DOMINION BUTTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 98, 27 April 1937, Page 5

DOMINION BUTTER.

FOR HOME MARKETS.

QUALITY OF CONTAINERS. SURFACE COLOUR PROBLEM. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) PALMEESTOX X., Monday. The screening of pictures of butter boxes which had been damaged during handling operations was a novel feature at the o]>ening session of the annual conference of dairy factory managers from all parts of the Dominion, held at the Dairy Research Institute. Discussing the types of boxes most suitable for export purposes, and factors affecting the appearance of butter on arrival on the British markets, Professor W. Riddet, director of the institute, who recently returned from market investigations abroad, emphasised the importance of the attractiveness of the container. In England one was immediately impressed with boxes of good appearance, he said. A box soiled in a factory was much more soiled on arrival in England. Buyers were impressed with a clean package. Xew Zealand containers in general compared more than favourably with those used by other countries. That did not mean, however, that there was no room for improvement. Baltic countries used the cask for packing their butter. Siberia copied both the Danish cask and the Xew Zealand box; Ireland, Australia, Argentina and Hungary all used boxes. The English grocer liked the Xew Zealand '"sub-standard" box because it could be readily cut in half for 281b orders, said Professor Riddet. The standard box had suffered from breakages as the result of handling, and to have continued to use it in export would have been a sheer waste of money. Hence its prohibition. The trades had no material objection to the saranac type of box, but one 'defect was the tendency for dust to accumulate on the surface of the butter.

The Dnst Nuisance. The speaker impressed on the managers the necessity for reducing dirt to J an absolute minimum, and for keeping I the boxes away from all sources of dust. J The saranac box was more subject to j the growth of mould than the subj standard box, it was explained. UnI doubtedly this mould came from the i timber, although its exact origin was ■ difficult to determine. Box mould could ;be encouraged by improper handling. i 1 he difficulty could be overcome by the j use of fungicides, but present regulaI tion? did not permit their use. Mould ! prowlli was most likely to attack un*a!ted butter. I Professor Riddet said a lot of attention had been given in England to the j control of surface colour. English grocers . objected to a deep yellow surface colour, which gave them the impression that ; something was the matter with the ; butter. They could not be convinced 1 that a !o«s of moisture was the real explanation. Waterproofing materials esiwcially parehfoil, had been successliilly u*ed io overcome this fault. Mana- '?-".> were urged to bear in mind the ■ prer-t iiiMwtance of a proper finish on J boxes of butter. Professor Riddet's ad\jce v.as that at intervals they should • !> out a box or two to see if the packiiig was being done efficiently. In many cases the result would be sur- ! pricing. j At the present time the institute had Jno system to offer that would permit I the use of pinus insignis for butter i boxes, said Dr. F. H. McDowall, another research officer. Rimu had proved as suitable as white pine except that it was more liable to split. Dr. W J. Riley reported on experiments which had been undertaken to overcome taint from Queensland hoop pine, which had become a serious problem across the Tasman. These trials had included waxing and the sprayin* cL To ?«""»% it had been y dfc cmered that a spray of casein and formalm, costing about Ud a box was with" th /° r ,bat the Eve" «ith that extra charge, the hoop pine that a made Wa f Cheßper to Us « th »" mat made of white pine.