Tesco has cut the cost of a range of cupboard staples, with 30 more items having had their prices reduced in welcome news for shoppers amid the cost of living crisis.
The supermarket confirmed on Wednesday that its own brand pasta has been reduced by 15p both in stores and online, while vegetable and sunflower oil are now also up to 15p cheaper. It comes after Tesco previously announced price drops for customers on essentials such as milk, bread and butter within recent weeks.
Newly reduced items include dinnertime favourites like penne, fusilli, macaroni and spaghetti, with 28 of Tesco's 500g own-brand dried pastas in total having been reduced from 95p to 80p. One litre of vegetable oil now costs £1.85 down from £1.99, while sunflower oil has been cut from £2.40 to £2.25.
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Tesco said it will continue to work closely with its suppliers to ensure customers can benefit from "the best possible value". Tesco Group CPO Ashwin Prasad said: "As we see deflation coming through on key cupboard essentials such as pasta and cooking oil, we're pleased to pass on these savings to customers.
"We hope that by reducing prices on these 30 products which are bought week-in, week-out, we can help customers spend less. So whether you're buying a branded favourite covered by our price lock, stocking up on essentials from Aldi Price Match, or treating yourself to an exclusive deal with Clubcard Prices – you can be confident of finding great value at Tesco."
Rival supermarket Aldi also announced that it was cutting the price of some of its pasta and cooking oil, to £1.85 for a litre of vegetable oil and £2.25 for a litre of sunflower oil. Aldi's 500g packs of Everyday Essentials spaghetti and penne pasta are dropping to 28p and 41p respectively, while other 500g packs of penne, spaghetti and macaroni are set to fall from 79p to 75p.
It comes after consumer experts at Which? urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to intervene on behalf of struggling shoppers, after its latest research released earlier this week showed that food inflation remains at "shockingly high levels". The analysis revealed that some meat, vegetable and yoghurt products had doubled in price in major supermarkets compared to this time last year.
Which? has called on the Prime Minister to challenge supermarket chiefs to take urgent action, as well as demanding that shops commit to clearer pricing - particularly on promotions and loyalty card offers. Rebecca Tobi, senior business and investor engagement manager at The Food Foundation, said: "We know that the current food price crisis is causing a great many households to cut back on essentials.
"With levels of food poverty among children having doubled in the year to January 2023, Government and businesses must act urgently to ensure that everyone can afford and access healthy essentials like fruit and vegetables. If not, we will be seeing the long-term health and economic consequences of the cost of living crisis playing out for years to come."
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