Cost of supermarket staples up 8% in a year across Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco

Supermarket staples such as pasta, tinned tomatoes and strawberry jam increased in price by around 8% in just one year, according to new figures.

Data analyzed by the BBC found the overall price of a basket of 15 standard food items rose by £1.32.

Retail research firm Assosia tracked the average cost of grocery items at Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

The company recorded more than 17,000 price increases across the ‘big four’ supermarkets in January, more than double the number in the same month last year, and across every category.

Not all products have seen an increase, though. Items such as carrots and mild cheddar fell slightly in price.

Assosia director Kay Staniland said the findings were a result of selecting popular products that were comparable across the ranges of value and standard.

She added in comments to the BBC: “Looking at food prices is a bit of a minefield.

“I think the figures show that retailers are trying to avoid the biggest increases to value lines as much as possible. But these value lines do make up a small part of total ranges. The standard mid-tier range is where the largest volume of sales come from.”

It comes after figures released last month from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) found shoppers are facing the highest price rises for almost ten years.

Food inflation rose from 2.4% in December to 2.7% in January, with price rises reaching the highest rate since October 2013, according to BRC.

Campaigner Jack Monroe successfully urged the Office for National Statistics to review how it measures inflation after suggesting the consumer prices index did not accurately reflect the true increases to the cost of living.

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