PRIOR CLAIM

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21224, 21 September 1940, Page 10

PRIOR CLAIM

WHEAT-GERM FLOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT SOUGHT (By Telegraph.—press As.-Delation) WELLINGTON, Saturday In reference to the recent announcement of the Hon. D. G. McMillan, Minister in Charge of Scientific and Industrial Research, concerning his department’s new process for incorporating the wheat germ in bread, the manager of Provita Mills, Limited, Christchurch, states: “In commenting on the process evolved by his department the Minister stated, inter alia, that ‘there is everything new about adding vitamins or a natural substance containing them in such a way that the palatability and keeping qualities of bread are not affected.’ “We challenge this statement. For five years our own mills have been producing and supplying to bakers a wheat-germ flour for incorporating in bread. For their part, the bakers concerned have provided the public with a palatable loaf at a reasonable price made from our specially processed wheat-germ flour, retaining the full vitamin content. “The Minister’s claim to an exclusive monopoly of ‘palatability and keeping qualities’ is equally false. There have been millions of loaves of Provita bread sold. As the Minister’s statement stands, the integrity of every baker of Provita bread is impugned, and we therefore ask the Minister to refer to his department for verification of these facts. Surely a New Zealand industry which has pioneered the wheat-germ process is entitled to a correction in’ view of the above facts/]