Prices of food staples rise by up to 80% as supermarket inflation soars

The price of British food staples such as cheddar cheese, pork sausages and white bread have risen by as much as 80%, new research shows.

As supermarket inflation hit 17.2% in March, consumer watchdog Which? analysed more than 26,000 food and drink products at Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

Among a basket of basics, porridge oats topped the increase ranking, with prices up 35.5% on average and closely followed by semi-skimmed milk at 33.6%.

Although cheddar cheese saw annual inflation of 28.3%, a 180g pack of Dragon Wesh Mature Cheddar in Asda was priced 80% higher than the same time in 2022.

The Big 4 grocer’s Just Essentials Pork Sausages also saw a 73.5% increase from 81p to £1.40, while Tesco’s Woodside Farms Pork Sausages saw a similar rise of 73.3%.

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While large sliced white bread was found to have average increases of 22.8%, Asda Soft White Medium Sliced Bread went from 56p a year ago to 94p, an increase of 67%.

Which? head of food policy, Sue Davies said the tracker “paints a bleak picture for the millions of households already skipping meals of how inflation is impacting prices on supermarket shelves, with the poorest once again feeling the brunt of the cost-of-living crisis.”

She added that “supermarkets have the power to do more,” such as “ensuring everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food ranged at a store near them.”

Despite supermarket own-label budget items still being the cheapest overall, these were up 24.8% in March compared with the same time last year.

Standard supermarket own brands were up 20.5% and branded goods, as well as premium own-brand ranges were both up 13.8%.

When asked of the specific products mentioned, an Asda spokesperson said that it is “working hard to keep prices in check for customers.”

“We recently announced we would be freezing the prices of over 500 popular branded and own label products, more than half of which are fresh meat, dairy, fruit and vegetable products until the end of May.”

A Tesco spokesperson told The Guardian: “With household budgets under continued pressure, we remain absolutely focused on providing great value for our customers.

“Our market-leading combination of Aldi Price Match, Low Everyday Prices, and Clubcard Prices means we are the most competitive we have ever been.”