Is it the end of low cost Groceries and general goods?

andya700 said:
I did a random Google search eg: Ashford asian food shops - and you can do it for any town, although you have to zoom in a bit because they are sometimes small shops. I was concentrating on Kent and virtually every town has an Asian shop and I found out that Orpington has an Asian supermarket which looks fantastic.
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Thanks, will have a nose. ;)
 
jonbeeza said:
I watched the article on pig farming last night. A pig farmer was saying by the time he sends pigs to market, he has lost money, as the price of pig feed has risen to a level that is no longer cost effective.
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It's a disaster and worse to come,I'm sure.We're even short of slaughtermen. I assume it's just men. Also vets. They are why we have such high standards of meat production here because vets are overseeing the whole process. Seems that 900 vets a year graduate but we need 2000 .

www.thepoultrysite.com

UK revises veterinary rules in abattoirs as Brexit pressures mount

www.thepoultrysite.com www.thepoultrysite.com

March this year. The RCVS Council (Royal College of Vetenary Surgeons) has greenlit Defra's proposals that would amend the rules on the RCVS Temporary Register, allowing those on it to undertake certain specific functions as Official Veterinarians (OVs).

The proposals from Defra were brought to the meeting of RCVS Council on Thursday 18 March 2021 by the Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss. They came in light of increased pressures on OV numbers and capacity following the UK’s exit from the European Union at the beginning of the year. The proposal also lowered the English language requirement for the OV role from the current RCVS standard of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 7, to a score of 5.
 
People will have to get used to higher food prices, the boss of Kraft Heinz has told the BBC.

Maybe so, but I for one will not need to pay more for anything that outfit make because I would never want to put it in my mouth.
 
woof woof said:
One thing which could help is lowering the quality standards and getting more misshapen less perfect products into the shops with the added advantage of reducing waste of items that don't at the moment pass for human or indeed animal consumption.
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Morrisons already have a “wonky veg” line, I would have thought others may as well?

Queue-it

groceries.morrisons.com groceries.morrisons.com
 
I shop mostly at Tesco, their club card prices offer a good saving, IF you are buying those items, and not buying because they are "on offer"
I generally save about a fiver on a weekly shop.
Food warehouse ( Iceland) is good value for frozen produce, strong cheese, ( #5 cheddar) sausages & bacon.
 
arclight said:
People will have to get used to higher food prices, the boss of Kraft Heinz has told the BBC.

Maybe so, but I for one will not need to pay more for anything that outfit make because I would never want to put it in my mouth.
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I thought everyone likes Heinz Beans.
 
Cobra said:
I shop mostly at Tesco, their club card prices offer a good saving, IF you are buying those items, and not buying because they are "on offer"
I generally save about a fiver on a weekly shop.
Food warehouse ( Iceland) is good value for frozen produce, strong cheese, ( #5 cheddar) sausages & bacon.
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I use Farmfoods as they tend to be reasonable on prices, their well known branded cake bars can be half the price of most other shops, only thing is, goods are nearing their date. I also get the well known Cat food from there, about the best price I have found.
 
Still get 99% of food from the market, meat from a big wholesale place. Some stuff from Costco as well. Only use supermarkets for little stuff.
 
robj20 said:
Still get 99% of food from the market, meat from a big wholesale place. Some stuff from Costco as well. Only use supermarkets for little stuff.
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I was looking at joining Costco a little while back, I think it was about £20 to sign up. I can't recall why I did not sign up, it might have been because my nearest Costco branch was about half an hour away, so I might not have used it as much.
 
andya700 said:
I am quite happy with Branston. Aldi or Lidl. I always customise the beans anyway, with cracked black pepper, finely chopped chilli and a hint of BBQ sauce.
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I've probably tried most makes baked beans over the years, I always go back to Heinz.
Plus they need nothing added.


Well maybe some toast, or pie and mash etc :D
 
andya700 said:
I am quite happy with Branston. Aldi or Lidl. I always customise the beans anyway, with cracked black pepper, finely chopped chilli and a hint of BBQ sauce.
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I have bought a multi pack of Heinz Beans from Aldi, and they were £2.99 for a pack of six. Works out at a shade under 50p per can, pretty good value.
 
It's very rare that I buy a loose tin of beans, much better value to opt for the value pack.
 
Cobra said:
I've probably tried most makes baked beans over the years, I always go back to Heinz.
Plus they need nothing added.


