British families looking to eat a healthy diet could save more than £1,300 a year on their grocery bills by choosing frozen fruit and vegetables, according to new research from the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF).

Research comes as NHS advice continues to promote the ‘5-a-day’ message, while the cost of putting healthy food on the table remains a concern for many households.

Using current supermarket prices, the BFFF compared the cost of an 80g portion of commonly bought fresh fruit and vegetables with the same weight from frozen packs. Across five staples, broccoli, spinach, mixed vegetables, strawberries and blueberries, the average price of an 80g portion of fresh produce is now 51p, compared with 33p for frozen.

The difference in cost between fresh and frozen has grown over the past year and the potential savings have increased by around £200 over the past 12 months.

The latest figures show that frozen fruit and vegetables are now around 36% cheaper than their fresh equivalents across the products and supermarkets included in the research. The chief reason that frozen food is cheaper to buy than fresh is that less food is wasted in the supply chain.

That difference equates to a saving of around 90p per person, per day when eating five 80g portions. For a family of four, the weekly saving is around £25.20, or £1,314 over a year.

The research has been carried out as part of the BFFF’s Frozen Food Revolution campaign, which aims to inform, educate and engage consumers about the benefits of frozen food and which runs from 13th to 19th October.

Rupert Ashby, chief executive of the British Frozen Food Federation, said: “A healthy diet plays a huge part in the nation’s wellbeing, both physically and mentally. With household budgets continuing to face pressure, families need practical ways to make nutritious food go further.

“Our latest research shows that the potential saving from choosing frozen fruit and vegetables has grown significantly over the past year. An average 80g portion of frozen produce is now 18p cheaper than the fresh equivalent across the products we looked at, which can save around £1,300 a year for a family of four eating five portions a day.

“Frozen food has an important role to play in helping households make their budgets go further while eating well. It also has a wider role to play in UK food supply chain resilience, providing a reliable way of preserving food for longer, helping to reduce waste and allowing consumers to keep nutritious produce available in their homes for when they need it.

“Frozen fruit and vegetables offer convenience and a long shelf life. They are an important part of a resilient food system and a practical option for families looking to eat a nutritious diet affordably.”

The BFFF calculated the potential household saving using prices from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Aldi. For each product, the price of the pack was converted into a cost per 80g portion, allowing fresh and frozen products with different pack sizes to be compared on the same basis. Where loyalty-card prices were available, these were used in the calculation. Multibuy promotions and personalised offers were excluded.

More details are available here: https://bfff.co.uk/frozen-food-revolution/