The move by British shoppers toward a healthier lifestyle has gathered apace with a new study by the government showing that household expenditure on fresh fruit and vegetables increased by 2.7% and 2.8% respectively in 2004-05 compared with the previous year.
The Family Food Expenditure 2004-05 report from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, also showed that people were spending less on alcohol with money spent on alcohol consumption inside and outside the home falling by 3.7% and 7.3% respectively.
Money spent on white bread fell by 6.6% while in contrast expenditure on wholemeal bread increased by 2.4%.
The same trend was repeated with milk sales, as expenditure on whole milk fell by 18%, while spending on semi-skimmed milk rose by 8.9%.
Purchases of confectionery, soft drinks, crisps, nuts and snacks, and sandwiches outside the home also fell, however, expenditure on Indian, Chinese and Thai meals or dishes eaten out rose by 6.7%.
The largest increase in purchases between 2003-04 and 2004-05 was for rice, pasta and noodles, with a 7.6% increase.
Average expenditure on all food and drink in the UK in 2004-05 was £34.13 per person per week, of this an average of £6.20 was spent on alcoholic drinks and £28.11 on food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Expenditure on eating out, including alcoholic drinks, was £11.26 per person per week in 2004-05.
Overall expenditure on food and drink was estimated to have been 2.1% higher in 2004-05 than in the previous year, a 1% drop in real terms, while spending on food and drink eaten out was 3.0% higher in 2004-05, which in real terms was broadly unchanged.
Expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drinks purchased for consumption outside the home was 5.3% higher in 2004-05, at an average of £7.27 per person per week
Money spent on alcoholic drinks purchased for consumption outside the home was 1.7% lower in 2004-05, falling from an average of £3.60 to £3.54 per person per week.
Average expenditure on food and drink brought home was £23.05 per person per week in 2004-05, 1.4% lower in real terms than the previous year.