Well maybe some toast, or pie and mash etc :D
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Not sure if they still do them but Sainsbury's used to do a cheap range of beans and I'd swear that they were Heinz in a little more sauce than Heinz branded beans. Used to let them boil gently for a minute or 2 to thicken the sauce up a bit. We now get the 5 bean mix (Heinz branded - the Sainsbury's ones are very different!) for some variety and other than a small can of sweetcorn (to stretch one can of beans to 2 portions), nothing is added (although I sneak some grated cheese on mine if Mrs Nod isn't looking!)
 
Nod said:
Not sure if they still do them but Sainsbury's used to do a cheap range of beans and I'd swear that they were Heinz in a little more sauce than Heinz branded beans. Used to let them boil gently for a minute or 2 to thicken the sauce up a bit. We now get the 5 bean mix (Heinz branded - the Sainsbury's ones are very different!) for some variety and other than a small can of sweetcorn (to stretch one can of beans to 2 portions), nothing is added (although I sneak some grated cheese on mine if Mrs Nod isn't looking!)
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Some big manufacturers say in their adverts, " we don't make such n such a product for anyone else". But some obviously do, as the product looks and tastes exactly the same, even the packaging is the same, apart from the branding.
 
jonbeeza said:
Some big manufacturers say in their adverts, " we don't make such n such a product for anyone else". But some obviously do, as the product looks and tastes exactly the same, even the packaging is the same, apart from the branding.
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Yes, companies do sell their products to other companies which are allowed to re-brand it . It's called "white labelling" ,It's a common business model.
A couple of examples that are well known.

Vanish washing crystals are just Sodium Carbonate Peroxyhydrate - you can buy it by that name for £1 for a 4kg bag or it can put in a pink tub and spend a lot on advertising and sell it for £12 per kg

Then there's paracetamol - generic unbranded 20p for 16 Or call it Panadol, put it in a fancy box run a marketing campaign and sell it for £1.49 for 16.

I actually worked hard for my living before retirement because I didn't know that this could be done...:D
 
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Love a roll back offer. Missus loves to powder herself with baby powder, so I thought I would grab a couple of tubs.
 
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I never buy McVities Chocolate biscuits... £1.50 per pack. :oops: :$






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I go for ASDA Chocolate Digestives instead, at 50p a pack. Not a great deal of taste difference to be honest, besides you soon get used to them. :)
 
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andya700 said:
I am quite happy with Branston. Aldi or Lidl. I always customise the beans anyway, with cracked black pepper, finely chopped chilli and a hint of BBQ sauce.
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I much prefer Branston over Heinz. The latter is far too sweet for me. I still add a small knob of butter, some black pepper and a touch of Dave’s Temporary Insanity sauce. Lurrrvely.
 
For many years we have not been paying the true cost for food anyway. I'm not usually an apologist for the farming industry but supermarkets have been turning the screw on food producers leading to a decline in standards, and an increase in "efficiency" - in other words more and more intensive farming, pollution of watercourses, and loss in biodiversity.

Hopefully the new "public money for public goods" policy will put an end to the latter but whether prices will ever return to what supermarket shoppers have been used to is another question.
 
jerry12953 said:
For many years we have not been paying the true cost for food anyway. I'm not usually an apologist for the farming industry but supermarkets have been turning the screw on food producers leading to a decline in standards, and an increase in "efficiency" - in other words more and more intensive farming, pollution of watercourses, and loss in biodiversity.

Hopefully the new "public money for public goods" policy will put an end to the latter but whether prices will ever return to what supermarket shoppers have been used to is another question.
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Even if all of my food shop does go up, it will still be cheaper then the branded food stuffs.
 
jonbeeza said:
Even if all of my food shop does go up, it will still be cheaper then the branded food stuffs.
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Good Housekeeping magazine compared brands and they come out well against McVities.

www.goodhousekeeping.com

Do McVities really make the best chocolate digestives?

Chocolate digestives are a tea-time staple and the chocolate to biscuit ratio is as important as the temperature of your tea - but who makes the best? If you're a firm believer in the branded biscuit be prepared to change your mind...
www.goodhousekeeping.com www.goodhousekeeping.com
 
JohnC6 said:
Good Housekeeping magazine compared brands and they come out well against McVities.

www.goodhousekeeping.com

Do McVities really make the best chocolate digestives?

Chocolate digestives are a tea-time staple and the chocolate to biscuit ratio is as important as the temperature of your tea - but who makes the best? If you're a firm believer in the branded biscuit be prepared to change your mind...
www.goodhousekeeping.com www.goodhousekeeping.com
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I always tend to buy as much shop label items as I can, rather than big brand names. The savings can be massive, especially for those on a tight budget.
 
jerry12953 said:
For many years we have not been paying the true cost for food anyway. I'm not usually an apologist for the farming industry but supermarkets have been turning the screw on food producers leading to a decline in standards, and an increase in "efficiency" - in other words more and more intensive farming, pollution of watercourses, and loss in biodiversity.

