DRIED AND TINNED

Hokitika Guardian, 9 August 1930, Page 7

DRIED AND TINNED

IMPORTATIONS TO ENGLAND : ” ■ I)i?BATE IfN HOUSE OF LORDS.

’ -I LONDON, June 27. In the House of Lords last week Lord Cr&nworth drew attention to the increasing importation and consumption of dried and tinned skim milk tt tljp detriment of the market for British

produced - whole piilk, and asked, in f ' viewof die grave effects on the health j jviid physique of the nation, what steps tile Government proposed to take m the matW. j'Lord kpstings said there was an abundant' .case for an investigation into this subject from the standpoint of the Ministry of Health. It might astonish their lordships to know that in iflDtihe importation of this jnacliineskimmad milk was only 181,000 cwt. For 1R29, according to Board of Trade figuresj R exceeded 2,050,000 cwt, and the value of these imports was no less than 33,251,000. If the Ministry of Hahlth dhme to the conclusion that this stuff wak—as he personally believed— ;.their duty was to prohibit its iihpdrti 'l'k they declared that it was not rUbhish, they should let us manuliilihrti'it ourselves, under proper atipiipir'irfibn and conditions. The dero#nd for it was so large that he doubt-ed-ff. any Government could prohibit Its Bllj ;'was .introduced, enacting that its iiffjiihHatldn should be prohibited in, ,twb years; during the interval kritish .capital would be forthcoming id;- direct-(the factories necessary to manufacture it here. V' • GOVERNMENT VIEW. -vV ' I tojrd .Parliamentary ,Dnder- ) Secretary,' War Office, said that the had a great deal;! of symr the rnXitioxi .’T'Tliey ■ con-. aldAfeel Vthat the use of of j imrtienaeVituportance for tlip mainten- , J pnee • improvement, of |he' health of -Pur' peOple. They were,, -, ojso l in agf eemejji ' with the object of . improving the niarket for British xnjlk. They Lelievcduthat' fresh whole milk w BS by far- the|’l?y s * food) for .the- nrttioUj' and that it)wa.s particularly valuable' for feedirigunfants, but the nation could not liV©;;ipijtirely on milk. Nothing he »aid should be taken as suggesting that the Government were supporting the usa of tinned skim milk against whole milk; they knew it was Inferior. £*}lt might be classed ns n second-class- food. It was not, how■i ever, prohibit the import of milk it was a second class foodv He did, not think that there .cbuld;.t>e;|sy: complaints ns to the conditions production of this milk abroad;

As to whether there was any real food value in tinned skim milk, the only dietetic objection was that there was an absence of fat products, but that applied to many other foods. While the consumption of condensed skim milk had been increasing the general health of the nation had improved. That did not seem to indicate that the general health of the nation was deteriorated by the consumption of this product. What was still more important, the infant mortality rate had improved enormously during the same period. According to a report of experiments' carried out by the Scottish Board of Health, it appeared that while in the case of six-year-old children Udiole milk was significantly ■superior to skim milk, yet skim milk was valuable, and in children above six there was no significant difference between those who receiver! skim milk. Dried skim milk when reconstituted With water was practically the same as boiled skim milk.

CULINARY VALUE OF DRIED MILK. Mrs E. A. -Hornibrook, who Is greatly interested in Empire foods and has become an acknowledged authority on the subject, in a letter to “The Times” challenges, the noble lord’s condemnation of dried skim milk as “rubbish.” “They cannot know anything of its culinary value,”, she says. “In New Zealand it is largely used in scones, cakes, and biscuits, and for curries, etc. Dried milk is particularly valuable in relation to the tropical flours; by its aid they become not only more palatable but more manageable in the household. Those Who will take the trouble to moke St. Vincent arrowfrom this reoipe will realise at once the value of the dried milk:— (800 St. Vineent arrowroot, 4q» flour, 600 butter, loz ground almonds, 4oz sugar, 2 eggs, 4oz dried skim milk, a little salt, and a trace of ground mace. - Sift dry ingredients together, rub in butter, and eggs one at time; knead Well; roll out dough }in thick, and out into suitable small shapes. Bake qn well floured tin in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes. When cold, these can be dried hard in the pven, if desired.”