BUTTER BOXES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 54, Issue 3893, 23 April 1937, Page 5

BUTTER BOXES

PROBLEM FOR AUSTRALIA. WHITE PINE SHORTAGE. The restriction by the New Zealand Government on the export of white pine, wnich is used extensively in the manufacture of butter boxes, will place the Australian dairy industry in a serious position unless a suitable substitute can be found. Experiments carried out some years ago proved that Australian timbers were liable to taint the butter, and consequently the industry has since relied on Nciw Zealand white pine for its supply of boxes for both the export end domestic trades. The Primary Producers’ Union has now approached the acting-Prime Minister, Dr E. Page, urging that the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research should conduct experiments with Australian timbers to ascertain if seme of them could be treated so that they can be used for the manufacture of boxes for the butter marketed in Australia. It is suggested that if the timbers were treated with a casein preparation or lined with triple tiinfoil the taint might be overcome.

The Minister of Mines and Forests, Mr A. Vincent, referring to the matter, stated that the New Zealand Government might be prepared tc. allow a greater quota of white pine than is proposed for Australia, provided that ai. undertaking were given that it would be used exclusively for butter boxes. Already experimental work has been carried out with Australian timbers for butter boxes under the Forestry Commission, and the commission is arranging to place boxes manufactured from local timber ia cold storage. Some of the boxes will be lined with aluminium paper, while others will be left unlined, and the behavious of tho butter will be observed ever varying periods.