Cost of living: How do food prices in your shopping basket compare to last year as inflation bites?

Shoppers up and down the country are facing steeper prices at the till, on top of soaring energy prices and biggest pay slump since records began.

The weekly shop is becoming increasingly expensive, as staple food prices rise amid inflation soaring to a 40-year high

Milk and bread are among the everyday items to have recorded the highest price rises since last year, new figures show.

The rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rose to 10.1% in July, up from 9.4% in June, official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.

But what does that mean for the everyday consumer - and what items are pushing up the prices you pay at the supermarket till?

Shoppers may have already clocked their weekly supermarket shop is forcing them to dig deeper into their pockets.

Today's ONS figures show four everyday shopping favourites - bread, eggs, milk, and cheese - are driving inflation.

Food prices rose notably in July, according to ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner, who added bakery products, dairy, meat and vegetables, had risen particularly sharply too.

But other household staples such as pet food, toilet rolls and toothbrushes have also driven up inflation, he added.

Here are the top grocery price-rises making your shop more expensive...

• Bread and cereals

A loaf of sliced white bread now costs £1.24 on average, an increase of 18 pence compared with last July.

The prices of bread and cereal products together rose by an average 12.3% on last year.

• Milk

The average cost of a pint of milk rose to 59 pence in July.

That rose up from 42 pence in the same month last year.

• Cheese

Cheese was another driver of high supermarket spending, with 350g cheddar costing £2.54 on average, up from £2.16 last July.

There was a 17.9% increase in the average price of cheeses and curds over the last 12 months to July.

• Eggs

The ONS said eggs had also become more expensive, recording among the largest price rises.

The cost of eggs increased by an average of 14.6% since July 2021.

That means if a carton of 6 eggs cost £1 in July 2021, it would now cost £1.15.

• Butter

In recent months, shoppers were stunned by the price of butter brand Lurpak.

Some snapped photos of security tags attached to the brand at supermarkets as the popular brand's price rose.

The latest ONS figures showed prices of the average 250g block of butter rose to £2.14 on average, from £1.73 at the same time last year.

There was also a significant increase in the cost of spreadable butter.

A 500g packet rose an average of 94 pence from £3.25 to £4.19.

• Potatoes

Potato prices surged too.

White potatoes cost 67 pence per kilogram in July, compared to 58 pence 12 months before.

That's a 16% price increase.

• Bacon

A packet of bacon rashers is also significantly more expensive than it was last year.

300g of back bacon cost £2.45 on average in July, rising from an average of £2.12 the year before.

• Sugar

The price of a bag of sugar has also gone up.

A one kilogram packet of granulated sugar is now 77 pence on average, up six pence from 71.0 pence in July 2021.

• Tea and coffee

The cost of tea and coffee also soared with the cost of living. A 250g box of tea bags was £2.17 on average in July, a 27 pence rise from £1.90 12 months earlier.

If you are a coffee drinker, 100g of instant coffee would set you back an average of £3.38, compared with £2.96 in July last year, a 14% price rise.

How does comparing food shop prices explain inflation?

Ballooning inflation will pile more pressure on already cash-strapped families, who are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing food, energy and fuel bills.

The ONS measures inflation by checking the prices of a range of more than 700 everyday items, known as a "basket" of goods and services.

That basket incudes items that reflect the population's general buying preferences - like loaves of bread, or bus tickets, as well as big-ticket purchases like holidays and cars.

The price of that basket informs us of the overall price level which is known as the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).

To calculate the rate of inflation, analysts compare the level of CPI (the cost of the basket) to what it was in the same month a year ago.

The change in the price level over the year tells economists the rate of inflation.

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