BREAD FOR HOSPITAL

Evening Star, Issue 22576, 18 February 1937, Page 6

BREAD FOR HOSPITAL

BAKER RESENTS CRITICISM FLOUR QUALITY BLAMED [Per United Press Association.] AUCKLAND, February 17, Strong, exception to the criticism made at a meeting of the Auckland Hospital Board on Tuesday regarding the quality of the bread supplied to the board’s institutions was taken tonight by Mr S. J. Thomas, of the Crown Bakery Company, which holds the contract for the supply of bread. The remarks made on the subject by Mr W. G. Mulholland were described by Mr Thomas as an outburst not backed up by facts.

“ When statements are made chut the bread supply is unsatisfactory,” Mr Thomas said, “ attention must os paid to the question of the flour supply in the sense that the flour supplied by the Government is not fit for human consumption. The Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr Sullivan) had experiments made in coniunction with the poultry industry to ascertain whether or not sprouted wheat was suitable for the feeding of poultry. The Government could not be sure that sprouted wheat was good enough to feed to poultry, but it has used, and is still using, sprouted wheat in the milling of flour to be used by bakers for human consumption. “ Only certain ingredients can he used in the baking of bread, the Hour being the most important. It is absolute piffle to say that the lowest grade of bread is being supplied to the Hospital Hoard. Low-grade bread can be manufactured only from low-grade flour, and as the flour in New Zealand to-day is standardised there cannot be any great variation in the standard of bread baked throughout the Dominion. There is no doubt the quality of the bread of ail bakers has suffered as the result of the Government control of flour and wheat in New Zealand. However, we have never had any complaints regarding the quality of bread, and we have never heard of our bread being condemned. The reported remarks of Mr Mulholland. therefore, came as a complete surprise.”