KEY POINTS:
There is a big difference between the supermarkets' house brands of milk, such as Pam's and Home Brand, and the so-called premium brands such as Anchor and Meadowfresh, but is there any difference in the milk in the bottles? R.J. Pascoe, Mt Albert.
No. A close inspection of the labels reveals substantially the same ingredients in the six different brands we looked at. However, the prices vary wildly, from $3.07 for two litres of Budget lite milk from New World to $4.34 for two litres of Anchor lite milk from the same store. At Foodtown, two litres of Meadowfresh lite went for $4.18, while Home Brand was only $3.15.
Bart Wright, of Foodstuffs, which sells Pam's and Budget brands through New World and Pak'n Save supermarkets, puts the difference in prices down to marketing and packaging costs. He said there were more add-ons in branded milk, such as extra calcium.
A spokesman for Progressive Enterprises, suppliers of Home Brand and Signature products through Foodtown, Woolworths and Countdown stores, says the high volumes of private-label milk brands (house brands), coupled with lower marketing costs, mean the milk can be sold at a lower price than branded equivalents.
But anecdotal evidence suggests that the cheaper brands don't last as long as the more expensive ones, and that the caps don't fit quite as well.
What is the purpose of the work being done on the median strip on the Northern Motorway between the Northcote onramp and the Tristram Ave offramp? And is there any intention to extend the so-called "slow lane" from Sunset Rd to Greville Rd offramp? Derek Wooster, Auckland.
Transit is building another northbound lane between Northcote and the Sunnynook underpass and is using the median as a work area, to make room for the construction crew and a crane.
The new lane will use part of the existing median, so new barriers will need to be installed. The Wairau Rd and Tristram Ave overpasses are being widened as part of the project, and it's all scheduled to be finished by the end of the year. And I can find no reference to the slow lane you mention being extended.
What are they trying to do on the city-bound onramp from the Southeastern arterial? When will it be finished? First we had the lanes after the lights being widened, then closed off, and now they seem to be doing some retaining work. Now there are a few hundred metres leading up to the lights where the right-hand lane is cordoned off. Beverley den Boestert, Auckland.
The right-turn lane is being lengthened, and an additional lane is being built as a priority lane for trucks and high-occupancy vehicles. The work should be all but finished by now.
