PRICE UPDATE for price controlled foods

I'm sure you're familiar with the list of foods that price controlled in this country - for better or for worse, certain products have maximum prices set by the government.

--- Retrieved from http://www.kosherfrugal.com/2015/09/new-prices-for-price-controlled-breads.html ---


The list includes breads, milk, cheeses, eggs, salt, and more. If you regularly buy these products, it may save you money to buy the "price controlled" version. Usually other non-price controlled versions are sold, as well. Check and decide what works best for your family.

I wanted to let you all know thaton Oct 1, VAT went down 1%, from 18% to 17%, so the legal maximum prices have been updated to reflect that change.

Full list of Price Controlled Groceries

The price listed is the MAXIMUM price for the specified item - in theory, a store can discount it further, if they want to.
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 the maximum price to consumers:

(The prices shown below are for the entire country, excluding Eilat. Eilat is exempt from VAT, so prices there will be lower.)

Lechem Achid (I believe this is about 65% whole grain) - 750g loaf, 5.07 (was 5.11)
White bread, 750g loaf, 5.07 (was 5.11)
Challah or yeast cake, 500g, 5.11 (was 5.15)  (don't ask me what kind of yeast cake this is referring to, I have no idea!)
Lechem Achid, sliced and packaged, 750g, 7.02 (was 7.08)
White bread, sliced and packaged, 500g, 6.24 (was 6.29)
Regular Kitchen Salt, Fine Kitchen Salt, Fine Table Salt, and Coarse Table salt, 1 kg, 2.07, (was 2.09) 
3% milk, 1 liter, bag, 5.11  (was 5.15)
1% milk, 1 liter, bag, 4.76 (was 4.80)
3% milk, 1 liter, carton, 5.90 (was 5.95) 
1% milk, 1 liter, carton, 5.55 (was 5.60)
Eshel, 4.5% fat, 200ml, 1.59 (was 1.60)  
Gil, 3% fat, 200ml,  1.44 (was 1.45) 
Sour Cream, 15% fat, 200ml, 2.28 (was 2.30)
Sweet Cream, 38% fat, 250ml, 6.20 (was 6.25)  
Butter, regular, 100g, 3.92 (was 3.95) 
Emek Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 42.93 (was 43.30)  
Gilboa Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 40.80 (was 41.14) 
Gvinah Levana (white cheese), 5% fat, 250g, 4.80 (was 4.85)  XL eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 13.10 (was 13.20)
L eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 12.00 (was 12.10)
M eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 11.10 (was 11.20)
 
Do you ever see stores overcharging? Have you ever made a report to the supervisory board?

New Prices for Price Controlled Breads

I'm sure you're familiar with the list of foods that price controlled in this country - for better or for worse, certain products have maximum prices set by the government.

The list includes breads, milk, cheeses, eggs, salt, and more
I'll post the whole list at the bottom of this post.

I wanted to let you all know that BREAD prices will be going down.
(It's unclear to me if this is in effect already or not, the articles I've read state the lowered price was approved, but do not state a start date!)

Products:
Challah (500g)  old price: 5.31; new price 5.15, in Eilat 4.36
"Achid" bread (dark), sliced old price: 7.30; new price 7.08, in Eilat 6.00
White bread (sliced) old price: 6.49; new price 6.29, in Eilat 5.50

Full list of Price Controlled Groceries

The price listed is the MAXIMUM price for the specified item - in theory, a store can discount it further, if they want to.
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 to the regional supervisor. 
Here are the items that are supervised, and the maximum price to consumers:

(The prices shown below are for the entire country, excluding Eilat. 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, 5.15  (don't ask me what kind of yeast cake this is referring to, I have no idea!)
  Lechem Achid, sliced and packaged, 750g, 7.08
  White bread, sliced and packaged, 500g, 6.29
Regular Kitchen Salt, Fine Kitchen Salt, Fine Table Salt, and Coarse Table salt, 1 kg, 2.09 
3% milk, 1 liter, bag, 5.15 (was 5.30)
1% milk, 1 liter, bag, 4.80 (was 4.95)
3% milk, 1 liter, carton, 5.95 (was 6.30) 

1% milk, 1 liter, carton, 5.60 (was 5.90)
Eshel, 4.5% fat, 200ml, 1.60 (was 1.65)  
Gil, 3% fat, 200ml,  1.45 (was 1.52) 
Sour Cream, 15% fat, 200ml, 2.30 (was 2.44)
Sweet Cream, 38% fat, 250ml, 6.25 (was 6.60)  
Butter, regular, 100g, 3.95 (was 4.13) 
Emek Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 43.30 (was 45.45)  
Gilboa Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 41.15 (was 43.14) 
Gvinah Levana (white cheese), 5% fat, 250g, 4.85 (was 5.11) 
  XL eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 13.20
L eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 12.10
M eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 11.20
Do you ever see stores overcharging? Have you ever made a report to the supervisory board?



