UK households buying packets of sliced ham at supermarkets 'warned'
UK households buying sliced ham at the supermarket have been issued an urgent warning by experts. Slices of ham are handy for sandwiches, but remember you’re packing for the packaging as well as the product, experts say.
Personal finance experts reckon Tesco ’s 750g unsmoked gammon joint costs £4.75, compared with a 120g pack of lean ham containing just 4 slices for £2. Personal finance experts reminded UK households you can cook a gammon joint in an air fryer in under an hour, serving four to six people with leftovers for lunches.
They told the Daily Express : "When it comes to meat, a strategic approach is to buy cheaper cuts or explore more plant-based meals. Replacing two meat-heavy dinners a week with vegetarian alternatives such as lentil curries or bean burritos can save between £2 and £5 each time, adding up to well over £200 a year."
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Food price inflation jumped to 3.7% in December, Kantar figures showed, the highest level since March. Sales of take-home groceries in the three months to December rose at most of the largest supermarket chains, including Tesco, the market leader, as well as Sainsbury’s, the discounter Lidl and Marks & Spencer.
“Food inflation is going to build in the UK in 2025,” said Clive Black, the head of consumer research at Shore Capital, which like the BRC is forecasting inflation of more than 4% by December. Despite the increased costs faced by retailers, “the supermarkets will seek to remain shoppers’ champions”, Black said, predicting that the trading environment will remain competitive.
It comes as UK retailers have urged ministers to ease their tax burden as they said that the cost of food and other items will rise sharply throughout the year as companies grapple with higher employment costs.
“As retailers battle the £7bn of increased costs in 2025 from the budget, including higher employer national insurance, national living wage, and new packaging levies, there is little hope of prices going anywhere but up,” said Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC.
She added: “The government can still take steps to mitigate these price pressures, and it must ensure that its proposed reforms to business rates do not result in any stores paying more in rates than they do already.”