Food inflation driving risky behaviour as Britons making worrying changes | Personal Finance | Finance

Despite falls in inflation a record nine in ten people continue to be concerned about high food prices.

At the same time, high prices are driving an increase in risky behaviours such as eating food past its use-by date and keeping leftovers for longer.

While food inflation has come down from its peak of 19.2 per cent a year ago, food prices are still increasing by 5 per cent a year.

The proportion of people who are highly or somewhat concerned about prices is at 89 per cent, according to a survey from the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Within this figure, the number who are ‘highly concerned’ has risen from 48 per cent to 55 per cent in a year.

As a result, 80 per cent of people have made a change to their eating habits with 49 per cent eating out less.

The cost of living crisis has brought about significant price increases in most areas of life, from food prices to energy bills and rent.

According to data from Kantar, grocery price inflation across the sector is running at 4.5 percent.

Data from NIQ also found that shoppers spent £20.10 on average per trip during the four weeks to March 23, versus £19.50 for the same period a year ago.

One in five – 21 per cent- said they are both eating left-overs which have been kept for longer and items past the use by date.

Chief executive at the FSA, Emily Miles, said: “The latest data shows increasing levels of concern about rising food prices, with almost nine out of ten people reporting that they were highly or somewhat concerned about the affordability of food – the highest level since our survey began.

“It is particularly concerning that some respondents were telling us they were turning to riskier food behaviours to save money, such as keeping leftovers for longer and eating food past its use-by date.

“These types of behaviours can lead to a higher risk of people becoming ill with food poisoning.”