Questions over Countdown’s price freeze on ‘essentials’
Countdown is freezing the prices of more than 600 ‘‘essential’’ items over winter but one health expert says the list, dominated by highly processed foods, misses the mark.
On Thursday, Countdown said it was locking in the prices of hundreds of staples to give customers more price certainty as inflationary pressure grew.
Countdown managing director Spencer Sonn said the company had received close to 1000 cost increase requests from its suppliers in the past 10 months, more than double the figure for the equivalent period the year before.
The average increase requested was just over 9% as a result of suppliers’ own costs increasing. ‘‘There are so many factors impacting food prices at the moment and every week we are working with suppliers to help offset cost increases as much as possible so that our customers are not impacted,’’ Sonn said. ‘‘But the reality is we are all impacted by the current environment.’’
However, health expert and author Niki Bezzant expressed concern over the products included in the winter price freeze. Of the 629 items, 19 are alcoholic drinks, 37 are snacks and sweets, 22 are biscuits and more than 30 are dessert items.
Carrots, potatoes and pumpkins are the only fresh produce included, while five of the six items from the meat and seafood department are smoked salmon products. The remaining item is a pack of streaky bacon. Several varieties of tinned tomatoes are included, along with one bag of rice and 117 herbs and spices. The list does not feature any fresh milk or dried pasta, frozen vegetables, or personal care items like toilet paper or nappies.
Bezzant said the list was dominated by highly processed foods which were well known to contribute to poor health. ‘‘It is a real shame not to see more fresh whole foods there. These are foods that should be the bulk of what we eat, and are also some of the ones people are finding are getting more expensive.’’
Although pleased to see some canned vegetables on the list, Bezzant said it would have been good to see frozen vegetables and more proteins like meat or fish included. ‘‘I would rather see chicken and broccoli than pancake mix and icecream cones. And I think most people would agree those fresh foods are more essential.’’
A Countdown spokesperson said fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy were susceptible to seasonal conditions and export prices and, as a result, prices changed frequently.
‘‘Cheese has had two increases since February, for example. We have been able to include some carrots, pumpkin and onions, and if we can add more fruit and veges over the next few months, we will.’’
Countdown’s own brand cheese is included but shoppers have pointed out a significant earlier price rise. In a social media post on Wednesday, one user said they had previously paid $10.70 for a kilogram of Countdown’s edam cheese. ‘‘It went up last month to $11.80 for the same block. Today the price is $13.50.’’ Other items on the list, including Mighty Fresh bread and Countdown baked beans, have also risen in price since late last month.
Countdown said no prices were increased in anticipation of the price freeze.
‘‘The nature of the inflationary environment we are in at the moment is exactly why freezing the prices of these products from May 9 is important,’’ its spokesperson said. ‘‘While the winter freeze programme can’t include everything a person or family might want to buy, we hope there is something for everyone, and that it will help provide some certainty over a key part of their grocery shop in an environment where prices are increasing rapidly.’’