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Companies have naturally sought to establish their drying ventures on a long-term basis, and as the United Kingdom Ministry of Food is prepared to engage in long-term -contracts through the Dairy Products Marketing Commission it is likely that twenty-two units will be making buttermilk powder during the 1949-50 season. Some of these dairy companies will undertake roller skim powder production through their butter-milk-drying units. It has been shown that in New Zealand, where daily-collected sweet cream is available, buttermilk powder of good quality can be produced. In the past buttermilk powder has been considered fit only for cattle-feeding, and this is still the general opinion in the Northern Hemisphere. The New Zealand product is suitable for confectionery, baking, and other industrial uses, and there promises to be a future for it. Quality, however, is very important, and the Ministry of Food has made it a condition of the offer of contract that all buttermilk powder and roller skim powder should be by Government quality and composition certification. This responsibility has been accepted by the Dairy Division and will involve the grading and analysis of all shipments of these products. In addition, the Division has undertaken to provide instruction in manufacture, a service already keenly sought. This is an extension of the functions of the Dairy Division and is in line with a long association with butter and cheese. The Dairy Division is also responsible for the administration of the Dairy Factories (Licensing) Regulations 1936 and Dairy-produce Regulations 1938 to ensure, as far as practicable, that there will not be a redundancy of units and that those established will be in conformity with suitable standards of •construction and equipment. It is expected that upward of 2,500 tons each of buttermilk powder and roller skim powder will be available to the United Kingdom Ministry of Food for the coming season. Casein.—Approximately the same quantity of casein was manufactured this season as last. Regular instruction was given to companies manufacturing casein. All the export surplus of both lactic and rennet casein was shipped to the United Kingdom Board •of Trade. A good standard of quality has been maintained in the production of lactic casein, orthodox methods of manufacture being adhered to. Although the quality of the rennet casein has not been quite as satisfactory because of its hard and lumpy texture, it is hoped with the aid of more modern plant and by making some adjustments in manufacture to produce an article which will be more acceptable to overseas users. Dairy Industry Developments Products Other Than Butter and Cheese.—Though butter and cheese remain the staple products of the dairy industry, interest in other products has grown, and in the 1949-50 season there will be a major increase in milk-powder manufacture. The large sugar-of milk factory at Kapuni, in Taranaki, is now in full operation, dealing with the whey from a group of large cheese-factories and using efficiently an important milk constituent most of which was formerly wasted. Dairy Products Marketing Commission.—The Division continues in close liaison with the Commission, particularly in relation to the Division's responsibility for quality of all manufactured dairy products and storage and shipment conditions. The marketing of products other than butter and cheese now undertaken by the Commission has further developed the association between the Commission and the Dairy Division. Mechanization of Cheese-manufacture. —Financed jointly by the dairy industry and ■the Government, the Dairy Board has set up a committee to investigate, sponsor, and develop means by which the labour burden in the manufacture of cheese can be

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