DOMINION’S CHEESE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 1, 1 December 1931, Page 7

DOMINION’S CHEESE

| CRITICAL COMMENT. ■COMPARISON WITH CANADIAN. m “Men in the business have been pTrondering why, for the last two years, §■ Jhero has been such a difference in the H values of New Zealand cheese as comI pared with Canadian. Were we to t obtain the same price as Canada it would mean £1,000,000 a year to New Zealand, but when one sees New Zealand cheese on its arrival in England, and compares it with that from Canada, one can appreciate the reason for i the disparity.” This was the observation made today by Mr F. J. Nathan, who has / just returned to Palmerston North from a tour in England and Australia, when he made some comment j upon conditions relative to the Dominion’s dairy industry. »; < .“Unpleasant as this may be regard<i;. ing the cheese,” stated Mr Nathan, E.‘‘we have only ourselves to blame, it •©.'is another case of putting our house pin order, however unpleasant and II troublesome the task. I saw in Engll'land cheese which, though from leadAjing New Zealand factories, was extremely disappointing, to put it £ mildly. If we are to regain our posife tion—that will take time—a great deal more care will have to be taken right t from the receipt of the milk supply, to the arrival of the cheese on the marH ket. | “Lack of body and openness of tex--5 ture are the two principal complaints, I while frequently there is a complaint ; concerning flavour. One of the outstanding difficulties with cheese is that there is no common language of description by experts or importers in England, though their reports may mean the same. It would be a big step in the right direction if a common language of description for cheese could be evolved. With butter it is different. NATURE OF COMPLAINTS'. “The lack of character and body in the cheese is one of our failures. Some people have even suggested that the grading should be done in England. The cheese is sent Home in too immature a state, especially in the earls 7 spring. It has been suggested as remedial measures that the curing rooms should be heated and that as an experiment the temperature of the ships’ holds should be raised. So far as I know the former of these two has not yet been adopted. “Control of the situation must start from the time the milk is delivered into the factory, and, unless that; is done, New Zealand suppliers are definitely going to receive less for their cheese than the Canadians. _ A few years ago we had a very enviable reputation. Now, unfortunately, we , have lost it. We must get back to our ’ former position and make for the people what they want. The damage ; done to the cheese by standardisation i and the later marking of dieddar [ cheese has 1 been real, but requires no f further comment, as the remedy has been applied. WAXING ACCEPTED. “Generally, waxing is accepted by a large number of importers favourably, although one or two important firms look upon it with great disfavour From inquiries made at a great many retail shops from the north to the south of England, I found that no objections were being offered. Certain districts require certain colours, but that is a matter for arrangement by importers. “Complaints were very few regarding our butter, which is well received, but some say that we will have to watch its body and character, and it is suggested by others that there is a tendency to over-pasteurisation. The most pleasing feature of our butter and cheese is the very wide distribution both throughout England and Scotland. The patting of butter is growing in favour every day. Denmark is following in our footsteps in that direction. The advantage of patting is that it places New Zealand butter on the market as New Zealand, butter, and not as Empire produce. AUSTRALIAN RIVALRY. ' “Australian butter is showing a decided improvement. Production is increasing and the quality is leaving very little to be desired. Australia is a much more serious rival to New Zealand than in the past, and will continue to be in the future. The position in Australia is an interesting one. They are lurge producers there of butter and are exporting very little cheese. The exchange favours them to the extent of 30 per cent., and it looks as if Australia will make an earlier recovery from the depression than some other countries.”