The women’s section of a national newspaper has encouraged readers to buy wholehead produce where possible after finding prepared fruit and veg is up to three times more expensive.
Femail, part of the Mail Online website, analysed several prepared fruit and veg product from the top four retailers, and compared price per kg with their wholehead counterparts.
It found that a 400g tub of Sainsbury's Pineapple Pieces costs £1.50, which it claimed makes it 50p more expensive than a whole medium pineapple, available in stores for £1.00.
“The average pineapple weighs around 900g, meaning you'll pay £3.75 per kg for chopped pineapple, but just £1.11 for a fresh fruit,” the article said.
It also compared a £1 bag of carrot batons from Asda, which works out as £1.67 per kg, compared to 45p per kg for loose carrots. Elsewhere, a £1.20 bag of courgetti works out at £4 a kg in Sainsbury’s, compared to £2 per kg for wholehead courgettes in the same retailer, Femail said.
“It would be better if people would chop their own fruit and vegetables,” nutritionist Louise Johnson told Femail. “However, if somebody is going to choose ready made courgetti over buying a ready-made processed convenience meal then I would prefer them go for that.”
In Tesco, Femail said that a 380g pot of chopped watermelon is only 50p less than a whole fruit, at £2.50. And it found that M&S de-stoned and chopped avocado works out at £12.50 per kg, compared to £10 per kg for wholehead avocado at other supermarkets.
Nutritionist Claudia Norris told the paper: “If you can make the time, I recommend prepping whole fruit and veg yourself at home. I worry about convenience being taken to this level. I believe it impacts on our our connection with food and how we nourish ourselves.”
