Home & people News for gourmets and new party-givers, parental warning, bargains ahead

Press, 19 May 1981, Page 14

Home & people News for gourmets and new party-givers, parental warning, bargains ahead

Soft drinks in plastic bottles

Consumers in the South Island will soon be able to buy their Coke, Leed ■ and Fanta in two-litre ' plastic bottles. Oasis Industries recently introduced ; the twolitre pack in Auckland. A trial.shipment was sent down to the-South Island last month; and the new packaging appeared popular with consumers.

The two-litre bottle size is being aimed mainly at the party-users who are looking for a bulk pack. By September. .the Christchurch bottling plant should.be producing the new bottles/which are made of polyethyleneterephthalate, or PET. The use of? this new material has beef? cleared with government and. environmental agencies; ■ ’ / PET is .a clear, bright, light and shatterproof plastic material 1 which can be flattened for'- easy. disposal . piburnt -without emitting toxic substances. .’

;.T|ris revolutionary material may soon be used to’ package all bur soft drinks.. Tovs hazardous to hearing? The Health Department ■ has warned that squeaky vinyl or rubber toys,, cap; pistols or key ring guns, can impair young children’s hearing. Dr J. Holden, deputy director of health promotion, says that soft squeeze-type

squeaky toys when squeezed close to the ear can cause considerable momentary pain to a young child’s eardrums with the potential for permanent hearing damage. This also applies to the cap pistol used by children of all ages. Some of these pistols can produce quite a bang. If fired .close to the ears, they can cause hearing loss for short periods,” he says. “ : ' .. ?■/?'.

The department is considering -the -. suggestion that manufacturers should attach a Warfiing; iabel to squeaky •toys: ‘"Squeaky toys may be hazardous' to -hearing if operated at maximum loudness directly into a child’s ear."

Cheaper electrical goods planned

- A. new factory recently opened-?, by Rank-General Electric: in Auckland will make irons that will sell at about 20 per cent less than current prices, according to a report in the National Business Review.

Up till now Sunbeam has had a major share of the

New Zealand market but they now face a battle on the sales front.

“The manufacture of GE products here will engender much • more serious price competitiveness, and we’re likely to see more permanent price discounting,” says Clyde Male, managing-direc-tor of Heatway Industries, distributors of GE products.

The factory will initially produce irons, mixers, vacuum cleaners, and heaters. Further products will be added to the range in future. Nezv Camembert A recent addition to the supermarket delicatessen shelf is Golden Churn Camembert. The cheese bears the Dairylea lable but is made, matured and packed in West Germany by cheesemakers Alpenhain Camembert Werk for Rutland Industries.

Camembert has a pale edible crust enclosing a creamy-yellow interior with a honey-like consistency and is most popular as an . after dinner cheese.

The Dairylea pack weighs 125 grams and costs around ?2.18, making it slightly cheaper than other imported camembert cheeses.

Royal Tasman is the new New Zealand-made camembert. It is manufactured by East Tamaki Co-Operative Dairy Co. Ltd., in Manurewa. The 125 gm pack generally retails for $1.95, so it is a good buy. •