In a market where prices are squeezed to the absolute and in order to protect margins suspect practices and questionable ethics will inevitably come to the fore.
Recently the CEO of the Iceland Frozen Food chain cited the purchasing policies of local councils blaming them for driving down food quality with cheap food contracts for schools and hospitals.
Independent butchers (an endangered species in themselves) are trying to make capital by citing their credentials as reliable suppliers who have complete traceability of their product.
However the collapse in the number of independent retailers in face of the competition from the all powerful supermarkets means that this is likely to be a last hurrah rather than a return to the golden age of the British High Street.
In the UK overall household spending has failed to increase over the past 12 months.
This illustrates that higher inflation (currently 2.9%) and slow wage growth are squeezing household incomes and that is being felt in the UK's shops.
The current economic reality will continue to underpin the demand for cheap food but in satisfying this demand as was evidenced in the recent horse meat scandal there will be accompanying risks.
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