The old price list can be found here.

UPDATED PRICES: Price Controlled Foods

New prices for some breads went into effect recently (June, 2015). I decided to republish the entire list with the new bread prices for your convenience.

Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know about government price controls on food in Israel:

--- Retrieved from http://www.kosherfrugal.com/2014/09/updated-list-of-price-controlled-foods.html ---

--- Retrieved from http://www.kosherfrugal.com/2015/02/price-controlled-foods-price-update.html ---

The price listed is the MAXIMUM price for the specified item - in theory, a store can discount it further, if they want to.
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 to the regional supervisor.
Here are the items that are supervised, and the maximum price to consumers:

(The prices shown below are for the entire country, excluding Eilat. 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, 5.31 (was 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, 7.30 (was 7.67)
 
White bread, sliced and packaged, 500g, 6.49 (was 6.82)
Regular Kitchen Salt, Fine Kitchen Salt, Fine Table Salt, and Coarse Table salt, 1 kg, 2.09
  3% milk, 1 liter, bag, 5.30 1% milk, 1 liter, bag, 4.95 3% milk, 1 liter, carton, 6.30 1% milk, 1 liter, carton, 5.90
  Eshel, 4.5% fat, 200ml, 1.65  Gil, 3% fat, 200ml,  1.52  Sour Cream, 15% fat, 200ml, 2.44 Sweet Cream, 38% fat, 250ml, 6.60   Butter, regular, 100g, 4.13 Emek Cheese (at the cheese counter),per kg, 45.45  Gilboa Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 43.14 Gvinah Levana (white cheese), 5% fat, 250g 5.11 
  XL eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 13.20
L eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 12.10
M eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 11.20
  Do you ever see stores overcharging? Have you ever made a report to the supervisory board?
If you found this post informative/useful/important, etc, please find me on Facebook so you won't miss any updates!

Price Controlled Foods - Price Update!

Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know about government price controls on food in Israel:

--- Retrieved from http://www.kosherfrugal.com/2014/09/updated-list-of-price-controlled-foods.html ---


The price listed is the MAXIMUM price for the specified item - in theory, a store can discount it further, if they want to.

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 to the regional supervisor.

New prices for eggs went into effect today (February 1, 2015). I decided to republish the entire list with the new egg prices for your convenience.

Here are the items that are supervised, and the 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, 5.30
1% milk, 1 liter, bag, 4.95
3% milk, 1 liter, carton, 6.30
1% milk, 1 liter, carton, 5.90
 
Eshel, 4.5% fat, 200ml, 1.65 
Gil, 3% fat, 200ml,  1.52 
Sour Cream, 15% fat, 200ml, 2.44
Sweet Cream, 38% fat, 250ml, 6.60  
Butter, regular, 100g, 4.13
Emek Cheese (at the cheese counter),per kg, 45.45 
Gilboa Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 43.14
Gvinah Levana (white cheese), 5% fat, 250g 5.11 
 
XL eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 13.20
L eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 12.10
M eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 11.20



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

If you found this post informative/useful/important, etc, please find me on Facebook so you won't miss any updates!

Updated list of price controlled foods

Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know about government price controls on food in Israel:

The price listed is the MAXIMUM price for the specified item - in theory, a store can discount it further, if they want to.

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 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, cheeses, etc!

Here are the items that are supervised, and the 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, 5.30
1% milk, 1 liter, bag, 4.95
3% milk, 1 liter, carton, 6.30
1% milk, 1 liter, carton, 5.90
 
Eshel, 4.5% fat, 200ml, 1.65 
Gil, 3% fat, 200ml,  1.52 
Sour Cream, 15% fat, 200ml, 2.44
Sweet Cream, 38% fat, 250ml, 6.60  
Butter, regular, 100g, 4.13
Emek Cheese (at the cheese counter),per kg, 45.45 
Gilboa Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 43.14
Gvinah Levana (white cheese), 5% fat, 250g 5.11 
 
XL eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 13.60
L eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 12.50
M eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 11.50




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

If you found this post informative/useful/important, etc, please find me on Facebook so you won't miss any updates! 

