Cost of food soars 8% since January

According to a study, the cost of food has risen 8.3% since the start of the year.

Retail analysts, Verdict Research who carried out the study for the BBC, discovered that meat and fish are up 22.9% while fresh fruit and vegetables rose 14.7% since January.

Store-cupboard items such as tinned foods increased by 15%, while a 125g packet of ham rose by 45.4%.

Meanwhile a pack of four croissants increased by 47.4% while the price of a medium-sized chicken increased by 41.9%.

Frozen foods were up 5.8% while bakery and cereals rose 6%. Drink increased by 6.8%, pet food by 6.5%, household goods 4.4% while health and beauty products increased by 0.4%.

The rising cost of food has been a mounting problem for some time now and is exceeding the official inflation rate.

Yesterday, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee opted to keep interest rates at 5% in a bid to curb inflation which currently stands at 4.4% - more than double the Bank’s target of 2%.

The BBC Food Price Index survey was carried out to track the cost of the average trolley of UK food items and split household supermarket purchases into 13 categories, including frozen foods, fresh fruit and vegetables, ready meals and dairy products.

The survey highlights the impact of food price rises on UK household budgets, which are already stretched due to higher mortgage, petrol and fuel costs.

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