Losses of Goods Can be Prevented: Science will Aid

Taranaki Daily News, 30 September 1940, Page 15 (Supplement)

Losses of Goods Can be Prevented: Science will Aid

To fight "boots and all" to work harder than ever and to avoid waste are the three cardinal duties of New Zeaianders while the war lasts. Of the three duties the last— the elimination of waste —can be undertaken universally. Not 'all of us can fight, not all of us can work, but every adult in New Zealand can avoid waste— if he or she is shown the way. In perishable goods alone there is enormous wastage throughout the Dominion. Every grocer knows that he may expect a certain quantity of his stock to deteriorate. Dried fruits, for instance, may go mouldy, canned goods "go blown," and other products suffer from various troubles which lower their selling value if they do not render the products unfit for use. In the great majority of cases the cause of such deterioration is the presence oi organisms— microbes, or as the schoolboy puts it, "bugs." The Department oi Scientific and Industrial Research is now engaged in making a special study of these organisms. It has detailed Dr. T. R. Vernon, industrial microbiologist, Dairy Research Institute, to meet manufactur-

ers and those engaged in the handling and storage of perishable goods throughout the Dominion and to make a general survey of the position. Any one interested can obtain expert advice, and the co-operation of farmers, _ traders and manufacturers is essential if the effort to reduce wastage is to prove successfuL The object of his work is to collect , information on all types of deterioration that occur in New Zealand, to correlata this with existing knowledge from abroad and thus gather information which will be of service to New Zealand industries whose processes and/or products may b* adversely affected by the action of bacteria or moulds. At the present time conservation of resources is imperative. Under war conditions, materials are often in short supply, makeshift arrangements may sometimes be necessary, storage may be unduly prolonged and storage conditions unsatisfactory. Under these circumstances deterioration may occur in produce that norrhally remains sound. This was the experience of many industries during the last war, and while to individual firms it may be a trifling matter, over the country as a whole the sum total is anything but negligible. Already some of this waste has been eliminated through expert advice regarding storage and handling. Given certain conditions it is almost certain that particalar organisms will be present and continue their mischievous efforts. Make it impossible for them to live and deterioration ceases. The expert can show how this can best be accomplished, often with little additional trouble or expense. So does science provide vigorous and practical support to modern industry and trading.