FOOD bosses will come under pressure to ease the strain on family budgets today — as analysis shows the cost of our favourite meals has rocketed by a quarter.
Hard-pressed Brits have been hammered by 45-year high food inflation with official figures showing that groceries cost on average 19 per cent more than a year ago.
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But the price of some of Brits’ most frequently bought food staples, such as butter, milk, bread, pasta and olive oil, have jumped even higher.
As a result the cost of making an easy spaghetti bolognese costs 26 per cent more than a year ago at £16.63.
Analysis by The Sun of the Office for National Statistics’ price checker found a full English breakfast will set a household back an additional £5.36 on a year ago — an increase of 22 per cent.
A no-fuss Cottage Pie costs 19 per cent more, or almost £2, than it did a year ago — and that is before including the cost of beef stock, which has jumped by around 60 per cent at most supermarkets.
And a veggie curry has risen by 27 per cent, or £3.41, in the last year, partly because vegetables have become much more expensive because of shortages. Food producers have also increased the price of ready-made sauces.
Today the Prime Minister and Defra ministers will meet with farmers, supermarket chief executives and supply chain managers.
The Sun’s columnist Jeremy Clarkson, who has highlighted how red tape strangles British farms, is also expected to take part.
Last night the PM said: “Supporting our farmers and food producers must, and always will be, at the heart of our plans to grow the economy and build a more prosperous country.
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“I’m determined to build resilience, strengthen our food security and champion the best of British at home and overseas.”
The Liberal Democrats have called for the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the big supermarket chains and multinational food manufacturers.
They claim more needs to be done to pass on falls in wholesale prices to consumers.
Supermarkets are said to have reassured the Government that prices will soon begin to fall, but the CMA yesterday said it will look at whether competition in the grocery sector is working well.
One supermarket source said: “It is good the government is giving food as much attention as it has done for energy.
“It’s hitting everyone hard and the industry has had one challenge after another.”
Soaring food inflation has been driven by many factors including the energy crisis — worsened by the war in Ukraine.
That has made it more expensive for vegetable growers to heat greenhouses, farmers to use machinery and factories to run.
Bad weather has also caused poor harvests in Southern Europe and Africa, creating a scarcity of salad goods and pushing fresh veg prices even higher.
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The war has also driven the price of pasta and bread much higher because Russia and Ukraine had been huge producers of wheat.
Ukraine was also a big producer of sunflower oil and the damaged harvests and export problems have created a shortage of all cooking oils, driving prices much higher.
Another senior supermarket source said “No one is just sitting back and letting prices shoot up.”
