NEW REGULATIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 157, 4 July 1940, Page 4

NEW REGULATIONS.

MARKETING OF EGGS.

GRADING ACCORDING TO SIZE. WHOLESALERS TO BE LICENSED. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON", this day. The egg marketing regulations, which were passed by the Executive Council today and will come into effect in August, were referred to by the Minister of Marketing, the Hon. W. Nash, in an interview yesterday.

"For some years pant," eaid the Minister, "conditions in the production and marketing of eggs have become so disorganized as to constitute a continuous source of worry to producers and initation to consumers. It has become necessary to introduce eonie nieanure of coordination between supply and demand to enable consumers particularly in the !our main centres, to be assured of obtaining a reasonable share of Xew Zealand's production of egge at periods when the quantities produced locally are insufficient to meet the demand.

Producers Also Suffered. "Producer* have alno Buffered as» a result of this disorganisation, which has been reflected in violent price fluctuations. To adjust this disability, the regulations provide for the licensing of wholesale distributors in declared marketing areas, and further liceneing of prorlucera who d«viie to e<ll eKgs produced on their own poultry runs by way of wholesale within these areas. "Wholesale distributors in particular will be required to satisfy the Internal Marketing Division, which will administer these regulations, that they have adequate facilities for grading and quality examination of all eggß offered for srale to the public. "Throufth this machinery of licensed wholesalers the Internal Marketing Division, by co-ordinating all activities, will regulate the eup-ply of egjps in accordance with the consumer demand in each market. Thie should result in a far greater degree of market stability, which, in turn, will mean greater economic security for individual producers. Grading Requirements. "Consumers will also be vitally interested in additional provisions of regulations which require all eggs sold within the four main centres to be correctly graded according to size, and in the enae of all retail sales to be clearly marked so. A housewife i» able to see at once the grade of eggs offered for eale.

"The following grades will be instituted and purchasers should make sure they receive eggs of the grade indicated by the retailer:—Heavy-weight, not lew than 2'4oz: standard, less than 2'/ioz but not lew than 1 15-16oz; medium, lesa than 1 15-16oz and not less than 1 9-16oz; pullcl, le*« than 1 9-16oz but not leas than l'/4cz. Tsgge of less than l%oz will not be offered for gale by retailers. Matter To Be Publicised. "It is also intended that the Internal Marketing Division ehould institute a publicity programme for the purpose of assisting housewives in knowledge of ruling market prices from day to day," added the Minister. "Where any doubt exists ne to the grade or quality of ega« being sold by any retailer, inquiry should be immediately made through any branch of the Internal Marketing Division requesting an investigation. "In the initial etagee the regulations are intended to apply only to tlu? four metropolitan areas, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, as these areas constitute the greatest concentration of consumer demand, but provision is made for extension of regulation* to cover additional areas as the need arises. Authorityhas also been taken by the Internal Marketing Division to control the manufacture and selling of chilled and preserved egge and egg pulp."