SKIM-MILK POWDER.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1707, 23 December 1919, Page 7

SKIM-MILK POWDER.

NEW ZEALAND'S FUTURE BY-. PRODUCT. .~~v~ ■. Mr J. C. Brash, who was deputed by ■ the- 'National Dairy Association to visit tho United S.lates and, Canada to get a general idea of the position, relating to dairy byproducts in these countries, has furnished tho following report in. regard to dried milk, etc Tho manufacture of milk powder is growing rapidly in tho U.S.A. and also to some extent 'in Canada. The total manufacture in tho United States for 1918 was approximately 2000 tons whole mill: powder and 10,000.tons of skim milk powder. In Canada the Canadian Milk Company, who are the principal manufacturers ni that Dominion, and who are tho holders of the Canadian rights for tho Merrel-Souje process, made in 1912 160 tons, in 1918 1000 tons.', and will make in 1919 1500 tons. The principal *xof t ho Agricultural Department of the Federal Government hold that tho present 1 development is along the linos of extracting the full food value from .milk and consider that from the point of view of food the value of skim milk has not been recognised. They ask, why take an almost ideal food such as skim milk arid feed pigs to make another type of food which is not «o valuable, to say nothing of the loss in transfer. There lias developed in America what one might call almost a "mania" for nil grpcerici and foodstus to be put up in cardboard packages. Such foods as sugar, butter, sausagc3, etc., arc sold "by the grocer in card board boxes. This influence has also to some- extent, been responsible j for the development in the milk powder business. It haa a(so been found that skim milk'powder can be largely used in the manufacture of ice cream, biscuits, all classes of confectionery, soups, etc., and here let it be said that the ico cream business in America has reached enormous proportions. "Ir. is now a recognised food_ and medical men recommend it for hospitals,, etc. There are a great number of ice cream parlours in every city, town and [village. . Every oafo and hotel has ice ereem on the menu, and in all tho railway trains ice cream may be had at any time. The manufacture of whole, milk powder can not as yet be said to bo a success, tho difficulty being that I after being held for a few months it develops rancidity. Of the quantity manufactured, portion whilst fresh, has bees mixed with water and put on the market as fresh milk in territory where thero has been shortage of fresh milk. But any great development along these lines can not bo expected so long as trouble with rancidity devolops. Skim milk powder,. however, tip' pears to keep almost indefinitely: and both in tho U.S.A. and Canada there has been a ready sale for all tho soluble skim milk powder manufactured. If asked to describe a good skim milk powder in ono word then "solubility" describes it. Thero is no sale for a powder that is not soluble. So far the Spray process is tho only ono which has beon thoroughly successful in this direction. Buttermilk is being powdered on thejiot roller system* for poultry food, but it is not thoroughly soluble. The MerrelSoido process and also tho Ghcy-Jonsen, patent rights of which are held by the Waikato syndicate, havo been thoroughly tried and proved successful. Tho writer, inspected a number of other processes more or less along the samo lines as tho Mcrrel-Soulo and Grey-Jensen, but these are as yet in tho experimental stages, and a definite opinion cannot be expressed in the mean time. These planis were visited by "Mr Dempster, of the Dairy Division, and also Messis Alurdoek and Forsyth. The two latter gentlemen are closely in touch with these newer ideas with a view to securing the rights if thought advisable. When the writer was in U.S.A. skim milk powder was selling wholesale at from lid to lljd a pound with a keen demand. At ono factory visited 2s lid was being paid for butter-fat making, with' an additional Is 7d per lOOOlbs of skim milk if this was left at the factory, or in other words, an additional of 4-J per pound of butler-fat oil a basis of 4 per cent. milk. Note here that this price of 2s lid for butter-fat for butter-making seems abnormally high, us butter was selling from 2s 5d to 2s 6d per pound, and it would appear ■as if some of the profit on the powder business was being used to increase the butter: fat paymenti for butter-making. To arrive 'at the profp 0 n the powder business,' IOOIbs of skim iniik cost Is 7d, it produced 91bs of skim milk powder at lid—Bs 3d. Cost of manufacture' as nearly as it could bo ascertained was fid a pound; For 91bs at, 4d equals 3s pius cost of skim milk. Is 7d equals 4s 7d—profits 3s M. On the basis of 4 per cent, milk this would pay. am additional lid per pound of butter-fat. It is needless to say that this was a proprietary factory. These figures are so good as to make one doubtful, but the writer has every reason to believe that they are approximately accurate. In New Zealand the cost of manufacture would be higher owing to tho cost of fuel and heavy transport charges, but tho above figures would allow of increased charges and then leave a good margin. If a market can be found in England and Europe the writer is of the opinion that the producers of tho Do minion can with safety support the driee skim milk proposition! Fuel will be tin •greatest problem and until* the position i: somewhat relieved in this direction any de velopmcnt is im|>ossible. Some experiment ing is takinjr place with reference to dry in;; tho milk with heat produced by elec tiicity, but thus far there is nothing to re port" Merchants in the U.S.A. state tha they are prepatyd to buy all the pbwdei ' that New Zealand can produce, but not tot much dependence can bo placed an thii offer. It is true that they are. able t( absorb rapidly all that) is produced* bu should any import, trade develop a protec tivo tariff would immediately a'Hsa In quiries were made as to whether the mil! could be condensed by say 4 to 1, ft out lying stations, and brought to a centra station for final drying. There is no difii Ciilty in this direction, as the condense' milk will keep sweet for some days. Sising up the position, in America a cnrofullv as possible, the writer is of npinioi that the by-product for the New Zealam pioducers is skim milk powder