Price Controlled Food Update!

picture from www.tnuva.co.il

Today's big food news is that prices for dairy products will be coming down.

The following dairy products are being added to the list of price controlled foods:

5% white cheese (gevinah levanah) - 250g - 5.23
Sweet Cream, 38% fat -- 250g --6.60

Other dairy products currently on the price controlled list are supposed to go down in price by 1.1%


Hopefully this drop in the bucket will help!

If you found this post informative/useful/important, etc, please follow this blog (links on the right!) and find us on Facebook!

Price Controlled Foods Update

I just wanted to make sure that all of you know that as of the end of last week, the price of conventional eggs has been changed.

The new price for a dozen large eggs is 12.50 (old price was 12.90), a dozen medium eggs is 11.50, and a dozen extra large eggs is 13.60.

Below you can find the list of price controlled foods. There was some talk of adding whipping cream and cottage cheese to this list, but those products have not been added to any official lists yet.

The price listed is the MAXIMUM price for the specified item - 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  - 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, 13.60
L eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 12.50  
M eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 11.50


If you found this post informative/useful/important, etc, please follow this blog (links on the right!) and find us on Facebook! 

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?

If you found this post informative/useful/important, etc, please follow this blog (links on the right!) and find us on Facebook! 

Economic Woes and White Cheese

Once again, it seems that people in Israel sometimes don't see the forest for the trees.

The cottage cheese uprising - which I didn't participate in, mainly because during the time of the cottage cheese boycott a local store kept cottage cheese on sale for about 4 shekels/container (now it's well over 6, and sadly, I hardly buy cottage cheese anymore) - was supposed to be the start of major changes for those of us not in the top echelon of society.

But it really didn't do anything. Cottage Cheese is even more expensive now than it was when the boycott happened! And the other issues? Cost of housing, utilities, cars, gas, insurance? I haven't seen anything go down (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Now, the talk of the day is about White Cheese. It seems the price of White Cheese has risen a ridiculous 56% since 1999, and the public wasn't happy about it, so now it will go back into the "basket" of price controlled foods.

Okay.

Now really, they tell me the price will go down by about 20%. I expect this means that instead of spending 20 shekels a month on White Cheese (I'm sure some spend more, some less), I will now spend 16 shekels a month on it. Is that 4 shekels a month going to make a DENT in my electric bills (the rates keep going up)? Is that going to offset the kitzbat yeladim reduction?

Is it going to change my life?

I think not.

I don't have the answers, but I'm pretty sure we need some more fundamental changes than controlling the price of White Cheese.

Maybe the electric company should lower their rates to something reasonable?

Or the water company?

Maybe VAT shouldn't apply to basic food items? 

Just a thought.

Additions to the List of Price Controlled Groceries

In the past, I've mentioned that some groceries, uncluding certain types of breads, eggs, cheeses, butter, and salt, have maximum sale prices set by the government.

This week, the powers that be decided to add 2 more products to the price controlled food list:

White Cheese (Gevinah Levana), 5% fat

and

Heavy Cream (Shamenet Metukah, I think), 38% fat

We are told to expect to see the prices of these two products go down by about 20%.

By the way, these two products were chosen because market studies showed that the profit margin on these two products was astronomical - so consumers were being completely ripped off.

VAT has gone up

Okay everyone. The day has arrived. When you go out to buy something, your purchase will be subject to the new VAT rate. And that is now 18%..

The new rate even applies to price controlled items, so do not be shocked to see higher prices even on those items. You can be dismayed, but don't say I didn't warn you!

