A Few Lessons from the Past Butter Season. 729 



Shipping Temperatures of Butter. 



By no means the least serious trouble encountered last year was the 

 unsatisfactory temperature at which some of the butter was delivered in 

 London. Instances occurred when the butter was as high as 35 

 degrees Fahr. when landed. All through the early part of the 

 season complaints were numerous regarding " fishiness" in buttei'. It 

 is a significant fact that when lower temperatures became the order 

 of the day later on, fisliiness was not heard of at all. New Zealand 

 butter, which is always carried at a much lower tempeiature, under 

 10 degrees Fahr., does not turn out fishy in flavour. Of course only 

 a few brands from here develop the fault, and some people naturally 

 conclude that it is inherent in the butter itself. So it is, but it is not 

 propagated until high and variable temperatures are continued for 

 some time. The point gained with such butters by keeping and 

 carrying at low temperatuies is that it finds its way under ordinary 

 conditions into consumption before the trimethylamine flavour develops 

 sufficiently to be appaient. The organisms which produce this result 

 in butter are associated with dirt, and in every case the particular 

 ditiiculty can be avoided by keeping the dairies, utensils, and factories 

 clean. I have known of many instances where the fault disappeared 

 with the adoption of cleaner methods throughout. Although in 

 passing I insist upon cleanliness, it in no way obviates the necessity 

 for cairying butter at low temperatures. Experiments carried out in 

 all butter producing countries in the world in recent years proved in 

 every case that the lower the temperature at which butter is 

 maintained the better chance it will have to keep its quality. In fact 

 some authorities are quoting zero as the best temperature. All that 

 has been suggested by me so far is a maximum temperature of 

 20 degrees Fahr. 



Fancy a contract in the year 1904 at £7 per ton freight "To 

 endeavour to keep the temperature of the holds below 35 degrees." 

 It is simply ridiculous. It was such high and unsatisfactory tempera- 

 tures that prompted the Department to try the experiment of shipping 

 tell-tale thermometers inside boxes of butter. The first set to arrive 

 was in a boat which reached London some weeks ago. The temperature 

 and condition of the butter are cabled as unsatisfactory, but details are 

 not yet to hand. Since then two dozen tell-tale thermometers have been 

 shipped in butter and fruit, and it is expected that specially designed 

 and improved instruments capable of recording the temperature inside 

 a box of butter every hour during the voyage will be ready for use 

 before the opening of next season. It would be far better if the 

 shipping companies agreed to take self-registering apparatus under 

 seal, as everything would then be open and fair. The danger 

 of exposing trade secrets can be no longer deemed a sufficient 

 excuse for withholding the privilege, as is evidenced in the fruit 

 carrying business. 



The remedy for this most serious matter of the carrying tempera- 

 tures of butter is that the factory managers, being so deeply interested 



