Mr Muldoon against dumping good apples

Press, 2 June 1981, Page 6

Mr Muldoon against dumping good apples

Good fruit should never be dumped by a producer organisation without efforts being made to find some use for it, says the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon). It would be far better to distribute the 7. fruit to schools, hospitals, and other institutions than dump it, he said at the opening of an Apple and Pear Board plant at Henderson. “I am sure -hundreds of owners of motor vehicles would volunteer to make such a distribution, if ever a situation requiring it came about.” Mr Muldoon was referring to “some recent news media allegations • of dumping of quality apples in the South

Island.” He said he was disturbed by the claims. “If such allegations were sustainable, then I would have regarded the matter as one of grave concern.” However, Mr Muldoon said he was assured by the board that the fruit dumped was almost entirely “processing and/or hail and disaster grades. “Because of extensive hail and frost damage to unprecedented levels in Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago, the board’s Nelson factory, to which South Island processing grade fruit is sent, was unable to cope, in spite of working round the clock seven days a week,” he said. “I am advised that some of

■ the fruit was so badly uamaged it was unfit for process- ■ ing and none at all was of a 1 quality that could-be mark- > eted as fresh fruit.” 1 .! There was no storage I available to hold fruit for 1 processing later, Mr Muldoon said. “Also the best of what had been salvageable was made available to institutions in Dunedin, Christchurch, and Nelson.” " Mr Muldoon said he would ■be deeply disturbed if' the position ever arose where good fruit was dumped by a producers’ organisation, without it trying hard to find some good use for the food.