Supermarket food quality: nearly a third of shoppers have noticed a decline

Food prices have increased by 25% in the past two years, but 31% of shoppers we surveyed think the quality has declined over the same time period.

Even though food inflation is now dropping, the cost of our food is still increasing, just at a slower rate.

So it's especially galling if you feel like you're paying more but getting less for your money.

In a Which? online survey of 1,088 Connect panel members in March 2024, 33% of shoppers told us they'd noticed a change in the quality of the food and drink they buy from the supermarket over the past two years. 

Of this group, 94% said they felt the quality had got worse.

Eat well, live better, stay healthy - sign up to our free monthly Food & Health newsletter for the latest insights delivered straight to your inbox

Fruit and veg most affected 

Of the people who said they'd noticed a decline in food quality, the most common category was fruit and veg - 59% noted a decline here. 

After fruit and veg, the next biggest categories were supermarket own-brand food (44%), chilled and frozen ready meals (32%), branded food (32%) and fresh meat and fish (25%).

So what's going on? There are several possible reasons why people are noticing issues.

As people are paying more for their food, they might have higher expectations. One member said: 'Less choice, standards have gone down and prices have gone up'.

But there are several wider factors that could be playing a part. Adverse weather conditions and climate change have resulted in a series of poor harvests for fruit and veg, so there hasn't been the volume of produce available compared with previous years. This means potentially slim pickings to select from.

Many supermarkets have also removed best-before dates from most fruit and veg in a well-intentioned move to reduce food waste. 

While there are generally systems in place to rotate stock effectively, it could mean that in some cases fresh items are sitting around on supermarket shelves longer. It could also mean that once shoppers get them home, items are spoiling sooner than they had previously. 

Several members commented in our survey that they didn't think fresh produce was lasting as long at home as it previously had.

For own-brand and branded items this decline in quality could be due to shrinkflation and skimpflation - lots of people in our survey mentioned this. 

Shrinkflation is when items get smaller but the cost stays the same or even increases, and skimpflation is when recipes (of foods such as ready meals or sauces) are changed to cut down on or replace pricier ingredients. 

One respondent thought the decline in fresh meat and fish was due to counters in supermarkets closing and everything being pre-packed. Others said they prefer to shop at their local butcher or fishmonger.

Best supermarket food and drink - our taste tests reveal the best value options that still taste great

Are some supermarkets worse than others?

We also asked shoppers to name supermarkets where they'd noticed a decline in quality. 

Of those surveyed, 43% said they'd noticed a decline in food quality at Tesco and 42% said the same of Sainsbury's. 

This was followed by Morrisons (17%), Aldi (16%), Asda (16%), Waitrose (14%), Lidl (11%) and M&S (10%). 

However, this order broadly reflects retailer market share, so could just be down to where people shop most frequently. 

One respondent also said they'd noticed a decline in the quality of fruit and veg bought at markets. 

Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, said: 'Our research shows that while some popular products are subtly decreasing either in size or quality, the same can’t be said for their prices – which means shoppers are inadvertently paying more for less.

'Supermarkets and manufacturers must be more upfront by making sure changes to popular products are clear and by ensuring that unit pricing is prominent, legible and consistent in-store and online, so that shoppers can easily compare prices across different brands and pack sizes.'

Find out the best and worst supermarkets rated by shoppers