Tea and Meat Lift UK Food Inflation to Highest in 17 Months

The rising price of products such as tea and meat pushed UK food inflation to its highest level in 17 months, as retailers blamed the Labour government’s first budget for driving up costs.

The British Retail Consortium said food bills climbed 4% in July compared with a year earlier, the fastest increase since February 2024. It helped to push overall shop prices up for a second straight month, with the 0.7% annual rise the largest in more than a year.