MOISTURE IN BUTTER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 799, 23 April 1910, Page 8

MOISTURE IN BUTTER.

AUSTRALIAN PROSECUTION. .'•. •-.■... - ; -V ■■ '...-. .■'■■'.• . Mr.. M.. G. :B.: .Jefferson , ,:: Australian representative for; ;jlessrs. Ellis, Kislingbury, and Co., the.'firm who, according to the cable message; was prosecuted for selling Victorian butter with' excess of moisture,i-"stated when interviewed -by , the : "Sydney -Morning He'rald" that the, butter sent from Australia,; especially . Victorian, ■ this season undoubtedly possessed a higher percentage-of moisture than in any previous' year. „ Mr.!:Jefferson J had been prepared for the London Court proceed-, ings by mail advices from his principals, who in recent communications had repeatedly. '• drawn .'attention to instances of excessive moisture' which had come under , their.:'own'notice..; ': In one in- . stance,; as high-as 19.94 per 'cent, of water-'was found,; and .customers were naturally." complaining; -Mr. Jefferson was . able ;to' identify 'tho consignment in' connection with -which' his' firm had been 'prosecuted. 'It was sold on consignment for a'Victorian factory. Mr. Jefferson expressed ■■concurrence with' the view that the 'evil- could be easily prevented ;at the fiictory.. before the butter, left .the worker., ,He-said also that'the.wbrk:of-the.graders was one of'extreme;difficulty.-■-The" ; pr.ictice in Vietoriai from about three cases; out of. 50, .provided the conteiits represent one- churning. .;. The moisture: contents are. widely variable, even in a single case,'and a test based, upon tho,butter that is drawn out on .vtrier-inserted;one. way into the case hasbeen known fo give a result that would allow of shipment, whereas when the trier 'has.'been used in another-part of the samej.case, the. moisture contents have been found to .exceed the limit allowed under, tho iAot. ■ It is considered probable that one contributing cause of the. regard to excessive moisture may be the adoption of the combined.churn' and butter worker- with the use of. which, some factory man- . **ers. have not yet .become : sufficiently familiar: 'Mr: Jefferson'added that' he was confident that, the high rierceiitago was not; wilful, but across through the grea-t difficulty in'obtaining reliable tests;- The question, however', affected the butter industry of .Australia, and it devolves upon the Agricultural Department to discover a cure, 'fAiling which th? likelihood is th.it Australian butter, will !ose : the high reputation it now holds with ■ consumers on the, other side of the world. '■ •■'■■'..