Episode 9 Rip Off Britain

There's a lot we don't know about the food on our plate.

And the shops and the labels don't always tell you the whole story.

You think you're getting a bargain,

and you're not really. They're just encouraging you to buy

more of a product when you don't need to.

Whether you're staying in or going out, you've told us you can

feel ripped off by the promises made about what you eat

and what you pay for it.

What really winds me up is the price

of so-called healthy food - then compared with the unhealthy stuff.

The unhealthy stuff seems to be so much cheaper.

From claims that don't stack up to the secrets behind the packaging,

we'll uncover the truth about Britain's food so you can be sure

that you are getting what you expect, at the right price!

Your food. Your money. This is Rip-Off Britain.

Hello and welcome to Rip-Off Britain, where, as ever,

we've been busy fighting your corner and we're investigating

whether you're getting the best value with the things you buy.

And this week, we're all about the things to do with food and

drink, an area where you'll often be told you're getting a great deal,

but you may not be.

How true is that situation? Indeed sometimes the exact opposite is true

and the claims that make you think you were bagging a bargain turn out

to be a much less clear-cut situation than it seemed

when you were handing over your money.

So today, we're going to investigate some of the everyday situations

or products that, and this is the word, appear to be

offering value for money and we'll find out if they really do.

Which means that along the way, we'll have plenty of money-saving

tips that you really don't want to miss.

Some of them come courtesy of a familiar face,

someone you'll remember who had a huge impact the last time

that he was on the programme.

It's the Coupon Kid, and he's back!

So listen out for how, by following his advice, we could actually

help you to slash the cost of your weekly shop.

Coming up, I'm the guinea pig for the high street tests that promise

to diagnose food intolerances you may never know you had.

Why doctors say you're wasting your cash.

The science behind food intolerance tests, such as these, simply

doesn't stack up against scientific critique.

My advice would be to save your money.

And the nation's favourite money-saving kid.

We catch up with Jordon Cox to see what he can do to bring down

the cost of your weekly shop.

It genuinely has changed how I look at things, how I shop.

I really do think about it now.

And in the long run, I really can see it making a difference.

Now, do you think you're intolerant to certain foods?

More people believe that they are than ever before.

And if you're one of them, you might be tempted by one of

the do-it-yourself kits you can find

in some well-known high street stores.

These promise that their simple test will help you find out for sure.

But are they any good? Many doctors would say no.

Well, the only way to find out whether the claims

made for these products are true was to try a couple of them myself.

And I certainly wasn't expecting what I found out.

Many of us would say that there are certain foods that,

whether we like the taste of them or not, we have to avoid.

I've suffered in the past with things like bread.

Dairy, like cheese and stuff.

But now I've just learnt

to cut it down and eat, like, healthier choices.

I tend to be intolerant very much of dairy, anything with dairy.

While exact figures don't exist,

it's thought as few as 2% of us have a genuine allergy.

More of us are likely to have an intolerance, again,

nowhere near as many as the number of people who think they do.

But the sheer perception that there are foods we really shouldn't eat

is helping to fuel a market in home-testing kits which promise to

make it easy to find out for yourself.

These kits have come in for a lot of criticism

with both The British Dietetic Association and Allergy UK

suggesting most are unreliable and not backed up by science.

So we're going to put some of them to the test.

And for that, we need a guinea pig. And guess who that is - me.

Now, as far as I know, I don't have any food intolerances,

but we're going to find out whether I'm right.

We're going to test two kits that claim to detect intolerances.

One that promises almost instant results at home

and another which asks you to send off a sample of hair

for analysis in their labs.

So, let's start with the painful bit.

Claims to measure something called IGG antibodies in the system,

and you have to mix a small sample of blood with proteins in a tray.

This test costs £65 and it tells me it can detect intolerances

not just to food groups such as cereals, meats and vegetables,

but it can also, apparently, even pick out very specific foods

I might have a problem with, such as Durum wheat, lobster and melon.

