QUALITY OF MILK SOLD

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23858, 29 January 1943, Page 4

QUALITY OF MILK SOLD

DENUNCIATION BY MR M. E. LYONS REQUEST FOR SUSPENSION OF LAW Allegations that some milk companies had “not played the game” were made by Mr M. E. Lyons, National Party candidate for the Christchurch East by-election, in answering a question by an elector during the meeting at the Civic Theatre last evening. Mr Lyons was asked how much longer the people had to endure stale milk and having no choice of baker. In the last few days, he said, the “greatest outrage” had been perpetrated on the people of Christchurch that he had ever known. One of the companies had approached Ministers in Wellington to get the law suspended against them. One of the directors of that company, said Mr Lyons, had seen the Mayor and himself on the matter —it had not been a confidential interview—and had said that he was going to Wellington that night to secure from the Government permission to sell milk below the legal 3.25 per cent, of butter-fat content. A prosecution was pending against one of the companies at the time, Mr Lyons believed, and a sine die adjournment had been granted on application. It had now been announced in the newspapers that those companies had been protected against the law. In other words, the legal obligation on the part of Christchurch milkmen to sell milk of the 3.25 standard had been suspended. That should never have happened. It had only been done with the concurrence of Government Ministers, and the people had a right to ask why. There was no reason why the companies should not have been able to keep within the law. . The people had a right to kick against any Minister giving any company the right to sell anything beiow standard, Mr Lyons added. As for bread, said Mr Lyons, very defihitely, as soon as the war was oyer, let the people go back to competition. BUTTER-FAT IN MILK PROPOSED CONFERENCE A report that the Health Department was deferring prosecution of Christchurch milk vendors who sold milk containing less than 3.25 per cent, of butter-fat until a conference had been held between officers of the Health Department and officers of the Department of Agriculture was referred to the Medical Officer of Health (Dr. T. Fletcher Telford) and the Mayor (Mr E. H. Andrews) yesterday. Dr. Telford declined to say whether he had received any instructions on the point, and the Mayor said he had had no official advice, although he had heard the report. x x , . .. A week ago it was stated in the Magistrate’s Court that such a conference would he held, and a charge against a firm of selling milk without the required fat content was adjourned sine l die. The claim of the larger vendors is that they are not able to obtain sufficient milk of the required standard to meet the demand. The Mayor said that if there were any intention of lowering the standard of milk the Zoning Committee, of which he is chairman, should have been notified. He reiterated that it was the intention of the committee and of the City Council to go to the extent of their powers to see that the public was given a milk supply satisfactory in both quality and delivery.