Hopefully the new "public money for public goods" policy will put an end to the latter but whether prices will ever return to what supermarket shoppers have been used to is another question.
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Agree. The way supermarkets treat their suppliers is appalling. Years ago I recall the public being asked..via newspapers.. if they'd be prepared to pay a few pence more for milk as famers were barley making a profit and in some cases a loss..infact still is according to the below article that highlights how the majors are asking..telling.. their suppliers to cover the costs of the retailers having to pay increased wages to their drivers. I'm sure I'm right in thinking that when a supermarket has a product on offer the cost of that offer is borne by the producer not the retailer.

Dated May 28..Sainsburys https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/superma...ers-ahead-of-major-range-reset/656567.article

Late payments is another scandal. There's now an amendment Prompt Payment Code in place to tackle the practice of making suppliers wait as long as several months for payment but it needs legislation not a wishy-washy code of practice with no sanctions on those large companies that abuse it it. Companies that have signed up to the code will be obliged to pay invoices within 30 days – half the time outlined under the current agreement.

Despite almost 3,000 companies signing the code, poor payment practices are still rife, with many payments delayed well beyond the current 60-day target required for 95% of invoices. Currently, £23.4 billion worth of late invoices are owed to firms across Britain, impacting on businesses’ cash flow and ultimate survival.

The article I took the above from https://www.cartmells.co.uk/new-rules-to-ensure-large-firms-pay-invoices-within-30-days/
 
omens said:
I much prefer Branston over Heinz. The latter is far too sweet for me. I still add a small knob of butter, some black pepper and a touch of Dave’s Temporary Insanity sauce. Lurrrvely.
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On a recommendation I tried Branston's baked beans..I 'lerrv' baked beans on toast :)... and didn't like them. I can't recall why but I did try .I can imagine that people find Heinz a bit sweet, though.
 
Dad used to supply the local authority with some things. They were by far the worst when it came to late payments and ended up being on a cash with order basis.
 
Best time to get the rollback price in ASDA is early in the morning, as later in the day they put them back up again. Once or twice I have gone to ASDA and picked up a few roll back offers, only to get to the till and they have gone back up again. I tend to take a photo and show at the till, if you have picked up the item while it was still priced at rollback, they let you have it at rollback price, provided you have got a photo as proof.
 
jonbeeza said:
View attachment 332802


I never buy McVities Chocolate biscuits... £1.50 per pack. :oops: :$






View attachment 332804

I go for ASDA Chocolate Digestives instead, at 50p a pack. Not a great deal of taste difference to be honest, besides you soon get used to them. :)
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whilst this looks like they’re 3 times more expensive, they aren’t. You can use the unit equivalent pricing to compare. So in this case there’s 9p difference per 100g. Definitely something to use to help get the best value for money.
 
Build Back Better I suppose. It will be so good soon that you will be really happy when you own nothing.

Besides quality of food and meats in particular is dropping like dead flies.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Build Back Better I suppose. It will be so good soon that you will be really happy when you own nothing.

Besides quality of food and meats in particular is dropping like dead flies.
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Just made Cauliflower Cheese, I fried some Bacon to go over the top. It is very hard to get the bacon to go crispy, even on a very high heat it tends to want to boil, and not fry. So no idea what they are putting in the bacon. Sprinkling Cheese over the top of the Cauliflower, then in the oven on high heat, it is difficult to brown the Cheese, and again what are they putting in it. Foodstuffs just aren't the same anymore
 
jonbeeza said:
Just made Cauliflower Cheese, I fried some Bacon to go over the top. It is very hard to get the bacon to go crispy, even on a very high heat it tends to want to boil, and not fry. So no idea what they are putting in the bacon. Sprinkling Cheese over the top of the Cauliflower, then in the oven on high heat, it is difficult to brown the Cheese, and again what are they putting in it. Foodstuffs just aren't the same anymore
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Huge difference in additives now. I find you have to really shop around and stick to good brands when you find them. The quality of dairy and meat from farm shops down here is pretty good, but you pay the price for it.
 