So while the blood test is busy working,

let's get onto the hair analysis.

This one's a little cheaper at £54.

This test doesn't just limit itself to food.

Its makers claim it can detect intolerances to more

than 600 different things including pollen and pets.

By the way, I've been blonde by act of will since the age of 18,

so if they can find anything natural about these hairs,

they're doing jolly well.

So one, two, three...

Go!

The packet tells me to expect an answer in a week.

Now we chose those particular tests

because they're two of the most widely available on the high street.

But dietician Sioned Quirke

isn't convinced I'll be able to rely on the results.

People may have problems digesting certain foods, but it doesn't mean

they've got an intolerance. Some people are so desperate to find

out what's going on, so if they experience something like bloating

and diarrhoea on a daily basis, they just want an easy answer.

What's going on? What can I cut out that's going to stop these horrible

symptoms? So I think sometimes they buy a kit and it comes up

with a couple of intolerances and they think,

"Bingo, I've got the answer."

But Sioned says pinning down a genuine food intolerance

isn't as simple as tests like these would have you believe.

A food intolerance is quite difficult to diagnose in such

as there's not a specific test that we can use,

that will give us a yes or a no.

The food detective thing which was all that stuff with the trays

and the water and all...

The net result is that little blue dot in the corner there.

And that single blue dot means I've got the all clear

and the test hasn't revealed any food intolerances at all,

which is great news,

if not entirely unexpected.

But a week later,

when I got the results of the hair strand test, sold under

the name The Intolerance Test, it was a very different story.

This time, I was told I'm intolerant to more than 30 different

things, including 19 foods -

among them, things I regularly eat and enjoy without ever having

a problem, such as salmon and chicken.

I'm apparently 99% intolerant to cod. That's news to me!

It also says I'm 99% intolerant to olives,

97% intolerant to kiwi and curry spices.

Lime, radish, chilli, macadamia nuts and soya beans -

it's an extensive list of practically all my favourite things.

But most surprising of all is the fact that the list includes

lots of intolerances that the first test I took also claimed

to identify, including peppers,

lemon and the cod and olives that this test tells me

I'm 99% intolerant to.

But, remember, the other test didn't show up any problem.

So how can two tests come back with completely different results?

Time to talk to a specialist.

So, Dr Campbell, I've now had all the results back,

you've seen them, what do you make of all that?

The tests themselves

are quite contradictory,

and I think this highlights some of the problems with food

intolerance tests. The science behind food intolerance tests

such as these simply doesn't stack up against scientific critique,

as you've illustrated here.

The results are unreliable

and they don't correlate well with patients' symptoms.

Even so, I was interested to know what the companies selling these kits

had to say about the results.

The first test, the Food Detective one which gave me

the all clear, in my own opinion of course, was absolutely right in not

indicating any food intolerances at all.

But with all the official guidance advising against any of these

kinds of tests, I wondered if the company behind this one

would have the evidence to show it's reliable.

Well, when we asked just that, the company insisted that

the test is based on a...

..and that there is evidence indicating that the...

..which it's based on, is a "useful tool"

with "clinically meaningful results".

But it accepts there is controversy and cynicism

from medical professionals around intolerance testing,

which is why it's...

The company went on to say that the test should only be used...

..which I suppose means I shouldn't really have taken it.

Even so, the company says it performed...

As for the second kit I tried, The Intolerance Test that

I sent my precious hair sample off to and which told me

I was intolerant to 19 different foods...

Well, when we asked the company behind that to justify its claims,

it declined to comment.

But it's hard to imagine anything they might have said would

have convinced groups like the British Dietetic Association

that tests such as these are worth the money.

Ideally, I don't want to advocate people using home-testing kits

because they have no scientific basis, so it's all down to chance.

So if somebody feels that there is a problem, either with an intolerance

or any other type of gastro problem, go and see your GP because

they'll easily be able to signpost you in the right direction.

