How much fonio does your family get through in a week and how much will the reduction in price help you?

[noblegiraffe]

The govt have released a list of 125 "everyday essentials" that they plan to cut tax on to help families with the cost of living.

It's a bit of a weird list. Beans, biscuits and chocolate yes, a bit more baffled by the fresh figs, gherkins and plantains. And I had to google fonio.

Aubergines
Avocados
Baked beans
Bananas (fresh and dried)
Biscuits
Boiled sweets
Bread
Buckwheat
Candied fruit
Chewing gum
Chocolate (bulk and retail)
Chocolate bars
Chocolate drink preparations
Chocolate spreads
Chocolate with fruit, nuts or cereal
Citrus fruits (various)
Cocoa paste
Cocoa powder
Couscous
Crispbread
Crisps
Dried apples
Dried apricots
Dried figs
Dried papaya
Dried peaches/nectarines
Dried pears
Fonio
Fresh figs
Frozen fruits
Garlic
Gherkins
Gingerbread
Green tea
Jams and marmalades
Limes
Liquorice products
Margarine
Marzipan and pastes
Mixed dried fruit
Mixed fats and oils
Mixed fruit and nuts
Mixed nuts
Mixed preserved fruit and nuts
Non-alcoholic beverages
Olive oil (extra virgin)
Olive oil (other)
Olive oil (virgin)
Olives (for oil production)
Olives (fresh/chilled)
Olives (frozen)
Other fresh fruits
Other peppers (capsicum/pimenta)
Pickled peppers
Pizzas and quiches
Plant-based drinks
Plantains (fresh and dried)
Prepared vegetables
Preserved beans
Preserved citrus fruits
Preserved tropical fruit
Preserved vegetables
Processed potatoes
Quinoa
Rusks
Soups and broths
Sugar confectionery
Sugar tablets
Sweet peppers
Throat pastilles
Toasted bread products
Toffees and caramels
Tomato ketchup
Tomato sauces
Vegetable oils
Waffles and wafers

There are loads of useful basics not on the list. If I wrote a list of essentials it would look like this:

Apples
Bacon
Beans
Bread
Butter
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Cheddar cheese
Chicken
Cucumber
Eggs
Flour
Gammon
Ham
Lemons
Mayonnaise
Milk
Mince
Onions
Oranges
Peas
Sausages

Oh and o forgot potatoes and pasta.

Very good point @noblegiraffe!
Also liquorice is not good for you as it can raise blood pressure, an absolute blow for me when I found out mine was very high and I love liquorice and
can eat a bagful in a sitting!

I’ve just googled it and it looks like I should certainly be eating more of it than I currently do!

Why are you using language like addicted and smoking in conjunction with a list that includes a gluten free grain (and God knows, we could do with items safe for coeliacs to be cheaper) and jars of pickled cabbage and cauliflower?

which of those do you think you currently pay tariffs on?

To be fair some of those are on the list, maybe the ones that aren’t just don’t have tariffs imposed them so there’s nothing to remove?

True. And the list seeks to be foods that are currently subject to VAT. Of course, back in the 70s when VAT was first introduced it was only 8%. Now it’s 20% which is ludicrously high for food.

What a strange list! So many sweet things from a government apparently keen on a sugar tax. The simplest thing would have been not to include sweets and chocolate of various kinds.

No it’s not. There is no VAT on fruit & veg, bread, oil, grains, nuts etc. It is only about tariffs.

Regular food is not subject to VAT!

I had to look up fonio myself. I'm definitely going to try it. All those nutrients!! This is a healthy list 👍

I don't think the sweets and chocolate are healthy but you can buy fonio on Amazon if you can't find it in shops.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aduna-Organic-Super-Grain-Gluten-Free-African/dp/B095DLRPWC/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2JBIBT4Z9MYGU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ky3UPIV_nJh8fgCyryNpdtZHFUZZzXrqVTjg3YYLTzdbOf1I2VF0XY-xt8qIGVD6DIsR5lRVHBXWnMFWG8eC9WnCMt6TK_E8Fqi8BxR8HnFpijcspMJkBPIUOGTS3NzmtqbmFXxB2XiJNwuMMM-cqdzSwhdf5bcpn6-x8rXwJAgOGB7oh60BCeBrPRIMsruivTrZPa6kkc8guNo0A0pPa91XnPBWH-YrUR-ZnfH9ut47gSXs38-HS29-PRgdUk9GzECgNZOKhQJ7ba9A32Jcw8v9xrbdlpwBFUWRc6ZhuXg.NiLvv7ojFryFG4xOPnJ_WG-IskSkggrrZrDrY06Upj4&dib_tag=se&keywords=Fonio&qid=1780047014&sprefix=fonio%2Caps%2C118&sr=8-1-spons&aref=iVxtqVgn0s&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1