POULTRY INDUSTRY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21934, 18 October 1934, Page 18

POULTRY INDUSTRY

MARKETING EGGS MATTERS FOR ATTENTION IST TTTILITY At this time of the year, when eggs always fall to their lowest price, whereas other forms of meat usually rise to their highest rallies, it seems most opportune to claim that the undoubtedly large increase in the local consumption of eggs should be much greater. A good many difficulties would be solved if all householders could be persuaded to keep a small supply of eggs always in the pantry, so that for a hurried meal a few would be used just as naturally as so many housewives now open a tin of sardines or salmon. Even in country districts, where the residents are commonly reputed to live closer to nature than in the cities, there are reports that the tin-opener is used more frequently than one would expect in houses surrounded by broad acres capable of producing almost all kinds of necessary food. The foods that come most naturally to mind are eggs and poultry, but on some farms the consumption of each is very small, whereas it might be expected that they would set the fashion for the largest possible use of poultry products. Increasing the Sale However, it is in the cities and towns that there is the most scope for a larger sale of eggs, even after allowing for the thousands of householders who keep sufficient fowls to supply their own requirements. How this is to be done must be left to the producers and distributors, for they are the most interested in a larger consumption. At present the most effective lever in increasing the city consumption seems to be the low price, for it has been customary for many years for the tradespeople to make a leading line of eggs, turning them over at a very small margin of profit, whether wholesale or retail. Producers would be lucky if they got everything into the hands of the ultimate consumer with the added charees as low as those carried by eggs, and it must be assumed that the low retail price resulting from this feature induces a larger sale than if the eggs were loaded with the higher price. Apparently something more is wanted, however, for this valuable commodity would legitimately stand a good deal of judicious propaganda, whereas this method of increasing the sale has been largely neglected, entailing loss to the producer and depriving the prospective consumer of a valuable food at an economical price. The Consumer's Point ol View Very little has ever been done in the Dominion to place prominently before the public the nutritive value of eggs. This is a matter upon which only experts can speak with any authority, for diet is usually so varied that the ordinary public would find it impossible to attribute with any certainty an improvement in health to any particular food. It is only by analysis and subsequent observation that these experts are able to make a definite pronouncement on the food value of eggs. There is no ques- | tion about one result of this analysis, | that it has disclosed that eggs contain, i weight for weight, more food value than i any other product. . this one fact could form the basis i of a wide appeal for recognition on | the grounds of economy, especially j during the spring, when eggs are so ! cheap 'as to actually cost less than some cuts of meat, by the pound, without taking account of the percentage of waste in almost every cut of meat, ■ whereas there is no waste in eggs. Methods ol Propaganda ! It is mot for a newspaper to suggest ; bow most easily this basic fact is to be impressed upon the public, but one : simple way is fairly obvious, and yet it has been virtually neglected, while | other foods are being constantly brought before the public, to the mutual ad- ; vantage of the producer or manufacI turer on the one hand, and the consumer on the other. Any public propaganda of this nature S invariably leads to larger sales, and in no commodity would it be more legitimate than in regard to eggs. Several | features could be urged with advantage, and probably each would appeal j to some, while the combined influence of each would soon be noticeable. Although the intrinsic food value is ! probably the most important argument, human nature is such that convenience would of ton make a more ready ap- ; peal. And what could be more conI venient than eggs, except tinned* foods, I which are admittedly very suitable for hurried meals for a small party? Tinned Preparations Tinned preparations have all the ad- . vantage of retaining their condition for ; months, but so will eggs, if they are ! preserved in one of the commercial prej servatives that are now proving po suc- ! cessful. And for immediate use nothing lean be found more convenient than eggs, | for they can be cooked so quickly, j However, if a publicity campaign was i instituted, the people concerned would i very soon find which feature was most i appreciated by the public, the actual I cost for a meal, the convenience in preparation, the proved food value, the I medicinal properties of some of the con- ; stitiient elements and the digestibility, i The last point lends itself to fur- ' nishing information on the different methods of cooking, a fertile field for j useful suggestions, not only as a means i for substituting alternative methods for I the usual boiling, poaching or frying, ! but also for discussing different ways | to carry out each of these methods, ! with a view to providing the most diges- | tibie and the most palatable form, i There is a wide scope for the provision | of information that would interest the j public in depending far more upon eegs ias a staple article of dfet than I heretofore.