As food prices soar the government is discussing plans for supermarkets to introduce price caps on basic food like bread and milk to limit the rising cost of living. A voluntary agreement with major retailers could see price reductions but there are no plans for a mandatory price cap. The idea of a freeze on basic food items is said to be at the ‘drawing board stage’. Supermarkets will be allowed to select which items they would cap and only take part in the initiative on a voluntary basis. The rate of inflation can be calculated in various ways, but the main measure is the Consumer Prices Index which tracks the prices of everyday items in an imaginary ‘basket of goods’. Expensive food may overtake energy bills in the cost-of-living crisis. Security tags are being fitted to expensive food, coffee jars are replaced with dummies, and some stores are limiting the number of items on shelves to reduce theft. See