NEW ZEALAND PATENT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18597, 7 January 1935, Page 11

NEW ZEALAND PATENT

MANUFACTURE OF BREAD

PROCESS USED ABROAD

The placing ou English and Australian markets of a New Zealand bread-manu-facturing patent was the object, of a recent trip abroad of Mr. F. 11. Hawker, of Christchurch, who lias arrived hack. Mr. Hawker is a director of the l’roceru Bread Process Company, New Zealand, Limited, which possesses a process patented all over the world, for the manufacture of a type of bread with a reduced starch “content and an increased protein content. Mr. Hawker was not able to disclose any of the details of his mission, but he said that the company had done very well in Australia, where the new process bread was being manufactured by many bakers in all the principal cities. Many firms had also been interested iu London and in tho larger English cities. Mr. Hawker said that his main work in England had been to give demonstrations and to do practical work. The company had a representative in London and bakers had been engaged to carry on the manufacture of the bread.

DECREASING CONSUMPTION “Millers and bakers in England all complain that tho consumption of bread is decreasing,” Mr. Hawker said, “and they put it down to tho popularity ol cereal foods which people are led to believe more nourishing! than bread. The millers are now so concerned that this January they are starting a large publicity campaign to show the virtues of bread as against those of the fancy cereals.”

Mr. Hawker said that the consumption had decreased notwithstanding the low price at which bread was sold in England, as compared with New Zealand. Lower wages and lower prices of flour combined to reduce the price to the consumer, so that a four pound loaf was sold for sevenpenco. Another factor was that in London the bread was delivered by hand-barrows, which was a cheap method.

The quality of (lie flour used in England, he said, was superior to that used by New Zealand bakers. This was because the English baker had the choice of varieties of wheat, from all over the world. New Zealand flour was very good, but, it was not milled to the same standard, as there were fewer varieties available.