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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Free from food! Argh...

33 replies

GreyjoysAnatomy · 26/02/2015 18:41

Why is it so damn expensive?! It's not my fault I have allergies, why do I have to pay Â£2.50 for a teeny loaf of bread?

I think free from food should be similar in price to normal food. It's unfair to make people who have a medical condition pay more for everything surely?

Who's with me? Aibu? To me it's just as bad as the fact we have to pay tax on fecking tampons

OP posts:

Hassled · 26/02/2015 18:44

Do you have Coeliac? Can you not get the food on prescription? I agree it's really expensive - but my Coeliac DS has a reasonably generous prescription which keeps him going in bread and pasta.

pinkyredrose · 26/02/2015 18:44

I'm totally with you. I don't have to avoid certain foods for medical reasons but I prefer to eat some 'free from' foods. So expensive though! Fucks me right off.

AntiHop · 26/02/2015 18:45

Yanbu. It's very unfair.

ragged · 26/02/2015 18:46

could you make your own bread?

pinkyredrose · 26/02/2015 18:47

You can get it prescribed?! I never knew that!

kitchensinkmum · 26/02/2015 18:47

I totally agree. Also think they shouldn't be just for the Free From section instead more foods should be made without gluten , dairy. Etc. I think the free from label give the company the option to charge a fortune . I pay £1:50 /£2:00 for 4 tiny bread rolls. They are the only choice for me which are egg/ dairy and gluten free . Thankfully I don't need to buy them often.

Hassled · 26/02/2015 18:49

pinky - if you have a diagnosis of Coeliac, then yes you can. It's quite a limited range of brands (sadly no Genius) but OK. Ask your GP - you may have to be referred to a dietician first. The hospital dietician sorted DS's prescription food out.

Nonie241419 · 26/02/2015 18:50

My DS is intolerant of gluten so we need free from stuff, but he doesn't qualify for a prescription. It really adds a hefty amount to our grocery bill.

rinabean · 26/02/2015 18:54

They're dear because they need to be made on dedicated lines and the non-contaminated flour is dear (can't have been ground where wheat was ground - can't have been picked up by machines that picked up wheat)

It's unfair but I don't think they could be loads cheaper unfortunately

Original poster

GreyjoysAnatomy · 26/02/2015 18:56

I am allergic to gluten and dairy (and meat and bananas, meat is an odd one but makes me very ill indeed )

I actually do make my own bread most of the time but sometimes I can't be arsed and want to be able to buy a loaf that doesn't cost the earth. And even though I do make my own, the gluten free flour costs twice as much as bloody normal flour. It's ridiculous

I will ask my doc if I can get a prescription, but the last time they said no I support a guy that does get it know prescription though, not sure what the criteria is for that.

I'm just fucked off that I can't just walk into a shop and buy something nice for myself that isn't stupidly expensive. I stick to homemade vegan type food usually with a bit of fish and eggs as I can eat those but it passes me off that I can't get a treat for a decent price.

OP posts:

Original poster

GreyjoysAnatomy · 26/02/2015 19:02

It's like getting a take away or a ready meal sometimes as a treat- can't do that as there is never anything suitable. But most people do this on occasion and I'd like to be able to do the same!

I get the whole it's more expensive to produce, but surely there should be sone kind of subsidy or something to make it less expensive. There's a surprising amount of folk out there that have food allergies, but there is no real help for it. Having allergies can be very restrictive, not being able to just go for a meal or whatever.

I'm just venting, it sucks

OP posts:

idiuntno57 · 26/02/2015 19:34

I get the whole it's more expensive to produce, but surely there should be sone kind of subsidy or something to make it less expensive.

just wondering where this subsidy is supposed to come from?

meglet · 26/02/2015 19:37

yanbu. I'm worrying how I can afford it long term.

magicstar1 · 26/02/2015 19:43

Aldo have some lovely gluten free products. I get the bread and it's really good...not dear at all.

Gorja · 26/02/2015 19:44

Dominos do gluten free pizza.

DrinkFeckArseGirls · 26/02/2015 19:47

I just made an almond flour pizza - it was yummy! 2 packets of almond flour, 2 eggs, 2 spoons of oilive oil. Reasonable cost.

Original poster

GreyjoysAnatomy · 26/02/2015 19:55

Idunt I realise I am being unreasonable on that point I don't know where it would come from, it just seems unfair that people have to pay extortionate prices for food when they have no choice. It's so hard having to be so careful with food, an so expensive!

I don't actually like pizza, but I do on occasion make a cauliflower pizza base and just eat that

OP posts:

Original poster

GreyjoysAnatomy · 26/02/2015 19:57

magicstar our aldi doesn't have any gluten free stuff

I tend to go to morrisons as they have an excellent range of veg and they have chocolate Oatly

OP posts:

Hassled · 26/02/2015 19:59

Lots of people tell me that Lidl is good for GF, but I haven't actually tried it yet. Interesting article about in today in the Guardian - here - which demonstrates how widespread the demand for GF is - I think prices will go down in time.

MaidOfStars · 26/02/2015 20:04

I don't think the entire markup is based on exploiting demand from those who need to buy it. I think allergen-free food needs to be produced and tested to much more stringent standards than regular. I recently had to order a GF meal for someone and I got a whole load of legal stuff about how sensitive their testing procedures were and and so forth.

t3rr3gl35 · 26/02/2015 20:06

Why do you need to eat gluten free substitutes at all? I have coeliac disease and as such, qualify for prescriptions for gluten free substitutes. I have only ever used one prescription in 15 years as the substitutes are vile.

We are very fortunate in this country to have a wide range of food to pick and choose from, and I pick naturally gluten free products instead of food pretending to be something it isn't. It really isn't the end of the world to never eat bread or pasta. Potatoes and rice are versatile foods and can be used creatively. They are also much cheaper than processed substitutes.

Original poster

GreyjoysAnatomy · 26/02/2015 20:57

t3 I know that, my point was that occasionally I want a slice of toast or something and I want to go buy a loaf of bread. Not a crime to want a treat is it

It's just ridiculous that I can buy a loaf of bread for dh for 50p but my bread that is half the size costs 5 times as much.

It is quite common for people to have gluten/dairy allergies/intolerances so it seems a bit unfair that there is such a high price on food that doesn't make them ill.

For what it's worth, I like the substitutes, I had a loaf of genius fruit bread which tastes just like hot cross buns and the normal bread is also nice, if a bit sweeter than normal

OP posts:

t3rr3gl35 · 26/02/2015 21:18

GreyjoysAnatomy - I can understand feeling the need for treats occasionally, so I get where you're coming from. Unfortunately, as somebody upthread mentioned, it's the added costs of production that drives the prices up (although I do suspect that there's a fair smattering of profit for the retailers on "premium" products, too).

I guess I'm odd in not liking the substitutes, but I've never really eaten processed foods of any description, wasn't given them as a child and have never developed a taste for them - bread, cakes, biscuits, ice cream.....(must confess to a recent passionate affair with Mackie's ready salted crisps, though)

mouse26 · 26/02/2015 22:45

I agree, my mum's coeliac - she used to get bread on prescription but now it's easier to get from the supermarkets they won't let her have it on prescription anymore

marriednotdead · 26/02/2015 23:09

I'm a bit puzzled by some of the GPs refusing to prescribe GF items for coeliac. The guidelines here don't seem to support their refusal...

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