The Box Butter is Packed In Packed In

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 98, 27 April 1937, Page 4

The Box Butter is Packed In Packed In

FACTORY MANAGERS HEAR RESEARCH OPINIONS

Butter factory managers who attended tho 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 tho appearance of butter on its arrival on the British markets.

Prof. Riddet emphasised tho importance of the appacrance of tho container; in England one was immediately impressed with boxes of good appearance. A box soiled in tho factory was much more soiled on arrival in England. Tho 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 butter. Siberia copied the Danish cask and also the New Zealand box. Ireland, Australia, Now 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 saranae-—the firs’tnamed had. been disposed of. Some had objected to this decision but the standard box had nothing to favour it compared with the sub-standard one. Tho English grocer liked the New Zealand sub-standard box because it could be readily cut in half for 281 b. orders. The standard box , suffered from breakages as tho result of handling and to havo continued to use it in export, would have been a sheer waste of money. As regards the saranae box, there was no material objection to them from traders. However, one defect •rtas 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 tho saranae box was moro subject to this trouble than tho substandard box. Sappy timber showed mould growth more widely than heart timber. It was difficult to say what was the source of this mould but undoubtedly it came from the timber and was encouraged by* methods of handling. The 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 unsalted 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 hap t aed 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 ta tip out a box or two to see if the packing was being done efficiently. Ho ventured tho 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. F. H. McDowall dealt with the qualities of various timbers for boxes and the use of wrappers. Of the latter, the most suitable in the 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 tho moment the institute had no system to offer that would permit the use if pinus insignia. Dr. W. J. Wiley reported on experiments that had been undertaken in Australia to overcome tho taint from Queensland hoop pino which had become , a serious problem across tho Tasman. These trials had included waxing and spraying of the boxe3. Finally it had. been discovered that a spray of casein and formalin was effective as far as the hoop pino was concerned. Tho cost of treatment was about lid per box and even with that extra charge, the hoop pine box worked out piueh cheaper than the white pine

container. The spraying was underl taken by tho box makers. Answering a question, Prof. Riddet 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 tho saranae box, the Dominion would have a very good container. Cellophane had been used as an experiment but had not been as satisfactory as tho foils for wrapping. While there were some traders who «desired half-boxes of butter, it would not be advisable for New Zealand to cater for that trade. When half-boxes- were wanted, tho saw was put through them while still frozen.