PASTEURISATION.

Waikato Times, Volume 110, Issue 18392, 28 July 1931, Page 10

PASTEURISATION.

METHOD CONDEMNED.

REMIT BEFORE FARMERS’ UNION

Some practical advice, drawn from experience, was offered by Mr S. J. Barron at the executive meeting of the Farmers’ Union at Invercargill with regard to the manufacture of chees n . He moved a remit from the Gummiis Bush branch advocating the abolition of pasteurisation, the remit reading: “That this branch of the . union strongly protests against the inspection and the enforcing of expense on the farmer. If the milk is good when going into the factory, why have the expense of an inspector? We consider that the fault lies with the pasteuriser and the shortness of the hours worked in the factory." “A good deal has been said and written about the quality of New Zealand cheese," said Mr S. J. Barron, in moving the remit. "We have inspectors appointed by the Government to inspect our farms and factories, but in my opinion the cause of our cheese not being of the quality it should be is simply because we are going the wrong way about making improvement. In the first place, I conten 1 that the introduction of the pasteuriser into our factories lias been a big mistake, as the pasteuriser cooks the milk like a piece of overdone meat, and takes the flavour out of it in the same way. When a man with the reputation as a cheesemaker like Mr John Sawyers recommends his company not to put a pasteuriser into the Edendale factory you must admit that I am not alone in my contention.

What To Aim At

“In the report of the dairy managers’ conference, held In Invercargill on June 19, a lot was said to the effect that the managers of the factories were not responsible for the bad quality of our cheese, pointing out the fact that our Southland factories had won prizes against the rest of the Empire. I agree that that is a fact, but I also wish to point out that the milk from which those prize cheese were made was not pasteurised. I consider that the New'Zealand cheesemakers ought to aim at a flrm-bodied, clean-flavoured cheese of the true Cheddar type, and I contend we wld never get this if we continue to use the pasteuriser. “Now, how are we to get the type of cheese I suggest? In the first place we, as suppliers to the factory, must do our part. We must send in good, clean milk. We must not worry about any Government inspectors. We must do our own inspecting, for we know wdien things are not right as well as any inspector, but I regret to say that all farmers are not honest, and we all know of men who send milk to the factory which should not be sent. We all know of byres that, to say the least, are not clean. We shall never make good cheese out of bad milk, and it is a waste of time trying. However, it is possible to get good milk, and if the manager is given the authority—and an authority that the directors will back up—to turn milk away w’hich is not good, then we shall soon have all suppliers sending in good milk. - “In the second place, we are asking our managers to make good cheese in seven or eight hours, and I contend it is Impossible to turn out good cheese in so short a time. I contend that at least nine hours are necessary. I quite realise that what I say under this head brings us up against the Arbitration Court and awards, and so on, but the matter is so very serious that surely we should have no difficulty in altering the hours of labour, if we can prove that the necessity is there, and I contend we can prove it.”