A JARRING NOTE.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 20, 24 January 1929, Page 3

A JARRING NOTE.

N.Z. DAIRY PRODUCE.

QTAUTT SUPPZMO BAOL GRADING SYSTEM WANTS OVEBHAtTL. (From Our Own Correspondent.) CAMBRIDGE, Wedmda;. That New Zealand butter is losing it* palate flavour; its cheese is not n ehediarv as it used to be and that the system of grading is in need of an overhaul, were opinions expressed by Sir Thomas Clement, of the British Cm of

Andrew Clement and Son, at Hawera recently, as reported by telegram. Sir Thomas addressed a representative meeting of Sooth Auckland dairymen held at Cambridge to-day, wHen he went farther into this important subject. Mr. F. H. Anderson, chairman of the Cambridge Co-operative Dairy Company, presided, and in addition to directors and suppliers present, companies were represented a« follows: Tatua (Mr. W. Darrall), Morrinsvifte (Mr- F. W. Seifert),.Norfolk (Mr. 8. A. Ferguson), Bnmtwood (Mr. H. J. Ambury), Hor? 1 ham Downs (Mr. J. M. Osborne), Sake puku (Mr. West), Sunny Park (Mr. P. J. Ryan). Sir Thomas stressed the fact that it was not so much the merchants or the agents that the producer had to take notice of, as it was the consumer who made or marred the price. If the consumer was not satisfied, then.

automatically, the demand and price declined. The speaker went on to state that from his investigations the New Zealand product had been gradually neutralised in flavour until a point of over neutralisation had been reached. When butter lost its smack of flavour it a!>o lost the demand. The Standardised Cheese. Sir Thomas said that Government regulations issued had made it illegal to skim without making the manufactured product accordingly. Companies now had the option of manufacturing standardised or full-flavoured cheese, and the issue lay with the producers. He had been asked if the 50 per cent cheese was not good enough, and his reply -had been that so far he had not had the experience of handling cheese that had too much fat content, provided that the cheese bad been made right. In his opinion, skimming never helped quality yet. Experimc ts helped, but as yet "the results were inconclusive. It would bo nothing short of a calamity if the directors of companies adopted such new ideas before they were really tested out. Until they were satisfied that they were going to improve the quality he would offer them the quotation, "Wait and see." The Grading System

Commenting on the grading system in New Zealand, Sir Thomas said that he thought it was due fo ran overhaul It had been introduced many yean ago on an academic principle, but the conditions of consumption were different to-day, yet the grading system remained the -same. He did not say that the graders at this end were not doing their best under the circumstances, but too much attention could not be given to the reports from the Home graders and the/agents. Their reports were tnore important than those that dealt with the manufactured article when it was only a fortnight old. He would remind those present that they were catering for the people at Home. The Technical Side. ' 'There is a great need for a thorough investigation into technical questions affecting manufacture,'' said Sir Thomas. The industry was crying out for more scientific and bacteriological knowledge. FV»r one thing, they were too backward in the use of starters. Most of the starters used were prepared in a more or less haphazard style. What was wanted was absolute quality and dependability. Another drawback to the sport of the Dominion's primary produce was the irregular freight service. Sir Thomas referred to the experience* of the two months. Excluding one ship, something over 4000 tons of cheese were landed in London for December, but for January the total was 14,500 tons. Ia one period the market was starved, «HI in the other it was overloaded. It would be a well-spent effort ia insisting oh more regular freight services. In conclusion, Sir Thomas said he did not want to appear as an alarmist, but he felt it was his duty to {dace the aspecta -referred to before the dairy companies of the Dominion. (Applause.)

Question Time. When question time arrived Sir Thomas was, figuratively speaking, swamped with questions, the nature of .which demonstrated that company directors and suppliers in the Waikato are alive to many of the features of manufacture and marketing touched upon by the visitor. Mr. J. E. Lecson (Morrinsville) said that during the past three vears the Dairy Division and the Dairy Coiur. l Board had frequently reported that the quality of their product showed verv great improvement. He asked if thesreports were wrong. Sir Thomas replied that when he landed in Wellington he saw a report speaking very highly of the quality, but his experi ence was that the quality was going back. In reply to Mr. Wynyard <"Te Awsmutu), who said that it appeared thewere grading up to a standard that is not acceptable in London, Sir Thoma? ■aid the grading system needed brine ing more up to date, in accordant with the public taste. The ta»te of tbe public was changing. It bad changed for a milder salted article, and if tinDominion wanted demand and pr:< <• they would have to meet the situation. Mr. Seifert Morrinsville) said it rra* an extraordinary thing that while mu.butter was being graded finest, the pro duct was declining on the London maiket. It seemed that there was 110 other way of getting back than through the grading. He asked if it would be an j advantage for the Dominion graders to ; take periodical visits to England aid j ascertain the kind of butter that united I the market best. The visitor replied | that the graders <~ould not get too mn-h 1 knowledge, and the same applied to the makers. There appeared to be just a little too much concentration in satisfying the gradr. The grader's figures weer not the final test; it was the consumer who had the final say. TWn« the *°. l u 9e - ° f tlu ' Sir Thomas, at the instance of the ehairman, was aeeorded a very heart v vo»* wluek w " i",,*.