Here are some of the new rates for price controlled items, when the full list is published, I will update!
(It's 2 am and I cannot do math at 2 am, sorry)

Milk - 1 liter bag, 3% - 5.28
Milk - 1 liter bag, 1% - 4.95
Milk - 1 liter carton, 3% - 6.54
Milk - 1 liter carton. 1% - 6.11
Eshel - 200ml cup, 4.5% fat - 1.66
Gil - 200 ml cup, 3% fat - 1.52
Sour cream - 200 ml cup - 15% fat - 2.47
Butter - 100g - 4.08
Emek cheese - 45.96/kg
Gilboa cheese - 43.72/kg

Eggs:
size M - 11.90/doz
size L - 12.90/doz
size XL - 14.00/doz

New price for price controlled bread

According to an article I just read, the new Finance Minister has lowered the price of price controlled bread, effective immediately.

picture from Ynet

Here are the new prices:

Lechem Achid or White Bread, 750g - 5.07 (was 5.29)
Challah (or Maafah Shmarim), 550g - 5.53 (was 5.77)
Sliced Lechem Achid, 750g - 7.60 (was 7.93)
Sliced White bread - 500g - 6.76 (was 7.05)

Subsidized Bread Discovery

Remember I wrote about price controlled foods, and some of you asked about the bread...?

Well, I was at the supermarket today, and they had sliced "lechem achid" on sale for 2.29 (price controlled price is 7.93, this store said the regular price was 7.29). So I looked at it, as the sliced version is packaged, and therefore, discloses ingredients. And I figured if the ingredients were half-decent, I might buy some to keep in my freezer for busy days, especially at this price, which was a lot cheaper than I could bake a 750g bread for at home!

Well... I was dismayed to learn that this subsidized bread (this was made by Angel's bakery) had, as the 3rd ingredient, partially hydrogenated oil!

So the government is subsidizing a food that is SUPER unhealthy.

WHY?

WHY is the Israeli government providing a cheap loaf of bread that is so bad for us? Partially hydrogenated oils are really "the bad guy" in the food world today. I mean, really. If you don't believe me, feel free to research!

I am so disgusted that the bread that the majority of Israelis use on a daily basis contains partially hydrogenated oil. The government is basically subsidizing our way to unhealthy consequences! The same government that provides us with health benefits, is encouraging its citizens to eat food that is truly unhealthy.

We should all be up in arms about this, but I wouldn't even know where to begin. Any ideas?

Price Controlled Foods in Israel

Some readers wanted more information about government regulated prices for certain foods in Israel, a.k.a. price controls.

Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know:

The price listed is the MAXIMUM price for the specified item - of course a store can discount it further, if they want to!

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.

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, 5.29

White bread, 750g loaf, 5.29

Challah or yeast cake, 500g, 5.77 (don't ask me what kind of yeast cake this is referring to, I have no idea!)

Lechem Achid, sliced and packaged, 750g, 7.93

White bread, sliced and packaged, 500g, 7.05

Regular Kitchen Salt, Fine Kitchen Salt, Fine Table Salt, and Coarse Table salt, 1 kg, 2.07

3% milk, 1 liter, bag, 5.04

1% milk, 1 liter, bag, 4.74

3% milk, 1 liter, carton, 6.27

1% milk, 1 liter, carton, 5.87

Eshel, 4.5% fat, 200ml, 1.59

Gil, 3% fat, 200ml,  1.45

Sour Cream, 15% fat, 200ml, 2.37

Butter, regular, 100g, 3.73

Emek Cheese (at the cheese counter),per kg, 44.52

Gilboa Cheese (at the cheese counter), per kg, 42.21

XL eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 13.90

L eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 12.80

M eggs, regular, 1 dozen, 11.80

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

Last year, 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, FYI.

Cheese

I wanted to make pizza, but we needed cheese. It was a busy day and the easiest thing to do was to call my husband and ask HIM to get some.

So he went to Mega. He told me that's where he was going, so I asked him just to get a block of cheapest cheese at the cheese counter - usually that's Gilboa, because it is one of the price controlled items in the supermarket.

Ok, he did.

And then he got home. I pulled out my grater and started grating the cheese by hand. My husband stood there, not quite comprehending, and asked, "why didn't I just have them shred it?"

I told him that a while ago they told me if I wanted it shredded it was going to cost more, I couldn't remember exactly HOW MUCH more - somewhere in the 50 shekel/kg range, so I stopped buying shredded cheese (I have a grater at home, I can shred cheese myself).

Little did I know that I should have reported them, as today Globes reported they are investigating the situation... apparently they are charging 53 shekel/kg for shredded Gilboa cheese, claiming that the price controls are only in effect on Gilboa sold in a block or sliced, but not shredded.

Have you seen this anywhere?