“CURSE TO THE INDUSTRY”

Taranaki Daily News, 14 August 1930, Page 8

“CURSE TO THE INDUSTRY”

STANDARDISED' CHEESE MANUTAHI CHAIRMAN FRANK. OUTSPOKEN LONDON CRITICISM. Standardisation was condemned byMr. S. C. Tonks, chairman of directors of the Manutalp Dairy Company, at the annual meeting of shareholders yesterday. Despite the fact that factories had gone in for standardising with considerable monetary gain, lie said, he felt that the system was a curse to the industry. Sooner or later the Government would have to take notice of the position, put its foot down and stop standardisation. There was no doubt that dairy factory suppliers were too hungry and made the grave mistake of endeavouring to make too much cheese out of a pound of butter-fat. They were chasing yield to the detriment of quality when, he felt positive, the majority of factory managers could, if’ instructed, produce first-class cheese as good in quality as that made ten years ago. “You can well imagine what Smithfield market would say and do,” he continued, . “if a few pounds of fat were cut off the’ ribs of New Zealand export lamb and used for tallow. Yet by standardising wo do what practically amounts to the same. And the consunjer knows it. He knows th’.t he is not getting a full cream cheese; that he is being robbed of a certain amount of fat.”

Air. Tonks read a letter. ffom Air. Hayes (11. A. Lane and Co.), whom he described as one of the greatest'authorities in the industry at Home. The letter stated: —

"Criticism of cheese quality by those engaged in various phases of the industry here is taking a more serious form. Legislation is being introduced into Parliament with a view to protect the industry and secure for the public genuine cheese made from whole milk.’ Latterly British factory men have been turning out too much inferior cheese from partly skimmed milk, with the result that cheese standards as a whole are suffering and there is a general desire to get back to full cream cheese. “WILL HAVE TO REVERT." “We will keep you advised of the progress .of this movement, but it seems to us that the authorities and those closest to the cheese manufacturing have decided definitely that cheese made from milk skimmed to any degree shall be placed in its proper category to the advantage of the full cream 1 product. If we had to make a prediction at this stage we should say ‘New Zealand will have to revert to the full cream product in the near future in order to win back her position and hold it.’ We feel wo ought to tell you what is in the minds of responsible producers and the grocers who are cutting up the cheese to the public over their shop counters, and they are all pretty well tired of handling the type of cheese that is not leaving them any profit owing to wastage ..nd shrinkage of one sort and another.”

Mr. Tonks also read a leading article from “The Grocer,” which he stated was the most authoritative dairy produce trade journal in England. The article is as follows: —

“During the season now drawing to a close a good deal of criticism has been made of the quality of New Zealand cheese, which, it is freely asserted, is not so good now as was the case during the two or three years previously. It is questioned ■whether the quality of New Zealand cheese during recent years has been equal to the standard which came in the earlier days of the industry. Views as to the deterioration are so widely held that it can be considered that the article as such is not giving satisfaction, though no doubt when this fact is made known to 'the manufacturers in New Zealand they will seek immediately to remedy the shortcomings.

‘Lipart from the general cril of looseness of texture and lack of flavour, there is a growing resentment at the type known as ‘standardised’ cheese. When this ‘standardised’ cheese was introduced to the market, traders generally were inclined to try it before criticising it, despite the fact that they viewed it with a certain amount of suspicion. On making inquiries as to the meaning of the term ‘standardised’ they were not altogether surprised to know that the cheese was, in fact, made from skimmed milk, and on that account could not" be described as ‘full cream’ cheese. SKIMMED CHEESE NO NOVELTY. “Skimmed cheese is no novelty in the trade and, indeed, used to come in large quantities from tho United States of America many years ago, but it would scarcely be fair to compare the New Zealand ‘standardised’ cheese. with the

type of cheese known in the trade as ! ‘skimmed’ cheese. So long, however, as 1 the cheese is not ‘full cream’ there is an undoubted prejudice against it, and as time goes on this prejudice will- surely increase rather than diminish. Those who have handled the ’standardised’ j cheese assert that, apart altogether from prejudice, the article does not meet with . favour and, on account of the large proportion of New Zealand cheese now com- > ing forward under the ‘standardised’ heading, the prejudice is such as to af- | feet the whole of the New Zealand cheese as an article of food. I “Traders assert that the inferior quality has already reflected itself in the market price to be obtained, when compared with the price of its competitor, I Canadian full cream cheese, and unless : New Zealand cheese improves the gap k may bo so widened as to make New Zealand cheese rank as an altogether secondary article. In view of the decline .in the quantity of Canadian cheese ] imported ii)to the United Kingdom dur- j ing recent years there would seem a bet- j ter opening than ever for an imported ■. cheese of the highest class. We would, | therefore, urge New Zealand dairy farm-

crs to take advantage of the opportunity which now presents itself and, by improving the quality of their produce, to gain the higher price. It is not too much to say that the trade in England I would welcome the abandonment of j ‘standardised’ cheese and a return to ' nothing but the full cream variety.” | Whether standardising was a benefit ; or not was merely a matter of opinion 1 said Mr. J. Geary. There was little difference between the two articles. While prices were down he felt that the agents at Home were making the best of 'it. j “We must take notice of what we hear and see,” added the chairman. All j the trade papers were condemning standardising. j Pasteurising probably caused a lot of I the trouble, said Mr. Geary. | The chairman: Have you ever eaten standardised cheese? I know of people I who have been eating the stull', not knowing it was standardised, and they consider the cheese like leather. I Mr. Geary: Have our agents com!plained about the quality of our cheese? ! —No. t The manager, in reply to Mr. Geary, stated that there was little loss of fat 1* in the whey when a warm curd was pressed. It was caught and separated. "So long as the Government allows »factories to skim to 50 per cent, in the I dry matter they will keep to that as • near as possible,” said the chairman. In [ his opinion standardising should be cut out altogether.