one kind of cheese for the other.

Mr. ,T. S. Connett (Bell Block) agreed that there was need for the standardisation of the butter-fat content of cheese. There was standardisation in other countries, and why should there not be in New Zealand? There was no judge who could tell the butter-fat content of cheese by tasting it. His company had never been able to get a better price for their cheese, which was rich with butter-fat, than those factories with poorer tests. Every other commodity on the market, was standardlae(j—even butter, by the moisture content—and cheese could also be standardised without detriment, to the consumers.

In answer to the chairman. Mr. Johnson, director of the Hawera Company, which has been making part skimmed cheese, said their first shipments had not been too satisfactory, but the latter shipments lifid been very encouraging, and they intended to go on with it when they again started cheese-making. He defied any of them to tell part Skimmed cheese from the full cream article. He considered that it was a thing that must come, because the test of milk was going up and the payout for cheese was going down. There was no reason why they should not have standardisation of the butter-fat content. Mr. Moore said they had to work on safe lines in view of coming competition with other countries. The sample of part skimmed cheese might be all very well in New Zealand, but it was the consumer at Home who had to judge.

Mr. Forsyth said he was convinced that the only way to standardise the produce was to standardise the fat content of the manufactured article and not the fat content of milk used. The latter method would leave too much room for trickery. The Hawera Company had received their profit from part skimmed cheese to the detriment of the reputation of New Zealand produce. Another shareholder said there would be endless trouble in the different factories endeavoring to arrive at an acceptable standard of fat content.

Mr. A. Morton said in New Zealand they had standardised cheese crates, and they now wanted to make cheeses of a different shape. They were negotiating to have their freight paid on a flat rate per crate, and not per pound, as hitherto. To obtain this concession it would be necessary to put the same weight in the crates as hitherto. They would have to put four- cheeses in each crate. The chairman asked if it would not be better for the meeting to ask the department to withdraw any licenses for making part skimmed cheese until a final reponj had been made on the Hawera Company’s operations, and then call a representative meeting: to discuss the matter. Mr. Connett complained of the lack of research work by the department. The producers had drifted into the present position by improving the quality of milk produced. If a thorough research were made he was sure the trouble would be overcome. There had at first been much opposition to making whey butter, but now it sent Home with the boxes simply branded. The problepi of part skimmed cheese was simply a matter of regulating the constituents of the milk used to the required standard. Mr. Forsyth said even the small proportion of whey butter they had sent Rome had damaged the name of New Zealand butter, and they had to consider the fact that the amount of part skimmed cheese would probably amount, to thousands of tons. After further discussion, Mr. Marx withdrew his motion, and the following was substituted by Mr. F. Ranford “That licenses to export partly skimmed cheese be withheld until more definite and fuller information be received from the Home markets, and that the department be requested to confer with the National Dairy Association and the South Island Association in regard to the matter immediately.” Mr. Ranford said he was afraid there was a grave danger of the industry suffering irreparable harm if the export of part skimmed cheese were allowed. His motion was carried unanimously