FAT CONTENT OF CHEESE

Hawera Star, Volume L, 9 January 1931, Page 6

FAT CONTENT OF CHEESE

THE STANDARDISED PRODUCT

PROTEST FROM SOUTH ISLAND

‘•DAMAGING TO PRESTIGE

The Government's recent decision on the question of standardised cheese does not meet with the approval of dairy farmers in the South Island, who apparently fear that political considerations had been allowed to outweigh the general welfare of the industry.

The following letter has been addressed to the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. A. J. Murdoch, by the South Island Dairy Association of New Zealand. Ltd.:

“We have to acknowledge the receipt of your telegram of December 23 referring us to a statement ill the Press giving the Government's decision on the question of “standardised’’ chsese. We have read the statement and note that, in spite of the overwhelming mass of evidencee which has been adduced that the export of j cheese made from partly skimmed milk |is seriously damaging tlie prestige of New Zealand cheese on the British market, the Government has decided to permit the manufacture and export of this type of cheese to continue. “The proposal to raise the minimum fat content by two points may effect some improvement in the quality, but cannot possibly kill the prejudice of the British consumer to skimmed milk cheese, neither will the alteration of tlie name to ‘eheddar,’ and if, as it appears to us, your Government in adopting these proposals has allowed ' political considerations to outweigh the general welfare of the industry' we cannot too strongly condemn its action in doing so.

BENEFITS DOITBTED

“In the Press statement referred to appears the following: •The producers of rich mlk should get as good a leturn for tlieir butter-fat as is possible in the circumstances, and thus the material loss (estimated as high as £20,009 per annum in one district alone) which would result from a complete reversion to full-cream cheese would be avoided while yet a good sound article would be produced.’ “We most emphatically do not agree with this view. Instead of the producers concerned gaining anything by the practice it is our firm conviction that they are substantial losers and are involving tlie producers of fullcream cheese in still heavier losses. Canadian clieddar (full-cream) cheese is selling on the London market at a premium of 15s per cwt over New Zealand. This disparity in price represents in round figures £1,275,000_ on our year’s output, which in comparison makes £20,000* a mere bagatelle. There must certainly be very strong reasons why the British consumer should favour the Canadian producer to such an extent. We can manufacture cheese of a quality to gain the judges’ decision at the Empire dairy shows in London in competition with Canadian ; so we should be able to supply the market with cheese of at least an equal value. There is no doubt in oiir minds that the question of goodwill is largely responsible for the disparity’ in price and that the prejudice against the skimmed milk article, together with the inferior quality which has been brought about by’ sanctioning the manufacture of this class of cheese, have had a most detrimental effect on the market value of New Zealand cheese generally.”