Handy device aids arthritis sufferers
Sales of a Nelson invention to help people get the tricky foil top from plastic milk bottles is helping arthritis sufferers.
Nelson man Pete Chapman developed Milk Mate 35 years ago to help people get the foil top from glass milk bottles.
He adapted the invention for plastic bottles and started selling it at the 17 Fresh Choice stores around New Zealand this year.
The plastic top pierces the vacuumed sealed foil top, making it easier to remove.
Pete says that 30 cents from each packet of Milk Mate he sells from a Fresh Choice store is donated to the national not-forprofit group Arthritis New Zealand.
Pete has sent Arthritis New Zealand a cheque for $330 after selling 1100 Milk Mates through Fresh Choice supermarkets.
He met with Fresh Choice Nelson owner Mark A’Court, who first agreed to stock the invention, to mark the milestone.
Patsy Connell his business partner who suggested he give a portion of sales to Arthritis New Zealand and rheumatology nurse Janet Evans, representing Arthritis New Zealand, were also there.
Janet says her clients like gadgets like Milk Mate as they make their lives mach easier. She says getting the top from milk bottle tops can be particularly hard for people with limited mobility in their fingers.
She was recently visiting the home of an elderly patient who was stabbing the top of a bottle with a carving knife as she could not get the top off.