From eggs to coffee, these are the foods that have gotten the most expensive over the past year
Grace Dean  Â
Food and drink prices have soared by 13.5% over the past year.Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images
- Food and drink prices have soared by 13.5% over the past year.
- Inflation-strapped customers are changing how they swap, including switching to cheaper brands.
Prices keep going up. In the US, the prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks bought for at-home consumption increased by 13.5% in the year to August 2022, per data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall inflation, measured by the BLS's consumer-price index, was at 8.3%.
Americans have plenty of savings and should keep spending, JPMorgan Asset Management has said. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Inflation-strapped customers are trading down by switching to cheaper brands or grocery store private labels. But the prices of some foods are increasing at a much more rapid rate than others. Here are the products that have had the biggest price increases over the past year, per BLS data.
Inside Food Lion. Talia Lakritz/Insider
The price of eggs has gone up 39.8%.
Refrigerated eggs BI Photo / Isabel Fernandez Pujol
Margarine is close behind, costing 38.3% more than it did this time last year.
gemredding/Getty Images
Butter costs 24.6% more.
Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty Images
Flour and prepared flour mixes for things like pancakes and cookies now cost 23.3% more.
Michelle Arnold/EyeEm via Getty Images
Fats and oils, including peanut butter but excluding salad dressing, butter, and margarine, cost 21.3% more.
A supermarket shelf in Spain half-stocked with sunflower oil. Paco Freire/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)
Dairy and related products, excluding milk, cheese, ice cream, butter, and margarine, cost 20% more. This includes yogurt, cream, and milkshakes, as well as those made from non-dairy alternatives like soy, almond, rice, oat, and coconut milk.
Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty Images
The price of olives, pickles, and relishes has risen by 19.4%.
Olives make a great low-carb snack. Image Source/Getty Images
Roasted coffee costs 18.7% more. The price of instant coffee, in comparison, went up by 13%.
Tim Young Photography/Getty Images
Soup costs 18.5% more ...
Brandon Bell
... as do frozen and freeze-dried prepared foods, like frozen ready meals, French fries, and burgers.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Frankfurters cost 18.3% more ...
Matt Carey/Getty Images
... while the price of lunchmeat rose by 18.2%.
carlosgaw/Getty Images
Frozen and refrigerated bakery products, including pies, tarts, and turnovers, are up by 18.1%.
Pastry and Food Photography/Getty Images
Fresh meat, in comparison, hasn't risen much in price. According to BLS, the price of uncooked beef and veal increased by 2.5%, including a 7.8% rise for ground beef and a fall of 3% for beef steaks. Pork prices, including bacon and sausages, went up by 6.8%.
Ground beef for sale at Walmart. ROBYN BECK/AFP/GettyImages
Chicken has seen a much bigger increase, though, with prices jumping 16.6% over the past year.
It's important to read the labels on your chicken. Joe Gough/Shutterstock
Prices do seem to be stabilizing, though. The price of food and non-alcoholic drinks bought for at-home consumption rose 0.7% between July and August, down from 1.3% between June and July. And prices for some items, including rice, apples, and peanut butter, fell in the last month, the data shows.
Grocery shopping in Rosemead, California on April 21, 2022. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images
Popular Right Now
Popular Keywords
Advertisement