London - Shoppers are paying mark-ups of more than 400 percent on fresh vegetables simply for the convenience of buying them ready sliced.
Despite the squeeze on household incomes, millions of families are packing trolleys with sliced, peeled and washed fruit and veg.
Rather than pay 60p (about R10) a kilo for whole carrots, shoppers can be charged more than twice as much - up to £1.49 (about R30) a kilo - if they buy them ready sliced. The figure rises to three times as much when carrots are bought as batons at a staggering £1.85 a kilo.
And buying mini carrots that have been peeled, shaped and washed comes in at £3.13 a kilo – which is 421 percent higher than when carrots are bought loose.
A similar pattern can be seen with broccoli and mushrooms, according to research published by consumer group Which? And it seems the situation is only likely to get worse with supermarkets now offering packs of trendy spiralised vegetables, including carrots and courgettes.
Which? said: “Most of us like to think we’re savvy shoppers. But it’s not always easy to compare costs when complex mental arithmetic is required just to weigh up the same product presented in various packet sizes and styles.”
Daily Mail