PASTEURISATION OF SKIM MILK AND WHEY.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13904, 1 December 1910, Page 10

PASTEURISATION OF SKIM MILK AND WHEY.

In Tenly to the circular sent out by the HoiL T. Mackenzie, Minister for Agriculture, to secretaries of dairy companies, only four out of 110 answers were unfavourable, three of these being from one district in Taranaki. The text of the circular sent out was as fol-lows-.—"Adverting to the numerous representations made to the dairy industry by myself and the officers of the- Der partment, to the effect that in the interests of all concerned it is highly desirable that all skim-milk and whey should be pasteurised before being taken away from factories and creampries by milk suppliers, I now have the honour to inform you that ,in my opinion the danger of the spread of tuberculosis amongst-cattle and pigs, to say nothing of human beings, is becoming so pronounced that it devolves upon the industry to at onoe take definite ' action in the matter. In these circumstances it is important to ascertain ths intentions of the proprietors of every factory and creamery throughout the Dominion, excepting, of cojrse, those (numbering ■nearly sixty) where pasteurisation of the by-products is already in operation. I shall be, tharefore, much, obliged if you will let mc know at an early date whether preparations are being made for the introduction of the system not later than the beginning of next season at your factory (and creameries, if any). I may add that while the Government is reluctant to resort to any measure of coercion in this matter, it is felt that the seriousness of the position is such that unless the industry is prepared to effectively grapple with the situation, the Government will be obliged to exercise the powers conferred upon it by the Dairy Industry Act, in the direction of making the sterilisation of skim-milk anvl whey compulsory." Tho response to this appeal is highly encouraging. The Director of Dairy Produce reports that a very large number have adopted this treatment as applied to whey, and possibly double the number will be following this course as compared with last year. The benefits derived from it are many, and seem to appeal to the farmers. Slower progress is beinß made, however, with the pasteurisation of skim-milk, and, while a few are adopting it, many others are delaying the installation of the necessary plant in the meantime, as skimmilk presents more difficulties in treatment than whey, both as regards the cost of the plant needed for the purpose and tho effect of the process on the milk. A start has been made at tho Glen Oroua Factory with the plant which wns installed by the Department some time ago, and by an arrangement with tho Director of Live Stock and Meat, one of his officers has been placed in charge of the work, together with the supervision of the pigs and calves which are beinu fed on the product. The whole of the skim-milk is being treated daily, to the evident satisfaction of both the directors and the suppliers. When the season is over, some very valuable data should be available regarding tho effect of feeding this milk to the farm stock. KNIVES »n<3 Forks. Buy them good, but watch the pric*. In p«rtienlar n-atofc MtTinnn'« r>r»c«. f21.W.K!l