Unfair Packing of Potatoes

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 59, Issue 6, 15 December 1939, Page 528

Unfair Packing of Potatoes

Market Gardener Fined £2O; Ilf lb. Of Dirt in Two Bags

Q TRIKING evidence of a case of STRIKING evidence of a case of x_7 unfair packing of vegetables is shown in the' above .photograph. The potatoes on the left were at the top of . the bag examined, and the small, ones 'in the middle were encountered underneath. The heap of dirt < shown on the right weighed Ilf lb., and was .taken " from', two ■ bags. As a result, a Pukekohe market gardener was charged in the Magistrate’s Court, Wellington, with unfair packing, and the, Magistrate imposed the maximum fine of £2O and costs. In evidence, a Fruit Inspector of the Department of Agriculture stated that on October 13, in auction rooms in Wellington, he examined two of a consignment of 47 bags of potatoes from the defendant. The potatoes in the .tops of the bags did not fairly repri sent what remained.' 'The bags which were examined produced good even-sized potatoes, for about six inches down, but the remaining 18 inches contained small and inferior potatoes. ■ There was also a large . quantity of dirt in the lower part of the bags, and no less than Ilf 1b..0f dirt was weighed from the two bags examined. . .The defendant' did not .appear, but sent a letter to the Court in which he stated that the bags had been packed by Maoris, who were responsible for the uneven packing.