UK competition watchdog says it will step up examination of grocery prices

Meanwhile in Ireland, supermarkets and suppliers will also be asked to show proof of the efforts they are making to bring down costs for consumers

Earlier this month, France's government pledged to take action against food retailers who fail to pass on lower wholesale prices to consumers.

Britain's competition watchdog said it would ramp up its examination of UK supermarkets as grocery inflation there hit 19%, but added that so far it has not seen evidence pointing to specific concerns in the sector, Official data showed UK food prices hit a 46-year high in March but dropped in April, to an eye-watering 17.3%, according to industry data.

"Given ongoing concerns about high prices, we are announcing the stepping-up of our work in the grocery sector to understand whether any failure in competition is contributing to grocery prices being higher than they would be in a well-functioning market," the competition and markets authority said.