Now, in a world of supermarket price wars and special offers,

the total we're paying at the tills just seems to go up and up.

But there are ways to keep those bills down.

And one of the most spectacular methods was memorably illustrated

on Rip-Off Britain last year

when we met Jordon Cox, the teenager better known as the Coupon Kid!

You'll remember how he slashes the cost of his mum's shopping

by hunting down all sorts of coupons which, over the past year,

has saved her thousands of pounds.

Well, we had a huge response from you to Jordon and his tips, so we've

been to see him again, to find out whether anyone can save money

by using his methods.

And this time, we set him a challenge to see if

his ideas could help another young mum reduce her shopping bills too.

Jordon Cox is the Coupon Kid, a title he earned

thanks to the amazing way he uses money-saving offers

and coupons to cut down on his family's shopping bills.

And we're not just talking about saving a few pennies

here and there...

My biggest savings with coupons was just over £600 worth of shopping

for 4p, and I donated it all

to a homeless shelter for Christmas.

They fed about 150 people and I only paid 4p for it.

Jordon came into the studio on our live series back in October

and we asked him to show us exactly what he could do.

-So, how did it work out?

-Well, all of this should have cost me £32.

-And I have some change for you...

-You've got change!

I can't believe it!

-A fiver, OK.

-So, £5.

-That's not it.

-There's another pound.

-OK, so six back.

-And another pound.

-Seven back.

-And 16p.

-That is unbelievable.

-£2.84.

-£2.84. Yep.

-All that?

-Yep.

We were shocked.

Well, Jordon and his coupons were a huge hit.

We were inundated with comments and queries about how he does it,

with loads of you keen to see if his ideas could work for you as well.

So we asked Jordon to come back and show us more of his secrets

and to see if he could pass his skills on to 29-year-old

teaching assistant Lucy Black, from Brighouse in West Yorkshire.

I'm a single mum. I've got a little boy who's three.

Sometimes we struggle.

I'd watched the show and seen Jordon on there,

seen what he could do,

and I was just fascinated to learn how I could do it myself, really.

When Jordon came on Rip-Off Britain,

he saved a lot of money on a single shopping trip.

But this time, we wanted to see how his skills could be put to use

week after week on all the food that Lucy buys.

Lucy's situation really reminds me of myself and my mum

when we were starting out. Before we started couponing,

we were struggling, we didn't know what to do.

I really hope that she can learn how to do this

so she can save on her supermarket shop and have the luxuries in life.

First of all, Jordon needs to find out just how savvy a shopper Lucy

already is and that starts with where she shops.

Like thousands of us, Lucy has swapped the big

supermarkets for the smaller discount ones like Aldi and Lidl.

But Jordon's not convinced that's going to be the best option

where coupons are concerned because the best offers usually

come from branded products that the discount stores don't always sell.

Aldi can be good for buying, like, off-brand products,

but if you really want to start saving with coupons

and cash back, they're mostly for big name supermarkets.

Lucy spends between £40 and £50 a week on food for herself

and her three-year-old son, Finley.

So do you think you're getting the most for your money? Are you

using, like, any money-saving tactics to get money off your shop?

I'd usually go for offers - if there's buy one get one free

or two for three pounds or something like that, where I can.

But that isn't always going to be the best way of saving money either

because not all special offers are as special as

they might appear!

However, the good news is that when a supermarket offer is a good deal,

some canny couponing could save you even more money.

His secret weapon for finding those killer coupons is the internet.

So, where would you go to first?

I'd start with sites where you can print out coupons straightaway.

All you have to do is sign up,

you install some special coupon printer software

-and then they just print out of your printer straight away.

-Right.

But don't stop there. Checking the websites

and Facebook pages of well-known brands can often turn up not

just money off coupons, but vouchers for completely free products.

And Jordon also uses lots of vouchers he gets directly from

supermarkets - from their in-store magazines, loyalty card schemes

like Nectar and bonus vouchers that he picks up at the till.

