ILLEGAL SOURCES OF CREAM

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26219, 16 September 1950, Page 2

ILLEGAL SOURCES OF CREAM

THREE VENDORS APPEAR BEFORE BOARD The board took a serious view of the purchase of milk and cream from illegal sources, said the chairman of the Christchurch Metropolitan Milk Board (Mr J. E. Tait) when three vendors appeared before the board yesterday “to show cause why their licences should not be dealt with forw breach of the board’s conditions.” The board was trying to improve supplies of milk and cream to consumers and it needed co-operation to do it. Mr Tait said. It appeared that the three vendors, Messrs A. D. Newton, K. W. Hewinson, and H. C. Chappell, had bought cream from illegal sources in contravention of a clause in their licences which said that milk and cream should be bought from recognised sources.

After hearing the explanations of the vendors and discussing them in committee, the board adjourned until next week. It will hold the vendors’ licences in the meantime. Mr Newton said he thought he was getting better cream from his source than from the recognised sources and he thought the customers were entitled to the best. He had been buying fresh cream at 15s 6d a gallon in comparison with 19s 4d from the recognised sources. The cream came from a registered dairy, but he did not know whether it* was registered for town milk supply. “Do you think it fair that others have to abide by the terms of the licence and that you should not?” asked Mr H. Kitson.

Mr Newton said that, with everything taken into account, the cream had cost him about 19s a gallon. He added that he was prepared to give an undertaking not to repeat the offence. Mr Hewinson told the board that his customers had asked him not to leave pasteurised cream, and he felt he had to get fresh cream to keep his customers. His milk came from the milk company and he did not think it was of as good quality as that of a vendor adjoining him who produced his own milk. His cream came from an unregistered dairy anMie had been paying 16s a gallon for it. Mr Tait: Do you think it is safer to sell cream from an unregistered dairy rather than pasteurised cream?—l have been having no trouble with the cream I have been getting. I haven’t been going only by visual test, but by its taste, its keeping qualities, and by the comments of customers.

Mr Chappell said he had a quantity of cream under “deep freeze” and had bought small quantities from another vendor. His milk round amounted to 70 gallons, but he sold only two crates of cream a week.

Mr Tait: That’s much lower than the average sold in Christchurch.—Since rationing was lifted my sales have dropped.

Mr H. Kitson: That is not the general experience. The average vendor says his sales have gone up.