QUALITY OF CHEESE

Taranaki Daily News, 25 September 1930, Page 13

QUALITY OF CHEESE

ESSENTIALS TO, SUCCESS. lAIPROVING THE STANDARD. Complaints regarding the low standard of New Zealand cheese last season were discussed at the annual meeting of suppliers of the Norfolk Co-opera-tive Dairy Company, Ltd.* Various methods of improving the quality were suggested. A useful contribution to the discussion was made by Air. C. Stevenson, cheese instructor, of' the Agricultural Department, Hamilton. Air. Stevenson agreed with the chairman, Air. S. A. Ferguson, that the fall in quality was due to the incorporation of too much moisture in the cheese, which dried out and caused disintegration and openness. Companies should cease to race for yield and concentrate more on quality, he said. If all the factories in New Zealand made cheese of the quality ot 20 years ago there would be no more complaints. Outlining the system of milk grading, Air. Stevenson said there was no doubt such system would improve the quality of cheese. It would do for cheese what cream grading had done for butter. It was not suggested that milk grading should be compulsory but the department would like to see some voluntary system given a trial among two or three Waikato factories. He was convinced the results would be such that every factory in the country would

adopt the system. The “reductase methylene blue” method was proposed to be used. They were assured that this was the best method applicable. It was proposed that there be two grades of milk, first and second. No milk which fell below second grade should be acceptable. Air. Stevenson said he believed no system of milk grading would be successful, without differential payments. The latter held up some inducement to a supplier taking particular care with hi- milk. The payment was usually id per ]b. butter-fat less for second grade milk. Unfortunately many companies were bound by their articles of association not to make differential payments. One company .had instituted a scheme whereby certain suppliers were paid a bonus for the average quality of milk over the season. He preferred the differential system, which might become general, in which case the law would probably over-ride any article of association.