BUTTER MARKING

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 30, 4 August 1931, Page 3

BUTTER MARKING

THE SCHEME PROPOSED

DESCRIPTION OF BLENDS

OBIGIXATING SOUHCES

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, 13th June. The report of the Standing Committee set up by the Minister of Agriculture, the Home Secretary, and the Secretary for Scotland, to consider the marking of imported butter, has now been issued. It will be remembered, that the Standing Committee heard evidence in November and again in January. Several weeks were devoted to the heaving, and tho representatives, especially of the blenders, mado a hard light against tho application. The main general arguments put forward by the applicants (says the report) were, so far as imported buttei is concerned, that it is impossible for the ordinary purchaser to distinguish between Home, Umpire, and foreign butters unless they are marked; that there is a preference for Homo and Empire butters on the part of the consuming public which cannot become effective unless butters of different origins are distinguished; that imported butters arc often described merely as "choice" or "best dairy" or by some such term which, though non-committal in itself, combines with other circumstances, such as sale in a milk-shop, .to convey a. suggestion that it is Home-produced; and that the result is prejudicial to both Home and Empire dairying interests. It is—so tho applicants claimed—detrimental to Home butter producers that imported butter should be sold without an indication of origin, because if the origin were shown the demand for Home butter would bo increased; and to Empire interests because, if it wero realised that so; much of tho butter consumed is imported, the Empire-product would generally be purchased iv preference to the foreign. The principal lines of argument followed by the English Butter Makers and Butter Blenders' Association, who opposed the application, were:— (1) That the allegations regarding the misleading of the public as to the origin of the butler which they were buying were greatly exaggerated. (2) That it is not tho question of origin, but tho various characteristics which go to' make up quality, combined with considerations of uniformity and price, which determine a purchaser's choice of butter. (3) That a requirement of marking would be prejudicial to Home and inter-Empire trade. (4) That the proposed order would be - unenforceable and would, therefore, give an unfair advantage to, those who ignored it. (5) That tho methods of marking proposed in the ease of blends were unsuitable and calculated -to injure the trade. in blended butter. COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS. The- committee states that, subject to certain considerations, it is; desirable that the principles laid down in section 2 of the Act of 1926 should be applied to imported butter and blends or mixtures of /butter consisting of or containing imported butter. If an Ordcr-in-Couneil is made, tho indication of origin to be applied to blends or mixtures of butter consisting of or containing imported butter should be, at the option of the person applying the indication,'either: (a) The word "Empire" if tho wholo of the butter included iii the blend was produced within His Majesty's Dominions overseas, or the word "Foreign" if the whole of the butter included in the blend was' produced in foreign countries; or (b) The expression "Partly Empire and partly foreign" if part of the butter included in the blend was produced in His Majesty's Dominions outside the United Kingdom and part was produced in foreign countries, whether or not the blend contains also buttor produced in the United Kingdom; or (c) The ' expression "Partly Empire J' if the' butter consists of butter produced within His Majesty's Dominions overseas and butter produced in the United Kingdom, or the expression '^Partly foreign" if the blond consists o£ foreign butter and butter produced in the United Kingdom; or, (d) A definite indication .of the country, or of all tho countries, of origin, as the case may be.; of the butters forming the blend; or (c) The words "Including imported butter." ' FORM OF APPLICATION. The committee' suggests that the form and : manner of application of indications of origin, in the case of both imported butter and blends of butter consisting of or containing imported butter, should be as follows: (1) On exposure for- salo wholesale and on sale wholesale.—(a) Butter in bulk (i.e., not made up into packets ready for retail sale). By means of printing, stamping, branding, or stencilling on each outer container, or on a label securely attached thereto, in letters not less than half an inch in height, (b) Butter in wrappers or packets.—As in (1) (a) above in the case of outer containers of 121b or more; and also, in every case, as in (2) (b) below. (2) On exposure for sale by retail.— (a) Butter in bulk.—By means of a show tiekot, .clearly visible to intending purchasers, bearing the indication of , origin in letters not less than half an inch in height, (b) Butter in wrappers or packets.—By "means' of print- , ing or stamping on each package, or on I a label securely attached to the package :or visible through the wrapper, in plain block letters not less than onetwelfth of an inch in height. j MARKING BY RETAILERS. ■ _ We have kept in, mind the desirability of avoiding the imposition on retailers of any requirement which is not essential to the purpose of tho application (the report concludes), and for this reason we do..not- recommend that each individual parcel'of butter sold by retail from bulk should be required to bo market!.'. ,If is belieVed that, • where butter is sold by retail from bulk, the bulk is usually visible to the purchaser who goes into the shop; and wo consider that the marking of the bulk gives reasonable, notification to'the .interested purchaser. A point of difiiculty lias been whether retailers, who themselves pack -butter on their own .premises in readiness for sale during rush hours, should be given an option to omit the indication from each package and mark a stack of packages by means of a show ticket. We are disposed to think that, if this alternative were permitted, the result might be to increase the difficulties both of obeying and of administering the order. On the other hand, the hardship and confusion which might arise from a requirement of marking each package on sale from bulk is substantially reduced where butter is packed beforehand in readiness for future sales. On the whole, we have arrived st the conclusion, not without some hesitation, that the method of marking recommended should be applicable to all butter which is exposed for sale in wrappers, whether it is wrapped before reaching the retailer or on his premises. i . It is recommended that, if it be decided to proceed with tho making of an Order-in-Council, the order should come ijito operation three months after iliS-^.atercm.-sriiicb.-|t-iB-iaadß( ■ " »