The prices of 28 commonly consumed healthy foods have been tracked in major Australian supermarkets for three years, with some surprising results.
The price of lettuce and broccoli has risen, but there are plenty of healthy foods commonly eaten by Australians that have remained the same price or become cheaper compared to three years ago, according to a study.
Deakin University researchers have been tracking the prices of Coles and Woolworths of 28 basic healthy foods commonly consumed by Australians between 2020 and 2022.
The study showed that some items raised the price: the cost of broccoli rose 101 percent, iceberg lettuce rose 100 percent, tomatoes rose 43 percent, and olive oil , 33 percent.
However, there was no overall price change for bananas, poultry eggs, bottled water, canned tuna, red onions, sweet corn and carrots.
And some staples, such as oranges, apples, and a 400-gram four-bean Edgell blend can, were actually cheaper in 2022 compared to 2020.
Lead researcher Christina Zorbas of the Deakin Institute for Health Transformation said the data showed that fruit prices were not as affected as those for vegetables.
“This shows we have good local production and good supply chains,” he said.
“But then it is quite interesting to note that there is a medium term where food prices have risen between five and 10%.
“Overall, all of our commodities like dairy, our meats and our carbs like our pasta and breads are rising, even a little bit.
“That adds up to everyone’s weekly grocery store. I think people really feel it. The data just reflects that.”
More generally, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the recent consumer price index indicated that fruit and vegetables rose by almost 7% and takeaways by less than 1%. said Dr. Zorbas.
“That’s why we focus on healthy things because unhealthy things tend to have a slightly more constant price,” he said.
“It’s interesting and it just shows that we need to do a lot more to make sure healthy diet prices are stable as well.”
The prices of the 28 healthy items were monitored weekly at the two large supermarkets, as part of the research team’s broader study on the link between food affordability and diet.
Dr. Zorbas said the cost of healthy food was probably the first reason people blamed themselves for not eating a healthy diet.
“It’s the biggest barrier, because people say healthy diets are too expensive and less healthy options are cheaper,” he said.
“So we set ourselves the mission of understanding how quantifiable this is and what part of that is perhaps public perception about price.”
He said the research team aimed to address the “many gaps” in food price research nationwide.
“The price of food is one of the biggest determinants of health, really. If you can’t afford a healthy diet, you run a higher risk of suffering from so many diseases, weight gain, type two diabetes, heart disease, all sorts of things, ”he said.
“There is a lot more data and we look forward to reporting on it in a more frequent and solid way in the future.”