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The cost of living with a food allergy
Families living with food allergy are facing “extortionate” bills at the supermarket checkout and this contributes to the “nightmare” of food shopping when your child has the condition. This was just some of the feedback we had from parents and carers who responded to The Allergy Team’s recent inflation survey.
The Allergy Team started delving into this because their co-founder Sarah, who also has two sons with food allergies, noticed that Alpro Growing Up Milk has gone up from £1.40 to £1.70 in a year in some stores and the dairy-free Pure Margarine she buys was £1.50 in January 2021 and £1.80 in January 2022.
The Allergy Team is trying to get to the bottom of why this is happening and to find out if free-from price rises are really greater than those for other food types.
Results of inflation survey
140 people living with food allergies responded to The Allergy Team’s survey.
Seven out of ten parents who responded said they have seen prices increase over the past year for the foods they rely on to keep their children safe.
Just under 90% found food shopping a negative experience, with the same percentage saying that food allergies dictate where they shop.
Nearly 70% of those who answered said they shop at 3 or more different supermarkets to find all the free-from products they need, spending far longer on this task than other families.
One family said they now “go without” some products because the cost of alternative products they buy due to food allergy “has gone up much more….than other items.”
There’s been so much in the news recently about the cost of living as inflation soars, and allergy families are often hit hardest as they can’t shop around for the cheapest own-brand food and free-from products carry a premium.
The lack of freedom to pick supermarket own brands and budget goods is one of the factors which contributes to supermarket shopping being a “nightmare” and a “minefield” according to those who took part in the survey.
Unfortunately, things look set to get worse. Data company Kantar has warned that households could see their grocery bills go up by £180 a year.
If you have suffered a food-related allergic reaction, whether it was mild or life-threatening then you could be eligible to make a NO WIN NO FEE food allergy claim with our food allergy specialist solicitors.
For further information, please visit our Food Allergy Claims or Food Allergy Compensation Claims Guide pages.