Sainsbury's has cut prices across cupboard essentials in a move to avoid passing on wholesale costs to shoppers.
The supermarket chain said it would invest £15million to cut the price of its own brand items such as rice, pasta, cornflakes, jams, and runny honey.
Sainsbury's will also be cutting the price of its Free-from pasta and will offer it at the same price as standard pasta.
The chain claimed it was the only supermarket to do so.
The price cuts will be rolled out nationwide and online from Tuesday.
The company also added that, from Monday, all Sainsbury's "happier and healthier" whole chicken breast fillets will be price-matched to Aldi for the first time.
Sainsbury's also confirmed that it will “continue to make price cuts on popular essential products throughout the summer.”
This is yet another price cut introduced by the supermarket chain as recently it reduced the price of essentials such as bread and butter, milk, tuna, and toilet rolls.
Other supermarket chains have also been slashing prices after major supermarket chains came under fire for how much their prices had increased over the last year.
Food inflation has remained high with the most recent figure sitting at 18.4%
This means that food prices are 18% higher than they were last year.
The Bank of England suggested last week that some retailers are jacking up prices or failing to pass on lower costs to consumers as a way of increasing their profit margins at a time of stubborn inflation.
Rhian Bartlett, food commercial director at Sainsbury’s, said: “As the cost-of-living challenges continue, we remain relentlessly focused on lowering prices on the essential products that make the biggest difference to our customers.
“These latest price cuts will help reassure customers that we will continue to pass on savings as soon as we see the wholesale price of food fall.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is to meet the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the watchdogs for the energy, water and communications sectors on Wednesday to ask whether there is a profiteering problem in their sectors and what they are doing about it.
Ministers are also talking to the food industry about “potential measures to ease the pressure on consumers”.
Examples of Sainsbury's price cuts
- Sainsbury's corn flakes 500g - cut from 85p to 69p,
- Spaghetti 1kg - cut from £1.65 to £1.39
- Basmati rice 1kg - cut from £2.10 to £1.75
- Jar of strawberry jam - cut from £1.15 to 99p
- Chicken breasts 300g pack - cut from £2.50 to £2.29
- Chicken breasts 1.6kg pack - cut from £9.65 to £9.59
- Chicken 640g mini fillets 640g - cut from £4.95 to £4.43
