The Bingham County news. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1918-1930, 1923-06-29
MILLIONS Wasted
IN STALE BREAD
Food Research Institute Puts
Loss Each Year at From Five
to Ten Millions.

New York.-Waste in stale bread
costs the bakers and consumers Of the
country from $5,000OOO to $10,OOO,0O
each year, according to the Food Re
search institute, which has just COM
pleted study of the problem, says the
New York Times. AS means Of re-
ducing this lOsS non-acceptance Of re-
turn lOaves, either through new laws,
or action on the part Of bakers, more
efficient deliveries and better quality
of output, are suggested by the institute.
The principal source of loss is the re-
turn Of bread to the bakers after it
has become unstable. The institute
quotes the United States food admins
tration as estimating that in 1917 the
loss from the return Of stale bread
1 amounted to upward of 100000 bar
rels" Of flour a year.
The loss varies greatly in different
bakeries in the same city, and at vari-
GUS times. Replies to questionnaires
sent out by the institute indicated a
very low average on the Pacific coast
and relatively high percentage in the
northeastern states.
The Food Research institute was es-
tablished at Stanford university In
1921, at the suggestion of Herbert
Hoover, by the joint action Of the uni
versity and the Carnegie corporation,
for the study Of problems in the pro
duction, distribution and consumption
Of food. 1t Is concentrating it's efforts
% mt m r1r0h10 poIQfod tn
wheat and wheat products and it was
a. Q part Of this work that IL studied
certain economic phases Of the baking
Industry.
Losses From Stale Bread.
Losses from stale bread constitute
an important item Of cost for large
numbers Of wholesale bakers, and to
some extent for retail bakers as vel"
says a summary Of the survey. Large
stale bread losses tend to raise the
price Of bread to consumers and to
threaten the financial position Of the
baker. Moreover, since stale bread 10
largely used for animal feed, or even
for fuel, whenever considerable volume
must be disposed Of the loss occasions
a needless waste OF food.
"Our study leads to the conclusion
that, under proper conditions, stale
bread losses exceeding 1 per cent OF
production are excessive, and that a |
figure Of one-half Of 1 per cent Is an !
attainable standard. Losses above l
per cent reflect Objectionable trade |
practices, poor business management |
or both.
Acceptance Of returns Of unsold
bread from dealers Is by all odds the
leading factor in such losses wherever
the loss Is high. Where this practice
prevails the loss Is almost sure to be
excessive The abandonment Of the
common practice Of taking back I'M
sold bread from dealers is essential
to the solution Of the stale bread prob
lem. This change Of policy would re-
duce certain dangers Of food contami.
nation as we'll as tend to cut down
waste. The success Of a no-returns
policy, however, requires careful atten-
ton to other measures calculated to
insure that bread reaches the con-
sumer fresh.
Needed In Sale Of Bread.
"The principal requirements are the
following: Bread Of bookkeeping
quality must be baked, so that bread
a day or two old may be readily salable
as fresh. Reasonable effort must be
made to keep down the time between
the baking Of bread and Its purchase
by consumers. Dealers requirements
must be gagged closely from day to
day, with salesmen's orders as basis,
but with adequate use Of weather fore
casts and other information concern
ing coming events that affect bread ,
sales. Production must be adjusted
to requirements, both In i,
amount and in time. Bakers must cul- :
.ivate the support Of dealers and their :
OWN sales force In securing this ad- :
|ustment. Experience In the trade !
shows clearly that these measures are .
entirely practical.
III they can meet these require )
nents, individual bakers can success 4
July enforce no-returns policy, even
when competing bakers take back I'M !
sold bread. Competition, however,
makes 1t difficult for concerns to adopt 3
md enforce this policy single-handed.
local agreements among leading I
not to exchange unsOld .
,read often afford practicable
method of abolishing this Objectionable
Practice. Such agreements are In the
,ublic interest, but they are not easily
ldopted, cannot always be enforced,
md tend to break down.
estate laws prohibiting returns Of
lnsold bread have recently been
dopted In six states. Their constitu-
ionality Is sometimes called in ques-
ION, but has not yet been tested. Al
hough not yet fully observed, they
ave clearly facilitated reduction in
tale bread losses"