BUTTER BLENDING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10768, 14 May 1913, Page 2

BUTTER BLENDING.

THE HIGH COMMISSIONER'S VIEWS. [From Ocb Correspondent.]

LONDON, April 4

So much attention has recently been called question of butter blending that the opinion of the Hon Thomas Mackenzie, High Commissioner for New Zealand, was obtained. He said, s

" There can be no doubt that, properly carried on, the process of blending butters is quite a legitimate process, and butter so manipulated must conform to the Government regulations, in so far that it must not contain more than 16 per cent of moisture. ' No doubt the process of blending butters has been. forced upon the provision dealers owing to tne fact that there is such a quantity of butter coming irregularly from different parte of the world to this market. To enable the merchant to supply customers with a uniform article at a uniform price from week to week, and year in and year out. .it has been necessary for him to blend certain butters together.

# "It is claimed that trading conditions in the United Kingdom are such as to make it unreasonable to expect the retailer to sell the various colonial and Continental butters under their own names owing to the great variety which comes to hand from time to time and the irregularity of the supply, although looking at it from the colonial producer's point of view, one naturally expects to see his produce sold for what it is; but it is contended that it is also absolutely necessary to look at this matter irom the retailer's point of view.

"If the dominions and Continental butter producing countries could supply the provision dealer of the United Kingdom with a uniform quality of butter in uniform quantities all the year round as the Danes are able to do, there would. be much more likelihood of the various butters being sold under the designation of the country of origin. I attribute the great success that the Danes have experienced in the butter market to the fact that a grocer can rely on having a regular supply of the same brand and practically the same quality all the year round; therefore he can confidently state to hia customers that he can supply them regularly with Danish butter, but this he cannot do in the case of colonial butters. The general average quality of New Zealand butters is so high that I should certainly like to see them sold under their own name, if that which I mention later on could be carried out.

" With reference to milk blended butter, this article is not regarded in the sense of a pure commercial butter, and much butter has to be sold for what it is. The regulations allow that such mixtures may'contain 24 per cent of moisture. With regard to the fraudulent manipulation of Australian butters, that is a matter which Sir George Reid and Sir John Taverner have had on hand, and on'which I am not in a position to offer an opinion; but I have evidence that certain New Zealand butters have been retailed by frocors as the ' best Dorset,' although am not prepared to state that this is a general practice. " Referring again to the blending of butters, that is to a certain extent beneficial to countries supplying butter not of first quality, as it enables a very large quantity of secondary butters to be sold at reasonable prices after having been blended with a certain proportion of high-grade butters. Were it not for this blending, producers of secondary butters would have to accept a very much lower price for their produce than they do at the present time; in fact, with the great strides that margarine is making, it is reasonable to suppose that iu a measurable space of time it will be almost impossible for grocers to sell butter of a secondary quality. To put the whole matter in a nutshell, it is necessary for producers of Colonial butters to strain every nerve to supply an article of high-grade quality. This is, in my opinion, the best way to combat Continental and margarine competition, and the producers can th'in rest assured that they will always receive the best market values for their produce.

" In view of what I have stated, it is essential for our Now Zealand producers te aim at supplying only the highest-grade butters, and they can do it. In the total of their output, they are doing it now. If blending continued here, then high-grade butters will not be used for "working off inferior butters, and will fetch good prices; but, more important still, our butter will, I think, me nearer to first place; and it would, in my opinion, rise to first place were it possible for producers so to organise as to send their supplies more through ostnbl: hed channels, if possible, for the greater part of the year than is now the oas-e. Candour requires me to sav unfortunately, in some dis+ricts in New Zealand there is a slackening of attention in detail, which must be rectified."