Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Updated list of price controlled foods/maximum prices

It's now "after the chagim", the time of year we all decided we would reign in our spending, since during the chagim that seemed to be nearly impossible. I guess that's why there's been a lot of chatter and questions lately about how to find out what foods are price controlled here in Israel, what the maximum prices are, and what to do if you find that a store is charging above the maximum.
Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know:

The price listed is the MAXIMUM price for the specified item - in theory, a store can discount it further, if they want to, but there was some talk out there about that being unfair to the competition (in my opinion, it's a free market. The store can choose their loss leader...)...

If a store is selling price controlled items for a higher price, they are in violation of the law. You can (and should) report these violations.




Here are the items that are supervised, and their maximum price to consumers:

I'm showing prices for the entire country, excluding Eilat, by the way. Eilat is exempt from Ma'am, so prices there will be lower.

Lechem Achid (I believe this is about 65% whole grain) - 750g loaf, 5.11
White bread, 750g loaf, 5.11
Challah or yeast cake, 500g, 5.58 (don't ask me what kind of yeast cake this is referring to, I have no idea!)
Lechem Achid, sliced and packaged, 750g, 7.67
White bread, sliced and packaged, 500g, 6.82
Regular Kitchen Salt, Fine Kitchen Salt, Fine Table Salt, and Coarse Table salt, 1 kg, 2.09
3% milk, 1 liter, bag, 5.28
1% milk, 1 liter, bag, 4.95
3% milk, 1 liter, carton, 6.54
1% milk, 1 liter, carton, 6.11
Eshel, 4.5% fat, 200ml, 1.66
Gil, 3% fat, 200ml,  1.52
Sour Cream, 15% fat, 200ml, 2.47
Butter, regular, 100g, 4.08
Emek Cheese (at the cheese counter),per kg, 45.96
Gilboa Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 43.72
XL eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 14.00
  L eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 12.90
M eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 11.90

In addition, soon Gevinah Levanah and Whipping Cream are supposed to be added to this list.

If you see a store charging higher prices, you can report them to the regional supervisor.
 

And for those wondering, a while back the Ministry of Finance decided that Badatz milk products are also price regulated products, so stores cannot be charging more for the Badatz-supervised milk, leben, butter, sour cream, and Emek and Gilboa cheese! 

Do you ever see stores overcharging? Have you ever made a report to the supervisory board?

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6 comments:

  1. wouldn't it be nice if they encouraged organic milk and yoghurts by price maxing those items? and encouraged not being cruel to animals by price maxing free range eggs?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. that would be wonderful. unfortunately, we aren't living in Utopia. :-(

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  2. Thanks for this Ester. I've bookmarked it. I didn't know about Lechem Achid being 65% wholegrain and listed - I will be switching. I'm tempted to switch to milk bags but as the milk in my house lasts a full week (it's only for my coffee really) I think I need the carton.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you found this helpful! I agree with you about the carton being better for people who need their milk to last. We use almost 2 bags/day, so for us, it's worth it to use bags.

      Delete
    2. I don't htink Lechem Achid is 65% whole grain. I think it's just unbleached.
      Rachel

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    3. Rachel, all flour is unbleached in Israel. It is against the Ministry of Agriculture's rules to bleach any flour here. I did a bunch of research, and the flour that is called "achid" is less refined than regular white flour. It contains about 65% of the bran, making it about 65% whole wheat.

      Delete

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