TOWN MILK SUPPLY

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 August 1946, Page 6

TOWN MILK SUPPLY

BOTTLING SYSTEM FOR GREYMOUTH MODERN MACHINES INSTALLED The delivery of milk in cans in Greymouth, with the exception of the suburbs of Cobden and Blaketown, will shortly be abolished. A modern bottling plant has been installed by Riversdale Dairy .-Supplies Ltd. which has sole control of milk distribution over most of the borough, and within a few weeks bottled milk will be supplied to all' households. Milk in bottles is already being' supplied in the south end of the town and this form of delivery will be extended as soon as the necessary wire crates for the carrying of bottles can be obtained. Shortage of wire for the manufacture of the crates has interrupted the scheduled change-over, which it was intended to make simultaneous in all parts of the town. Ow’ing to the fact that there is a Government subsidy payable on the bottling of milk for town supply, the new system is being introduced at . no extra cost to the consumer. In the first instance the bottles, m quait and pint sizes, are supplied free to the consumers, the size depending upon individual requirements. There- > after, the consumer is expected to i put the emptied bottle at the gate ■ each morning to be replaced by a ; new, full bottle. As the new sysl tern is extended, the first intimation that householders will get will be the presence of a bottle of milk m the

usual gate receptacle. Immediate Bottling. The new system’ will not involve any changes in delivery times as the bottling is undertaken in the Whall Street plant of the company as soon as the milk is received from the supplying farms. The milk . collected each evening is bottled at night, to be ready for immediate delivery in the morning and this provides a, reserve while the morning milk is being bottled for the later rounds. The modern English bottling plant which has been installed by the company is fast and hygienic m its operation. The rotary bottle washei handles six dozen bottles at a time, the endless belt conveying the bottles through the various stages, and taking two minutes for a complete cle. The bottles are first subjected to high pressure jets of cold \vater, to remove any residue of milk. Then they come under jets spraying a three-quarter per cent solution of not caustic soda —four separate jets spraying inside and out. From the caustic, the bottles pass under jets of warm rinsing water, to remove all traces of the caustic soda solution ana finally, they are rinsed in pure water, a sample of which is always in view in a glass gauge. The bottles emerge from the washer sparkling clear and pass on to another conveyor belt which carries them without human interference, to the automatic filler. The timing 01. this machine is an example of mechanical wizardry. A slight adjustment enables pint or quart bottles to be filled exactly, at will,, and in the same operation the cardboard caps are attached. The bottles are delivered from the capping machine to a tray, from which they are crated, ready for delivery. Capacity of Plant. Despite the many separate operations in the washing and bottling, the machine handles 10 gallons of milk in five minutes, or 120 gallons an hour, the plant being electrically operated with push-button controls. Bacterial tests conducted by the company on “returns” fox* rounds a ready converted to the new sys™ have shown excellent results. This is believed to be due to the fact that the bottles of milk come down to the required temperature for maximum keeping qualities better than large quantities of milk in cans. The institution of the bottling 'system is actually only a preliminary to the supply of pasteurised milk in Greymouth. The pasteurisation plant has been on order from England for a consid-' erable time, but has been subject to delays. It is now expected that it will be October or November before delivery in Greymouth will be effected. There is a possibility that Runanga will soon be included in the area to be supplied with bottled milk, completion of negotiations in this regard again being dependent upon supplies of crates and other accessoiies.