136 Condensed Milk and Milk Powder 



Consequently, the concession of permitting individual standards was 

 then withdrawn. 



The Federal Board of Food Inspection is further considering 1 

 the advisability of modifying the evaporated milk standard, but 

 until a decision is reached, the standard proclaimed in Food In- 

 spection Decision No. 131 is valid. 



Condensed Skim Milk. — The Federal Standard for condensed 

 skim milk is as follows : 



"Condensed skim milk is skim milk from which a considerable 

 portion of water has been evaporated." 



To this class of condensed milk belongs all condensed milk 

 made from wholly or partly skimmed milk. 



CHAPTER XXII 

 COST OF MANUFACTURE 



General Discussion. — The cost of manufacture varies, in a gen- 

 eral way, with the organization and size of the factory, capacity of 

 machinery and the amount of the output. These variations are 

 further modified by the cost of available labor, the price of milk, 

 cane sugar, tin cans, box shooks, coal and other supplies, etc. 



In a properly organized plant the cost of manufacture per case 

 of finished product decreases with the increase of the output, pro- 

 vided that the capacity of the machinery is sufficient to take care of 

 such increase. When the plant is forced beyond its capacity, the 

 factory operates at a disadvantage, and the extra labor and possible 

 waste and losses tend to increase the cost per case. When the 

 output drops below 100 to 150 cases per day, profitable manufacture 

 becomes difficult, the overhead expense is out of proportion with 

 the business, the factory cannot take advantage of rebates in the 

 purchase of supplies, the factory labor is relatively high, because 

 skilled men have to do manual labor, and occasional losses due to 

 spoiled goods devour the profits of a comparatively large portion of 

 the entire output. 



The price of milk fluctuates with season and proximity and 

 strength of competing markets. The fluctuations embrace a ran°-e 

 of from $1.00 to $2.00 per one hundred pounds of fluid milk, or 

 twenty-five cents to fifty cents per pound of butter fat. 



