BLENDING OF BUTTER

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19941, 27 October 1934, Page 21

BLENDING OF BUTTER

REFORM WANTED IN ENGLAND Objection to the blending of Empire and foreign butters on the British market has been made recently in New Zealand and the question is also being discussed in England. According to an English correspondent, there is a movement, sponsored by the Conservative Parliamentary Agricultural Committee and the Empire Industries’ Association, for stricter regulation of the marking of blended butters. The writer states: “The only requirement under the present marking order is that blended butter containing foreign butter should bear the inscription, ‘Containing imported butter,’ no name of origin being requisite. This means that although ‘straight’ foreign butters must be marked ‘foreign,’ and Empire butters marked ‘Empire,’ a blend of the two, even when it is overwhelmingly foreign, need only be marked ‘containing imported,’ so that the English housewife is frequently and easily deceived about what she is buying. “Sir Basil Peto, a West Country M.P., recently drew the attention of the Minister of Agriculture, Mr W. Elliott, to the fact that Russian but- j ter imported into Britain was never retailed as such, but was blended with other butters and sold under various names which gave no indication of the , country of origin. Mr Elliot replied that it was impossible at present to introduce legislation making obligatory j the full description of the origin of component parts of blended butter. It j may be taken for granted, however, that the matter will again be brought j up when Parliament reassembles in j October.”