NOT TO THE MAJORITY

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 74, 28 March 1930, Page 12

NOT TO THE MAJORITY

STATEMENTS AT DEPUTATION Mr.' P. Frascr, M.P., who introduced the deputation to the Minister, informed a "Post" reporter to-day that he considered it was made clear at the deputation that the statements made concerning the unfair packing of vegetables did not apply to the vast majority of growers, but that, as a matter of fact, tho members of the deputation wore unanimous that such unfair methods were confined to ;i small minority and tho matter was certainly grave enough to demand inquiry and remedy. Mr. T. K. Foster, secretary of the Hutt Valley Producers' Association, in an interview to-day, said that his association, while it wished to protect the honest packers, who were in the majority, it would not stand for anything but legitimate packing. His association, in fact, was 'at the moment instituting a system of marketing its own packages with the "H.V.P.A.." stamp (a registered stamp), which would only be affixed to its first-grade produce. The member receiving the stamp would sign a guarantee form that he would pac>" nothing but first-grade produce with that stamp on it. A3 retailers came to know the reliability of tho association's stamp, they would realise that only whatever was first quality that season or time of year would be in the package; in fact, they could buy it unopened and bo perfectly sure of getting first-grado produce. Auctioneers and fruiterers had both been written to, said Mr. Poster, asking for their support in the scheme, ami if the support given in tho ease of tomatoes, the first I crop to be tried out in the • system, guaranteed it, the system would be applied to all the association's produce. The scheme was the result of many conferences amongst themselves, and it was thought it would prove a-success. There must always be a certain amount of second-grade produce, but members of the association, in order to give the first-grado H.V.P.A. stamp its true value, would always see that even see- | ond-grade (unstamped) produce was packed so as not to mislead purchasers. Full. representation of all those practically engaged in the fruit and vegetable industries at the forthcoming inquiry was, said Mr. Foster, imperative, because there were many angles connected with the trade which only those actively employed in it- could discuss.