CHEESE QUALITY

Hawera Star, Volume L, 26 June 1930, Page 9

CHEESE QUALITY

GRADING AND OPENNESS MR VEALE’S REPORT N.D.A. DISCUSSION MR, SINGLETON TAKES CHEMIST TO TASK. (By Telegraph—Special to "The Star.”.) HAMILTON’, June 26. A sharp reply to tne criticism or \t)he Government unease grading system contained in Air P. O. V©ale’s recent repo, t on openness in cheese was madia oy Air M. wingleton Director of the Dairy Division at the N.D.A. conference' this morning in the cours® of an address which opened tor cions-idenv tion the whole question of cheese quality.

In introducing Mr Singleton, the chairman said that they bad now i" toiled what was practically a crisis in the cheese industry. Air Singleton, whose subject was “Seine Aspects of the Cheese Industry.” referred to the irecounnenidlationis ne had made upon ibis return front England, urging a- longer time for making and the heating of curing rooms in spring-time in order to hasten maturing. He- had yet- to hear, however, of a dairy company warming its cutting rooms. It Lseemed that the recoinineiidatioii could be- cadried into effect only by regulating. Referring, to openness an dth-e on Deism of the Taranaki Federation’s reaaarch clie-mist that the grading system in force: contributed 1 to the fault, he saidi that the division had to take notice of criticism coming from such a responsible source. He contended that t-lie present system was most practical. The Danes had a system' in which the points ran from 8 to 12 and up to 15, but the points mark was pra-ctldaUly newer awarded. New Zealand had a much wider working range than Denmark, and it would! appear that Denmark’s quality did not rely on the points .awarded. He bad never heard of the Canadian grading leading makers astray.- Canada on the grade l notes, indicated only thio total points and the points for, flavour. Canada’s margins for grades were narrower than New Zealand’s. How could it be said that New Zealand’s wider range led New Zealand makers astray? Why should they adopt the federation cihemist’w system md be at variance with the scale adopted bv buyers and -other competent persons. , T About 70 per cent, of the North Island cheese had been switched over to standardised and! it was uncfeistandable that in the change-over there would he some change in the, quality. He was of the opinion that there was some cause 1 of split openness which had not been advanced. Tllie Taranaki research chemist had apparently given up hope of finding the source of the trouble. The Government gave subsidies, to Hawera and ot-ehr laboratories, and a lot of money bad been spent in research. It would be a pity if the Taranaki Federation’s chemist gave up the. quest in the belief that it was but an idle dream to hope for a cure. Mr Sinaleton went on to refer to the regulations in force, and' to be made !n the" near future imposing penalties upon factories which did not keep up the quality of cheese.

REPLY TO ATTACKS. He regretted, lie said, to have to refer again to the federation’s chemist, but lie Md to reply to the attacks A number of Taranaki managers made a lot of good cheese. He did not wish to attack the federation’s chemist. Had lie been an older man with less academic training his position would not have been a happy one. (Laughter.) Whilst the division had not courted the publicity which had been accorded the chemist’s reports, it had been helpful te 1 manufacturers. The chemist’s statement had been unfair to some factories in Taranaki. He read extracts from the reports published in the “Hawera Star” and drew attention to the between the findings made by Air Veale in 1927 and in J. 930. In the earlier years, he contended, Air Veale had recommended quicker manufacture and more moisture—factors which he condemned in 1930.

After reading the extracts Air Singleton asked: was this the same chemist who now castigated the industry and the division. ' The dictionary, he added, grouped science and scientists with facts, truth and knowledge, and he hoped that within the next year Air Veale would publish corrections, of his latest reports. He did not know whether the industry was prepared to -place its confidence in the chemist. Air Veale liad failed to gain the confidence of the Dairy Division.

The remainder of the morning •session was occupied by an address by Professor Riddett on a phase of the Dairy Research Institute’s research into cheese quality, in tho course of which he stated that farm instruction and milk grading were highly desirable. He: further stated that the cause of slow vats was not definitely known.