PASTEURISED MILK

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26898, 26 November 1952, Page 8

PASTEURISED MILK

CENTRAL COUNCIL’S ATTITUDE

CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS TO CONFERENCE (New Zealand Press Association) PALMERSTON NORTH, Nov. 25. Claiming that he would like to see all milk for town supply pasteurised, the chairman of the Central Milk Council (Mr W. B. Tennent, M.P.) told about 200 health inspectors and milk officers at Massey College today that a great deal of educational work would have to be undertaken before the prejudices of a small minority which preferred raw milk could be overcome.

The minority which opposed pasteurised milk was a determined one, said Mr Tennent, but he hoped that members of it would come to realise that pasteurised milk was the only safe milk for public consumption. The conference of milk officers and inspectors, which opened today - and will continue until Friday, was an important one, said Mr Tennent. In all 6500 men were employed in the industry in New Zealand, and there was about £22,000,000 involved. Fortyseven million gallons of milk were produced every year, and he hoped the day would come when all would be pasteurised. ‘‘The object of the Central Milk Council is to provide the best possible milk at the most reasonable price,” said Mr Tennent. Four sections were concerned in the marketing of milk, he continued. These were the producers, the treatment stations, the vendors, and Anally the public. Each had a strong bearing on the quality .of the finished product. Good milk had a fair percentage of fat and a high percentage of solids not fat. Some cows were not highly suitable for town milk supply, and some produced milk which was not composed of the right proportions of fat and solids not fat, said Mr Tennent. Value of Homogenisation “It may be that we will have to breed another type of cow to get the best results for our town supplies," he said. “It may be that we will have to resort to homogenisation.” He felt that there was a great place in the industry for homogenisation, said Mr Tennent. Such milk was more easily digested, and would prove of great worth to the public. Here again, there was the need for a great deal of educational work before the public could be brought to realise that even though there was not the layer of cream apparent on the surface of the milk as there would otherwise be. the homogenised product provided all that should be included in the. ingredients. The Central Milk Council believed that milk treamtent stations should be worked by the best available men and that there was an important place in the industry for by-products. The treatment stations had experimented with cottage cheese, chocolate milk, and similar by-products which should fill a gap in the market and substantially assist in reducing the price of milk.