The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-12-17
DAIRY COMMISSIONER
TALKS ABOUT BUTTER
Department Declares Cream
cries Are Misleading Con-
sulning Public,
EFFECT OF SHRINKAGE
Held to Be Not Nearly So
Great as Manufacturers
Would Have 1t Appear.
EFFECT OF SHRINKAGE

Willard Hansen. state dairy and fooo
commissioner. Yesterday issued state
nent concerning the weight of butter
bout which there has been much con
rovcrsy recently Mr.. Hansen say'
,is department. after careful lnvestJga
ion, finds that some Of the creamerie'
re making enormous profits from th'
,vstem now in vogue. He SAYS tba
lis cstigatiops in other states have
shown that ''pound' Of butter II
very instance weighs sixteen ounces
IN this state. so.callcd pount
II butter, as the consuming pubic I'M
lerstands it, does not come oven cIos'
o weighing sixteen ounces. The state
ncut issued by the department. is en-
titled "Facts about butter and butte
in Utah. as found by tn
state dairy and food department. !
The text Of the statement follows:
shrinkage in Butter.
Tic dairy and food laws OF thls
state do not require that buttor Dc
packed in certain sized packages,
that is is ounces to the pound. Tne
law reads that there shall be stamped
upon the wrapper or package the
actual number Of ounces contained
in said wrapper or package at the
time OF its manurs cture. Under lh's
law come Of our oreaiueries nave oeeh
putting out butter, labelling the pack
ages so ounces net and then In
forming the public. through sdvcrtis-
Ing and other means, that they are
molding their butter at the cream
cries so that Il Will average 10 ounces
70 The pound. They contend that
heavy shrinkagc takes place from the
time The butter is nodded until IL
is offered for sale. q period OF from
enc 10 ten days They further state
that the dairy and food department.
allows a shrinkage or ne-half of an
ounce, and therefore their butter fuzzy
complies with the meaning OF the
law and will average 10S ounces. THIS
department does not ackaoWledge
that butter Will shrink oue-half or an
ounce in tho few days that il might
be OH the market.
The findings OF this department. to-
Gethcr with the investigations or
Herman Harms state chemist, snow
that butter liz cartons Will not shrink
onc-half of an ounce. under ordinary
conditions IN the grocery store. In
three weeks time when wrapped in
ordinary butter paper. + This TACT is
also horne out by tests made by cast
crn food departments.
Calls Contention Misleading.
This department. docs allow a little
Ehrlnkagc and variance In butter. as
il is hard for the creamery men at
times to mold IL absolutely uniform
IN weight. but ii must be nodded
so that The average would scarcely
show per cent Of shrinhase In
few days. or even in weeks time.
Therefore the contention OF any
creamery OF crcamerics that butter
viii shrink one-half OF an ounce in
the few days that X will be upon the
market is absolutely false and mis-
TN several occasions this depart
meut has found, while inspecting ~
certain creamery which has maie this
contention. that the scsles at the
mold we're set at ono time l6}
TO be set at more than iot ounces.
wher they were packing butter in
cartons labeled us ounces.
Our findings upon the Salt Lake
market and throughout the state have
always borne out The above facts,
IN the past two years We have
weighed hundreds, and even thou
sands. OF pounds OF butter, and we
have never found where packages
marked ''l5 ounces would indicate 10
us that they were ever put UP TO
contain 16 ounces.
Tests by Weights.
In connection with Il. s. Holbrook,
United States bureau OF standards.
our deputy weighed UP butter on the
Salt Lake markets for several days.
The butter dated and weighed the
same dag, AZ we'll az butter several
days old. was found to average l5i
ounces net Surely shr!nkase of
threo-quarters Of an ounce could not
take place In one day especially when
the claim Is made that the butter
is, put UP in air-iight packages.
While attending the Association Of
state and National Dairy and Food
Departments. In company with state
Chemist Harms, we weighed butter
offered for sale at the grocery stores
10 the consuming public in the states
of Minnesota Wisconsin Illinois
Michigan, Pennsylvania and New
York. and our findings were that in
all cases it would average full is
ounces net TO the pound,
Butter Fat Full Weight.
The farmer in selling his cream TO
the creamery man is paid by the
percentage OF butter fat contained
fat represents full II ounces. There
fore. the cream is purchased from the
farmer at the rate OF full l6 ounces
to the pound. and i'll churnIns this
butter fat into butter. water and salt
are added. which would give tho
creamery man from ia 10 11s pounds
Of butter, full Is ounces 10 the pound.
for every 100 pounds of butter fat
purchased from the farmer.
Not being satisfied with the profit
nf the oycrrun and The difference In
the prices Of butter fat and the
Wholesale prices Of butter. they are
averaging at least from one half OF
an ounce 10 one ounce short weight.
Profits from Over-run.
Figuring on a basis OF Is per cent
moisture and one ounce shortage. the
creamery man would he selling from
l2O Ia 12i pounds OF butter for every
100 pounds OF butter fat purcha sed
from the farmer. This, AT 30 cents
wholesale. would give him profit on
shortage and ovcrrun Of $40 per 100
pounds.
This department has no other OBJ
ject than 10 he fair with the cream
cry men. hut wo arc at NIL times
contonding for the protection OF the
CONSUMING public, first. last and al
ways. as the public Is not always I'm
position 10 know tho true conditions
existing,
] Ill II 4 c. q.