Waste in Cheese Factories is the Subject of Inquiry

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

Waste in Cheese Factories is the Subject of Inquiry

These are some of the "waste" problems scientist/ at the Dairy Research Institute are trying to solve and with some success. Dr. T. R. Vernon, microbiologist at the institute, has been engaged in investigations regarding the temperature and humidity of curing rooms. He found that when rooms were insula'.2d and provided with cooling apparatus so that the temperature and humidity in them could be controlled the waste through mould growth and through increased shrinkage could be reduced considerably. Last summer was not a hot season in Taranaki. Yet in the cool weather in uncontrolled curing rooms the temperature rose as high as 70 degrees instead of the 55 degrees found most satisfactory in the controlled rooms. To leave them higher than 55 was to facilitate mould growths. To keep them lower was to run the risk of undue shrinkage.

The results of the investigation were but a further confirmation of a truth that applies to the whole process of cheese manufacture, namely, the necessity of knowing instead of guessing. From herd testing on the farm to the temperature of the curing room there is no room foi "near enough" calculations by rule of thumb if waste is to be prevented. The modern scientist is no recluse working in an isolated laboratory amid surroundings the schoolboy summarises as "stinks." More and more the scientisl is becoming the industrialist's guide and helper. Every dairy factory manager knows the trouble and expense involved in keeping the paintwork inside a factory in good condition. However good the

light and ventilation the paintwork deteriorated rapidly and renewal was necessary. It was decided by the Dairy Research Institute that this was a matter requiring investigation. Dr. Vernon was detailed for the work. The inquiries are not yet complete, but already advice has been given as toi the best types of paint to be used and the most suitable preparation of the walls for painting. To save a few pounds on painting a factory at the end of the season may seem of little moment while price-s for dairy produce are fairly

good. But when this waste is going on in factories all over the Dominion the cumulative loss to the industry is considerable. Everyone connected with the dairy industry has learned of the difficulty in obtaining supplies of cans for taking the milk from the farm to the factory. Owners of the cans complained also that they -?ore on the sooner than was the case in

earlier years. Dr. r . ti. JVlciJowau, ino Dairy Research Institute's chief chemist, is now engaged upon an investigation of the more rapid deterioration of ihilk cans. It was agreed that it was not diie to faulty workmanship, for in this regard New Zealand manufacturers of dairy utensils can hold their own with any overseas, and the tin plate used wds of standard make and quality. £ Although the inquiries are not coqiplete it seems fairly certain that the

trouble lies in the tin plate used. Titi plate used for milk cans is really a thin plate of iron that has been "tinned." Dr.. McDowall's investigations point to the presence of spots or stains on the iron before it is subjected to the tinning process. On those areas the tin will not adhere, and when the tin plate has become the milk can rust soon appearn where the tinning is thin or non-existent. The matter is now being taken up with the manufacturers of the sheet iron for tinning. If the stains can be prevented and with it the too rapid deterioration oi milk cans another source of waste 'in the1 dairy industry will have been removed.