andya700 said:
Huge difference in additives now. I find you have to really shop around and stick to good brands when you find them. The quality of dairy and meat from farm shops down here is pretty good, but you pay the price for it.
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I suppose I would pay more, if the products had better ingredients. After frying the bacon in a clean frying pan, there was horrible residue left over. We now both have a raging thirst. Bacon must have been full of salt, and other nasty stuff. :oops: :$
 
jonbeeza said:
I suppose I would pay more, if the products had better ingredients. After frying the bacon in a clean frying pan, there was horrible residue left over. We now both have a raging thirst. Bacon must have been full of salt, and other nasty stuff. :oops: :$
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You might find this i a nteresting read.. Last year My doctor told me to buy Finnebrougue bacon as it doesn't have crap in it like most other brands. My word..crap..not hers.. :D We buy it when we can because quite often it's only the smoked variety that's available. It's not cheap compared to other brands but it really does taste good. Next best for us are the premium Sainsburys (Taste the Difference) and Morrisons( Best..I think) brands https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/game-changing-nitrite-free-bacon-enters-uk-market.html


Re salt. Some years ago I was watching our regional news when they announced that someone from the Food/Drink industry was coming on to be interviewed on the later bulletin about salt content in food. It was being claimed that too much was hardening the arteries. It just so happened that on another programme about salt I'd heard the person urging people to eat less salt had said that on a packet you will see 'sodium chloride' listed instead of salt. Now, I don't know the difference between the terms but what the lady said was that to get the salt content you need to multipy that NaCL value by 2.5. So..I immediately called Points West..our regional news programme and told them about this and suggested they ask the person that was to be interviewed about this.. I watched the interview on the evening bulletin. Questioin after question and I thought they weren't going to ask then.."by the way.. is it true ...etc. The Food/Drink representative said, "Yes you do need to do that" and what was telling was that until that point her'd been very ebullient with his answers but when he answered this one his voice dropped as if he'd been 'caught out' The interview ended with the interviewer asking if it wouldn't be more useful to put the actual salt content.Answer..as I recall "I think most people are aware of that" Like hell they are.:)
 
jerry12953 said:
For many years we have not been paying the true cost for food anyway. I'm not usually an apologist for the farming industry but supermarkets have been turning the screw on food producers leading to a decline in standards, and an increase in "efficiency" - in other words more and more intensive farming, pollution of watercourses, and loss in biodiversity.

Hopefully the new "public money for public goods" policy will put an end to the latter but whether prices will ever return to what supermarket shoppers have been used to is another question.
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spot on mate, cheap crap food for the masses thats the Tesco and Asda way, tasteless crap.
 
JohnC6 said:
You might find this i a nteresting read.. Last year My doctor told me to buy Finnebrougue bacon as it doesn't have crap in it like most other brands. My word..crap..not hers.. :D We buy it when we can because quite often it's only the smoked variety that's available. It's not cheap compared to other brands but it really does taste good. Next best for us are the premium Sainsburys (Taste the Difference) and Morrisons( Best..I think) brands https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/game-changing-nitrite-free-bacon-enters-uk-market.html


Re salt. Some years ago I was watching our regional news when they announced that someone from the Food/Drink industry was coming on to be interviewed on the later bulletin about salt content in food. It was being claimed that too much was hardening the arteries. It just so happened that on another programme about salt I'd heard the person urging people to eat less salt had said that on a packet you will see 'sodium chloride' listed instead of salt. Now, I don't know the difference between the terms but what the lady said was that to get the salt content you need to multipy that NaCL value by 2.5. So..I immediately called Points West..our regional news programme and told them about this and suggested they ask the person that was to be interviewed about this.. I watched the interview on the evening bulletin. Questioin after question and I thought they weren't going to ask then.."by the way.. is it true ...etc. The Food/Drink representative said, "Yes you do need to do that" and what was telling was that until that point her'd been very ebullient with his answers but when he answered this one his voice dropped as if he'd been 'caught out' The interview ended with the interviewer asking if it wouldn't be more useful to put the actual salt content.Answer..as I recall "I think most people are aware of that" Like hell they are.:)
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Thanks for that very informative post, going to have a read up on it. If I can't get any healthier stuff, I might scrub Bacon off the shopping list.
 
jonbeeza said:
If I can't get any healthier stuff, I might scrub Bacon off the shopping list.
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I'll only buy dry cure bacon now, it's twice the price in most cases, but well worth it as I buy less. You also get more per pack because it doesn't shrink to a quarter of the size after cooking, so better value for money anyway. :)
 
Sky said:
I'll only buy dry cure bacon now, it's twice the price in most cases, but well worth it as I buy less. You also get more per pack because it doesn't shrink to a quarter of the size after cooking, so better value for money anyway. :)
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I am not going buying our usual brand anymore, we no longer enjoy it. Certainly going to look at the better alternative, that have already been suggested. ;)
 
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GOOD butchers should have proper dry cured bacon but even the so-called dry cure stuff that comes pre-packed seems to sweat in the pan.
 
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