After just a few minutes online, Jordon has found

plenty of deals that could help Lucy save money without

compromising the foods she loves.

So, for all of these coupons that we've just had a little

browse around the internet for, we've got £15.60 worth of savings.

-That's if you use all of them.

-Yeah.

-So shall we start cutting out the coupons?

-Let's.

Finley, do you want to help us?

You've got some little scissors, haven't you?

So, with the coupons for her first shop printed,

the final stage of Jordon's money-saving masterclass is

to plan which shops Lucy needs to visit to maximise her savings.

But before he leaves her to it,

Jordon has a note of caution for Lucy.

Don't buy the product just cos you've got a coupon for it.

-Yeah.

-Only buy it if you need it or if you buy it every single week.

If you've got like a coupon for 50p off crisps

and you don't like that brand, you're just spending extra money.

-So, only use coupons for the things that you would normally buy.

-Right.

So, with those words of wisdom, it's time for Jordon to see

if Lucy and Finley can put his tips into practice.

Lucy kicked off by following the advice to shop at lots

of different stores rather than stick to the same one.

And when we went back to see her just over a month after

Jordon's visit, she couldn't wait to show us some of her bargains

and the offers that helped her find them.

This shop here cost £19 at Tesco,

with using the vouchers and the club card coupons,

I've made a saving of £5, so it all came to £14.02.

The shampoo, there was a 75p off voucher for that.

I've been able to make a saving on the Tesco's own butter,

that was 65p off.

Off their tuna, was 25p.

And again, off the olives, was 25p.

Which is... They all seem like small

amounts, but it adds up in the end, you know, it has made a difference.

The exact amount Lucy saved on each shop varied week by week.

But in total, over five shops across a month,

she saved a whopping £51.71.

Now, that means she knocked more than a quarter off her usual spend.

If she was able to keep up the same rate of savings over a full year,

which she's confident she could now do as she's got the hang of it,

she could end up with an extra £620 in her pocket.

It genuinely has changed how I look at things,

how I shop, how I organise myself when I go.

You know, I really do think about it now.

And in the long run, I really can see it making a difference.

And if you would like it to make a difference to your shopping as well,

you can find some of Jordon's couponing tips on our website.

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain...

Who ate all the pies? And were they any good?

We take to the terraces to see why one football fan feels he's

being short-changed when it comes to his match-day treat.

Quite frankly, it's not just the size of the pie.

It's expensive.

It's poor quality and it's just really not acceptable.

Britain is a proud nation of pie lovers.

And there are lots of occasions when a pie really is the perfect food,

like for instance at a football match.

It's hearty, it's wholesome and, most importantly, hand-held.

A football pie really is fuel for fans on the terraces.

Rather like this one, which I have to say, looks absolutely delicious.

But of course not all pies are equal.

Some football clubs sell factory-made, bargain basement pies

at a really big mark up while others...

well, they take pride in their pastry

and put in only the very best ingredients.

I tell you, I know which club I'd support.

But could the quality of the pies even convince one avid football fan

to change his allegiance?

For some football fans, a key part of going to a match isn't

really anything to do with the game itself.

It's the pie they enjoy at half-time.

And Kevin Mitchell is a big fan - of both his local team,

Bradford City and a traditional pie.

The first half,

whether you're winning, you're drawing, you're losing,

you look forward at half-time to a cup of tea,

a coffee and a pie.

For all age groups - older men like myself, young kids,

it doesn't matter - we all love a pie.

Now, in the past few years, the humble pie has undergone

something of a renaissance.

Gourmet pies lining supermarket shelves and on restaurant menus

are chock-full of high quality, mouthwatering ingredients.

But Kevin reckons some of the ones

sold at a typical football match have been left behind,

including, he's sad to say, those at his own beloved club.

Well, I've just bought this pie priced at £3.20.

Is it good value? Not really.

