BUTTER PACKING BOXES.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 27 April 1937, Page 6

BUTTER PACKING BOXES.

FACTORY MANAGERS HEAR RESEARCH OPINIONS (Special to “Chronicle). PALMERSTON N., This Day. Rutter factory managers who attended the conference at the Dairy Research Institute yesterday spent some of their time listening to research workers give opinions on types of boxes most suitable for export purposes and factors affecting the appearance of butter on its arrival on the British markets. Prof. Riddet emphasised the importance of the appaeranee of the container- in England one was immediately impressed with boxes of good appearance. A box soiled in the factory was much more soiled on arrival in England. The buyers were impressed with the clean package. New Zealand containers in general compared more than favourably with those used by other countries. That did not mean, however, that there was no room for improvement. Baltic countries used the cask for their batter. Siberia copied the Danish cask and also the New Zealand box. Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Hungary all used boxes. The Argentine box was a square one. With respect of the three types used in New Zealand —standard, sub-standard and saranac —the firstnamed had been disposed of. Some had objected to this decision but the standard box had nothing to favour it com: pared with the'sub-standard one. The English grocer liked the New Zealand sub-standard box because it could be readily cut in half for 281 b. orders. The standard bos suffered from breakages as the result of handling and to have continued to use it in export, would have been a sheer waste of money. As regards the saranac box, there was no material objection to them from traders. However, one defect was the tendency for dust to accumulate on the surface of butter but it was difficult to ascertain its source. The speaker impressed upon managers the necessity of reducing dirt to the absolute minimum and keeping the boxes away from sources of dust, especially transporting boxes in waggons used for other purposes.

Another defect was the growth of mould and the saranac box was more subject to this trouble than the substandard box. Sappy timber showed mould growth more widely than heart timber. It was difficult to say what was Hie source of this mould but undoubtedly it came from the timber and was encouraged by methods of handling. Ths difficulty could be overcome by the use of fungicides but present regulations would not permit their use. Mould growth was particularly important in the case of un salted butter.

Surface colour was another problem that had been given a lot of attention. In England the grocer objected to a deep yellow surface colour as he thought something had happened to the butter. Really all that had happened was a loss of moisture but one could not convince the grocer of that. The difficulty had been overcome by the use of water-proofing materials, especially parchfoil. Prof. Riddet emphasised also that the finish of the butter was important and he advised managers now and then tu tip out a bos or two to see if the packing was being done efficiently. He ventured the opinion that many managers would be surprised. Pictures were screened of boxes which had been subjected to tests in the way of rough ■ handling. These directed attention to the importance of wiring. Dr. P. H. McDowall dealt with the qualities of various timbers for boxes and the use of wrappers. Of the latter, the most suitable in the prevention of discolouration of butter was the aluminium foil in between layers of parchment. As regards the timbers, rimu had proved as satisfactory as white pine but was more liable to split. At the moment the institute had no system to oiler that would permit the use if pinus insignis.

Dr. W. J. Wiley reported on experiments that had been undertaken in Australia to overcome the taint from Queensland hoop pine which had become a serious problem across the Tasman. These trials had included waxing and spraying of the boxes. Finally it had been discovered that a spray of casein and formalin was effective as far as the hoop r pine was concerned. The cost of treatment was about lAd per box and even with that extra charge, the hoop pine box worked out much cheaper than the white pine container. The spraying was undertaken by the box makers. Answering a question, Prof. Pidclet said there was very definite progress being made in other parts of the world with fibre containers. If the dust nuisance could be eliminated from the saranae box, the Dominion would have a very good container. Cellophane had been used as an experiment but had not been as satisfactory as the foils for wrapping. While there were some traders who desired half-boxes of butter, it would not be advisable for New Zealand to eater for that trade. When half-boxes were -wanted, the saw was put through them while still frozen.