– It is absolutely sick, says Bente Iren Bjelland-Bøe. She has been shopping for two gluten-free breads. Together, these two loaves cost over NOK 140. – What we notice the most is the bread prices. Something we do every day, says Bjelland-Bøe. She herself has been diagnosed with gluten sensitivity via blood tests. My daughter has been diagnosed with celiac disease. You get support from Nav for celiac disease. This month, the family receives NOK 1,076 in support because their daughter has been diagnosed with the disease. Mora gets nothing. What is celiac disease? Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease caused by a hypersensitivity to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and spelt. In a celiac who ingests gluten, the lining of the small intestine will become inflamed, the bowel movements will be reduced and the ability to absorb the nutrients in the food will be weakened. Today, it is believed that 7-8% of the population in Norway cannot tolerate gluten or other substances in wheat. Between 1-2% of these have celiac disease, while many have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Others who cannot tolerate gluten may have DH, which is called celiac disease of the skin, while others again have a wheat allergy. More information about this can be found at the Norwegian Celiac Association. Those aged between 5 and 30 receive NOK 1,076 a month. All others receive NOK 705. In the state budget for 2021, the basic allowance for those with non-coeliac gluten sensitivity was abolished. – That’s why I don’t get any support, says Bjelland-Bøe. The Friday taco becomes expensive when the tortillas have a kilo price of NOK 318. Photo: Rosa Irén Villalobos / news Up 28 per cent A survey carried out by the Norwegian Celiac Association shows that a shopping basket with normal gluten-free goods costs 28 per cent more in February 2023 than in 2019. The shopping basket the association uses, for example, is from Meny. But the association states that all the food chains have seen large price increases. Figures from Statistics Norway show that the price of food generally rose by 13.9 per cent in the same period. The verdict shows that the gluten-free shopping basket has risen twice as much. Knut Peterson is secretary general of the Norwegian Celiac Association. Photo: Norwegian Celiac Association – This goes far beyond people’s finances. For those with celiac disease, gluten-free food is their medicine. They must eat gluten-free, and cannot check around for offers on food, says Knut H. Peterson. He is secretary general of the Norwegian Celiac Association. He feels that certain goods have increased greatly. – The worst sentence is a frozen family prank. It has increased by 98 per cent, says Peterson. More expensive purchases Both Norgesgruppen (Kiwi, Spar and Meny) and Coop regret that gluten-free foods have become so expensive, and understand that people with celiac disease react. – We therefore try to sell these products as reasonably as possible. But unfortunately these have a higher purchase price than other goods, says communications manager Harald Kristiansen at Coop to news. Norgesgruppen states that the background for the price increase is made up. – In addition to being more expensive to produce, many of these goods are imported goods that are exposed to exchange rate changes. The troubled raw material market in Europe has meant that these foods have increased even more than others, says communications manager Kine Søyland. Communications Manager Kine Søyland in the Norgesgruppen. Photo: Norgesgruppen She says there is not much the food chains can do to influence the price increase. – But we must continue to look for good and attractive products for this target group. In addition to price, it is very important that we can offer products that provide good nutrition, says Søyland. The Norwegian Celiac Association will now work against the politicians to increase the basic allowance. Small increase in the allowance The Ministry of Employment and Inclusion points out that the basic application was price adjusted from the turn of the year. State Secretary Tomas Norvoll in the Ministry of Employment and Inclusion. Photo: Kåre Riibe Ramskjell / news – The rate for children and young people in the age group 5–30 has increased to NOK 12,916 a year, and the rate for other age groups is NOK 8,432 a year. The purpose of the basic allowance is to compensate for necessary, permanent and ongoing extra expenses, writes State Secretary Tomas Norvoll in an e-mail. He admits that the basic allowance was higher in the past. – The reason why the rates were reduced a few years ago was a review carried out by the Consumer Research Institute SIFO on behalf of the ministry in 2018, he writes. Couldn’t afford muesli When Bente Iren was at the store a few weeks ago, she got a chin-wag when she wanted to treat herself to a packet of gluten-free muesli. Bjelland-Bøe took these tickets when she was going to buy breakfast cereal. Photo: Private – I was shocked when I saw he cost NOK 72. Then I checked the usual doctor. It cost 27, she says. As a result, there was no breakfast mixture on her. – I put it back, because I simply didn’t take advice, she says.
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Price jump for gluten-free food – up 28 per cent since 2019 – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
