Consumer experts at Which? have shared a series of tips to help shoppers save money on their weekly food shop, as the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze household budgets. The advice includes shopping in the world foods aisle, buying in bulk, and decoding packaging to find the freshest produce.
Which? found that spices, lentils, rice and coconut milk are often cheaper in the world foods aisle. For example, a 45g jar of own-label paprika in Morrisons cost £1, but a 100g bag in the world foods aisle was just 99p. Similarly, a 5kg bag of Tilda Basmati rice in the world foods aisle at Asda cost £12, compared to £4.40 for a 1kg bag in the rice aisle.
Other tips include comparing loose and pre-packaged products – three mixed bell peppers at Tesco Express cost £2.10, while a single loose pepper was 65p. Shoppers are also advised to look on bottom shelves for cheaper brands, and to use apps like Too Good to Go for discounted surprise bags of food nearing its sell-by date.
Which? also explained how to decode date codes on pre-packaged fruit and veg. At Asda and Tesco, a letter and number indicate the month and day – for example, 'D22' means April 22. At Sainsbury's, codes like 'J2405S' mean May 24, while at Morrisons, 'A17' means August 17.
The experts caution that while Clubcard and Nectar offers can be tempting, shoppers should only buy items they actually need. They also note that food past its best-before date is usually safe to eat if it looks and smells fine, but use-by dates must be strictly observed.
