VALUE OF CASEIN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21939, 24 October 1934, Page 19

VALUE OF CASEIN

SCOPE FOR MANY USES VARIED MANUFACTURES BY TYNTAX In this murky haze of quotas and embargoes and levies, the harassed dairyman will eagerly turn toward any flickering ray of hope—however faint — that might betoken a new or increased market for his produce. There has been a great deal of talk (though very little action) in the direction of exploiting a possible market in the East; quotas are vigorously discussed on every hand; trade parleys are being contemplated with the keenest scrutiny. In the midst of it all, are we overlooking possibilities in our own' land ? What of casein? Here, surely, is a subject meriting inquiry. As a rule, only the man of science is familiar with tho wide applicability of casein; —the layman seldom realises its merits, nor the vastness of its field of service, nor its method of manufacture. Yes, and truly vast is its field of service, ranging from piano keys to nerve-tonics through a multitudinous miscellany of work-a-day necessities such as toys, cigaretteholders, buttons, handles, ornaments, brush-backs and many more besides. Casein is desiccated and prepared as an egg substitute for baking. It makes a front-rank adhesive and is the basis of many paints and distempers. Probably it finds its greatest utilisation at the hands of the paper-makers, and moro than 85 per cent casein made by the lactic process is used for paper sizing. For this reason more lactic casein is required for the world's market than casein made by the rennet process, when it is chiefly used as a non-inflammable substitute for celluloid. Two Processes These are the two pre-eminent processes, and they could form the subject of an interesting study in themselves. Briefly, lactic casein is made through tho agency of lactic acid. The skim milk is first coagulated with the aid of a starter and the curd dissolved in a solution of washing soda. From this solution the casein is precipitated by adding more skim milk which acts through the lactic acid it develops. In the other process, rennet is the coagulating agent. The curd is then heated and stirred in a special manner, and the method is completed by the addition of a little formaldehyde. The world's demand for casein over the past ten years has been in excess of 20,000,000 pounds annually. It would seem, then, that there is little doubt about casein as an essential to modern industry. Let us briefly examine the possibilities of casein as a primary product of New Zealand. Scientific Research Probably the greatest deterrent to the development of the industry in the past is the lack of a payable monetary return. Yet authorities engaged in research overseas say that casein does pay—if the quality is right. And this point might be the fulcrum on which the whole industry could turn. The watchword of the casein manufacturer should be quality—quality—quality! One thing is certain. If we are to successfully develop the industry, it will have to be through a policy of intensive scientific research and much bold, resolute spade-work. This is evidenced in tho fact that casein to be payable must be manufactured in large quantities. Tho reason for this is quite clear, and many faults in quality are the direct resuit of non-compliance with this essential. Curd being made into casein has to be dried in a special drying station which can be run economically ipnly if kept working at full capacity? Since any delay in transporting the treated curd to the drying station is fatal to the quality of the finished casein, it follows that every dairy factory manufacturing the product must develop sufficient output to warrant being equipped with its own drying station. One revolutionary change the introduction of casein manufacture into present-day dairy factories would effect would be the abandonment of the homeseparating system. But is it not probable that milk separated in the ideal conditions obtaining in a scientificallymaintained dairy factory would produce a higher quality in butter as compared with butter churned from homeseparated cream ? Position oi Pig-raisers Nowadays, when pig-roaring is being indulged in so extensively in conjunction with dairying, many farmers will have a very justifiable claim against the introduction of more extensive casein production. His argument would be that the industry would rob him of a certain amount of the whey on which ha depends for the replenishment of his pig troughs. This argument is, however, justifiable only to a certain degree, because it has been conclusively proved that the whey from casein made by the lactic process is perfectly suitable for pig feed, and whey from rennet casein is serviceable as a base to which can be added the lacking elements to produce the necessary food value. One other aspect to the question, an aspect which might open up a very large field for inquiry, is the possibility of developing a secondary industry in New Zealand for the! manufacturing of articles from casein. However, it is most probable that if the primary producer were to diligently exploit his share of the possibilities, the rest would follow. But until some definite movement is made in this direction, we are running the risk of overlooking a valuable monev source, an imprudence we can ill afford.