´ºÉ«Ö±²¥s continue to feel the impact of inflation as prices for day-to-day basics are up, with food purchases from stores increasing by 9.8 per cent in 2022, . This has left some shoppers snapping photos of pricey goods, which have turnedÌýinto talking points for politicians like NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. he criticized grocery stores for charging $42 for a caesar salad and $37 for chicken, but left out context such as the salad's serving size and the chicken's premium cut. Ìý
Conor Blake says he of a caesar salad priced at $41.99 at a Sobeys in Kitchener, Ont., because it's "not often you do a double take in the grocery store." He sent the photo to his wife, and posted it to Reddit earlier this month. He says most people's reaction – like his – was that the price tag was a typo or was the result of a printing error. Ìý
AlsoÌýthis month, a CTV reporter shared a photo on Twitter of chicken breastÌýÌýatÌýa LoblawsÌýin Toronto. "I beg your pardon," Siobhan Morris tweeted.ÌýÌý
Rating: Missing contextÌý
These prices are listed correctly, but they can be misleading when repeated without the context of theÌýparticular productsÌýbeing sold.ÌýÌý
Party for 10Ìý
Conor Blake says he snapped a photo of a party-sized caesar salad priced at $41.99 at a Sobeys in Kitchener, Ont., on Jan. 13, because it's "not often you do a double take in the grocery store." THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Conor Blake
In July of last year,Ìýa shopper had also spotted a $41.99 salad at an Ontario Sobeys and about the price tag on TikTok, but it got less traction online. Ìý
While Sobeys didn't respond toÌýa request for comment, the same salad is listed on theirÌý for $41.99 and is made for 10 servings. That's $4.20 per serving. On Sobeys' Voilà delivery app, for $3.99 you can order a , which comes with fewer ingredients than the party salad. Ìý
The "" salad has fresh romaine lettuce, real bacon bits, Parmesan cheese, lemon wedges and caesar dressing. The price would also have to cover the cost of the labour to put it together. Ìý
Blake says he still doesn't think it's worth the price tag and believes there are cheaper options. Ìý
Grocery prices growing Ìý
The price for the party salad has increased along with inflation. Eight years ago Sobeys was selling it for . And three years ago it was going for for the same 10 servings. This is in line with inflation placed on food prices. Ìý
Statistics Canada shows the price of lettuce — the main ingredient in the caesar salad — has 32.8 per cent from December 2021 to December 2022. Ìý
In the meantime, the "Caesar for a Crowd" salad increased 20 per cent in price since 2020. Ìý
Chicken has also been affected by inflation, with costs rising 11.1 per cent last year, Statistics Canada .Ìý
The plot chickensÌý
A spokesperson for Loblaws says the tweet about their $37 chicken was misleading because it didn't mention that it was a premium pack. The "FF" on the package means free from hormones and antibiotics. Ìý
Like the caesar salad, Loblaws says the photo of the chicken was one of their largest packs of the premium product available.Ìý
The spokesperson says a $13 option, enough for a family of four, was right beside it. Ìý
"It's also worth noting, our premium chicken was priced better than our competitors and the package in question sold shortly after the photo was taken," the spokesperson said to The ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥ Press.Ìý
"We understand customers are watching food prices closely and we get that they will have questions. In this case, the tweet was posted without asking for the truth. And, when we provided the truth, it wasn't corrected."Ìý
A day after the initial tweet about the chicken, CTV reporter Morris posted that included Loblaws' explanation that the chicken was a premium cut.
SourcesÌý
The original $42 dollar salad claim can be found ()Ìý
The original $37 dollar chicken claim can be found (), and the follow-up ()Ìý
The claims were also repeated by federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ()Ìý
A similar claim regarding a $42 Caesar salad can be found on TikTok (, ) Ìý
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About ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥ Press fact checks
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- This article was updated on Jan. 30, 2023, to include the about ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥ Press fact checks section
