The cost of the average basket of supermarket food has risen by almost 6% since the beginning of the year, and will continue to rise, according to a study.
The cost of the average basket of supermarket food has risen by almost 6% since the beginning of the year, and will continue to rise, according to a study.
The research shows that the greatest cost rise has been in fruit and vegetables which have gone up 16% on average but in some cases more than 40%.
Much of the rise in the cost of fruit and vegetables is attributable to the cost of packaging as oil is used to manufacture plastic and the oil price has reached record highs.
There are fears that the escalating prices could impact on the government's efforts to persuade the public to eat at least five portions of fruit and veg a day because of the significant health benefits.
It can help prevent heart disease and some cancers but there is evidence that as few as one in seven currently achieve the five-a-day quota.
The research by the retail analyst Verdict has found that families are already cutting down on eating out, going to the theatre, buying clothes and updating household appliances and furniture.
"Food shopping is something most people do regularly, so they immediately notice increases in prices more than they do in other areas," said Neil Saunders, consulting director of Verdict.
"For many, the price of the weekly food shop is the real measure of inflation - it's what they react to when they make decisions about the household budget and what to spend on other things.
"With average wage inflation running at just under 2% across the same period, the increased cost of food increasingly has to be found from savings made across other areas of spending.
"The pressure is particularly acute on those with low earnings as a greater proportion of their incomes are spent on food.
"One of the concerns is that when families are very pressured financially it can be easy to turn away from fresh produce and look to cheap alternatives like unhealthy snacks to save money. That obviously goes completely against the five-a-day campaign and the healthy eating and anti-obesity campaigns.
"It is worrying, especially with the poorer families. That is where the squeeze will be."
The extra food costs are adding about £514m a month to the national grocery bill which accounts for 13p in every pound spent by shoppers.
The cost of lavatory paper and kitchen rolls is also significantly higher at 15.7%, because of the increase in fuel costs because although light they are bulky to transport.
The verdict research is based on 100 branded grocery items, including their value, standard and premium ranges. The list is commercially sensitive as it is sold to retailers, but it shows that cauliflower has risen 44.7% since January, 300g of packaged broccoli is up by 23.5 % and an iceberg lettuce is up 23.4%.
In a minority of areas, such as health and beauty products and ready meals, prices have fallen. A 500ml mouthwash, for example, is 10% cheaper now than in January.
Although the price of goods is rising Verdict says UK's grocers are helping to mitigate price increases.
The cost of a basket of own- label products at Britain's four main grocers (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons) has increased by 5.6% since January comparatively, while a similar basket of branded products has increased by 6.1%.
