CHEDDAR CHEESE

Southland Times, Issue 21220, 22 October 1930, Page 6

CHEDDAR CHEESE

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCT STANDARDIZATION POLICY DEFENDED MR PARLANE’S CHALLENGE (Per United Press Association.) Hamilton, October 21. Interviewed to-day with reference to the statement made by Mr W. A. lorns, chairman of the Dairy Produce Control Board, to the effect that all English agents handling the produce of Mr Parlane’s company had repeatedly pointed out, to him when he was Home the detrimental effect of standardization on New Zealand cheddar cheese trade, Mr Parlane said it was quite evident that the information received in London by Mr lorns, was quite different from the information received- by his company. The speaker was quite well aware that certain interests in London were doing their best to discredit standardized cheese and it was very regrettable to note that these people apparently had the backing of Mr lorns. However, in order that producers should have, the fullest possible information to enable them to come to a definite decision in regard to this very important matter, he would ask Mr lorns to publish the names of the firms who had reported adversely on standardized cheese, and at the same time to publish the weekly price quotations of these same firms for standardized and full cream cheese during the past twelve months. If, for any special reason, Mr lorns was unable to publish the names of the firms, then there could be no reason why he should not publish price quotations asked for, more especially as these were easily obtainable at the Dairy Board's office, Wellington. With this information before them the producers would then be in a position to decide whether standardization of milk for cheese making had proved profitable or otherwise. “I do not for one moment claim,” said Mr Parlane, “that the quality of our cheese, either full cream or standardized, is all that we desire it to be, but this is no reason why standardized cheese should be made the scapegoat. Mr lorns must be well aware that for some years past at leading dairy shows throughout New Zealand there have been quite a number of instances where standardized milk cheese has carried off honours in competition with full cream cheese, which is conclusive proof that it is not of inferior quality. Indeed, Mr lorns himself in an unguarded moment at his Hawera meeting, let the cat out of the bag w’hen he said, ‘when Mr W. M. Singleton, Director of the Division, was in Britain, retailers did not know standardized cheese was being made in New Zealand and that accounted for a lot.’ ”

It would appear pertinent to ask Mr lorns why the agents at Home required to know that standardized cheese was being produced in New Zealand before they could comment on the quality of the standardized article, continued the speaker. “Mr lorns has told us quite a lot of what the agents told him in London and in view of the recent statements made by him the industry would probably be interested to learn what Mr lorns said to the agents. If his statements in London were in line with statements he is credited with having made at the Hawera meeting when speaking of standardized cheese that ‘unless you send cheese that contains something else beyond Water we will never get anywhere,’ which, of course, is utter rubbish, then his trip to London will prove to be a very costly proposition to cheese producers in this country,” added Mr Parlane.