MOISTURE IN BUTTER.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14015, 21 September 1909, Page 3

MOISTURE IN BUTTER.

A REPLY TO MR. FOREMAN. The remarks of Mr. J. Foreman, preI sident of the National Dairy Asbociauon. at l'aliiicr.-,u>]i on June 22, regarding tho question of excessive niois- ! turo in New Zealand butter, appear to I Have ueeii iiiaue under a luisapprehon1 sion of fact .(says the London corri-s-i pondent ot the iNew Zealand limos). \\hatover tests in New Zealand may I have disclosed, it is solid fact that a ; very considerable quantity of New Zeaj land butter, hailing from various dis1 tnets, found its way to England, and ) k-4» there discovered to contain more than the English legal maximum in moisture — i.e., over 16 per cent. iNo one here supposed for a moment that the excess ot moisture was the result of anything save carelessness, and many people interested in the business put their hands right on the spot when they put the excess down to want of knowledge of the working of the combined churn. 'Nobody here, so far as I know, ever breathed a word suggesting any attemiit at fraud on the part or the New Zealand butter makers. The worst thing 1 heard said was, "This comes of 'their taking bad advice and trying to gt't the last ounce of benefit for themIves out of our 16 per. cent. limit. 'I !i«,r have been encouraged to work right tit) to the line, and owing to that, and the»r unfaniiliarity with the combined churn, they've .stepped over it." ,Thi> wiia the remark of a London agent who is familiar with the dairying ind'lsti v from A to Z. Hut a 3 iie explained, it doesn't in the l«':ist nutter so far as the well-being of the tiade at thiihend of the world I is concerned, how the excess, of moi&- | ture arose. The fact that it was pre-.-•ont in many parcels received was very prejudicial to the trade, and caused i»o end of anxiety and trouble to those handling New 7'Vrv* T ;*;<fc -• , '-'.-re. Tho importers managed to keep their t *. ... dark, for the time being, and ived the reputation of New Zealand butter no far as the general public ».*as concerned, but the trade, including the retailers, of course, knew all about ' the matter long before the question, was asked in. the House of Common*, and retailers have grown shy of handling the New Zealand article for fear it might get them into trouble with the inspector* under the Food and Drugs Act. Whatever view may be taken in New Zealand it cannot be too strongly insisted upon that whether the quantity of over-moist butter made during the last season was large or small, sufficient found its war to London to do damage to New Zealand's reputation in the Home butter markets and that any further carelessness on tho part of makers can only mean a very, rery serious setback to New Zealand s progress in her dairy produce trade with tht-Old Country. Mr. Foreman's view that certain New Zealand journals did far more harm by drawing attention to the complaints re- | gardinx excessive moisture than the ar- , tual moisture contents of the butter itself is one with which I cannot agree. It was the duty of all journals with New Zealand's interests at heart, to "make a song" about this matter and to keep on singing until steps were taken to rectify the mistakes that were being made. Indeed, seeing what those mistakes, if continued even for a small space of time, might, mean to a growing and profitable industry. I am inclined to think that even a little exaggeration on the part of the newspapers might have been justifiable, especially seeing that in die matter of adulteration — that' ia what excess of moisture means when it comes 1 to' prosecution here— it would be useless. for New Zealand to use the plea oi the unfortunate servant fiirl : "Please, mtun, it was only a very little 'un, an' I didn't mean t0,." New Zealand newspapers may have exaggerated the extent to which over-moist butter was m#de in the dominion last seson. but I have seen no journal published \n the dominion | which, has indulged in exaggerating the i possible effects of the shipment of water-logged butters to the Old CounI *ry. They could * not very well have done so if they had tried, for a coni tianance of shipments containing such butters' would have completely damned the trade for an indefinite period.