London, Thanasis Gavos

Separate food and drink inflation at Britain’s eight biggest supermarket chains was 17.2% in March, according to research by consumer information agency Which?.

This is an even greater rate of price growth compared to February’s 16.5%. Overall inflation in the UK as it stands since February stands at 10.4%.

The new research looked at price changes for key products at Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Lidl, Ocado and Waitrose.

More specifically, the price of oatmeal, Britain’s favorite breakfast, increased by 35.5% on average compared to last year.

Cheddar cheese, the most popular cheese in the country, is selling 28.3% more expensive than last March.

The price of pork sausages has respectively increased by 26.8% and potatoes by 14%. White bread costs 22.8% more.

However, there are some specific brands of these and other products that in some supermarkets have recorded an increase of up to 80%, such as a mature Welsh cheddar cheese in Asda. The 180g pack cost £1 last year and now costs £1.80.

A pack of eight sausages at Tesco now costs £1.39 from 80p last year, a rise of 73.3%.

The survey covers over 26,000 products across the eight chains.