The Guardian reported on Saturday that high-street food had risen by 26% since 2020. That is a massive rise. But not only that. Also food prices rose significantly. In October, UK food price inflation soared to a record annual rate of 11.6%, with the price increase for fresh food even rising to 13.3%. If you couple that with the interest rate rise to 3% by the Bank of England, and the projection of analysts that it could reach 4.75% next year leaves many Brits sleepless since the interest rates will result in higher (flexible) mortgage rates.
Where to save money? Lowering the room temperature and wrapping up warm is already considered by most. But what about lowering energy costs by turning down your fridge and freezer temperature? While this may seem like a good idea initially, consumers take a food safety gamble.
So it is no coincidence that the Scottish, Irish and British Food Standard Agencies have issued warnings that lowering fridge and freezer temperatures will pose food safety risks to consumers as pathogens and spoilage organisms can also multiply at lower temperatures.
In some cases, cooking food partially or at lower temperatures can pose a food safety risk.
And another concern is that food past its sell-by-date is still consumed, as recent Instagram posts by the Agencies show:
This was also addressed in a recent Evening Standard article. According to this article, FSA found in a survey that 40% of consumers are worried about being able to afford food in the next month. Some 30% said they had skipped a meal or cut down the size of their meals over the past month because they did not have enough money to buy food.
And UK is just one example. This is a severe food security and food safety crisis that needs to be appropriately addressed by the European Union’s leaders and national governments.
