Say cheese, but the price may bite

Blocks of cheese on supermarket shelves are made from the same ingredients, so why are shoppers paying different prices at the checkouts?

A 1kg block of Countdown edam cheese was made up of pasteurised cows’ milk, salt, starter culture and non-animal rennet. So was a block of edam made by Mainland, Pams, Alpine, and Rolling Meadow.

The Countdown cheese block cost $13.50, Mainland cost $18.90 at Countdown and $15.99 from New World, Pams was $9.99, and Rolling Meadow $11.19 at New World.

A 1kg block of Mainland Colby cheese was $18.90 from Countdown and contained milk, salt, cultures, and enzyme (nonanimal rennet). The same block made by Countdown, with the same ingredients was $13.50. At New World a 1kg block of Pams Colby cost $9.99.

Kate Hughes, marketing cheese and spreads general manager at Fonterra Brands NZ, said its cheese brands were Mainland, Mainland Special Reserve, Ka¯ piti, Perfect Italiano, Galaxy and Valumetric.

She said the brands targeted different consumers and uses.

Mainland was a ‘‘premium everyday cheese’’, she said.

‘‘Most cheeses are made with milk, salt, cultures and enzymes, plus any flavours. Although simple on the surface, there’s many different options for each of these ingredients and the quantities and quality of each will be varied based on the unique cheese recipe,’’ Hughes said.

An example was Mainland Tasty, which used unique cultures and enzymes to deliver the taste, whereas Ka¯ piti Blue cheeses used a mould strain which was more than 70 years old.

A Countdown spokesperson said its home brand cheese blocks were made in New Zealand, but would not say who produced it or where because ‘‘those arrangements are commercially sensitive’’.

A Foodstuffs spokesperson said all Pams block cheeses like Tasty, Colby, Edam were made in New Zealand by ‘‘reputable NZ cheese manufacturers’’.

‘‘Different types of cheese typically have the same, or similar ingredients, but the composition will vary by brand, or manufacturer. ‘‘The price we pay at checkout depends on a number of factors including the volume made, cost of ingredients, packaging and the time taken to make and mature the cheese,’’ the spokesperson said.

Dr Sally Mackay, registered nutritionist and senior lecturer at University of Auckland, said it was interesting that supermarkets would not disclose who manufactured their cheese. ‘‘[It is] not very transparent, and as a consumer I would like to know who manufactured a product I bought.’’