For the family with children, a man, his wife, two kids,

it's a lot of money.

Like some other teams, Bradford buys its pies in.

Pre-made and at £3.20 each,

Kevin thinks they're, hardly top of the table.

Quite frankly, it's not just the size of the pie.

It's expensive.

It's poor quality and it's just really not acceptable.

So how does Kevin's Bradford City pie compare to pies at other clubs?

Well, in 2014, BBC Sport created a league table of the cheapest

and the priciest pies in the 92 top flight clubs in English football.

Leading the way for cheap pies is Rochdale,

Bradford's League 1 rivals -

with a pie costing just £2.

Burnley and Chelsea have the cheapest pies in the top division

of English football, the Premier League, where a pie is £2.50.

The most expensive pie in the top four leagues,

that's Brighton and Hove Albion in England's second tier,

the Championship, where a pie costs a princely £4.10.

But theirs are handmade, award-winning pies -

and as such, are considered by many to be worth every penny.

As for Bradford... Well, they're languishing in equal 59th place,

with their £3.20 pie nearly 20p above the average price of £3.03.

Of course, who's top of the league isn't just about price,

it's also about quality and flavour.

Even though the cost of pies across British grounds is often

quite similar around the three to 3.50 mark,

there's, unfortunately, a drastic difference between our highest-rated

and lowest-rated pies.

Some of them really do have that quality ingredient.

They're well cooked, they're cooked on site,

whereas others, it seems like the pie is just an afterthought.

It can be lacking in filling. It can fall apart upon eating it,

Sometimes it's not even cooked properly or it's been heated

too long and it's dry and therefore very unenjoyable.

Kevin would be happy to pay more for a pie he enjoyed. So, where

other than Brighton could he find one that's a high-scorer when it comes to taste?

Well, help is at hand because every year,

the British Pie Awards honour the best pie in football -

and twice in recent years -

including in 2014 - that's been won by Morecambe FC.

So, Kevin's taken an awayday to find out what makes these pies such a strong contender.

Graham Aimson is chief pie-maker at Morecambe.

To the outsider, many people would say,

"What's the big deal about pies?"

But there is a big deal, isn't there?

It's massive - pies and football are like bread and butter.

The two things you go to a match for is the football first and the pie second.

You can't guarantee the football, but we will guarantee you'll have a great day with the pie.

At every home match, Graham and two other kitchen staff turn out

more than 1,000 pies in four different varieties.

And with just over 2,000 people attending each game, that's means

a mighty 50% of them will tuck into one of those award-winning beauties.

Now then, Kevin, welcome to the kitchen.

Everyone who comes in gets a nice blue apron.

So if you pop that on... We've got this lovely machine here.

Put the pie into there, remove our fingers, two tonnes of pressure

from that, so it'll flatten your fingers which is no good.

And then we just pull the whole thing down like that,

right to the very bottom.

You'll see the excess pastry fall over, so we get a good lining,

and that's basically a base.

At £3 a pie, Morecambe came joint 31st in our pricey

pie table - pretty much bang on the average for all league clubs.

But it's still 20p cheaper than the pies at Kevin's beloved

Bradford City.

Bradford City as a club means a lot to me,

but the pies don't, quite frankly.

I'd like to know what Bradford can do as a club

to improve and perhaps reach your standards.

Not just Bradford but a lot of clubs should be looking at doing is

talking to their suppliers

and saying how they can make that pie into a better product.

There's an awful lot of sales they're missing out on then

because of a lower quality product.

It gives the fans as though they're getting good value for money.

I would imagine, uh, it enhances people wanting to come to Morecombe Football Club.

We've had e-mails from Holland and Texas saying how good the food is.

And we've had people come from Europe to try the pies.

And when we hear of fans saying,

"We've come for the football, but more importantly, for the pie,"

that brings it home that we're doing the right thing.

So that raises the question -

how can one club produce an award-winning pie by hand

for less than other clubs charge for one that's mass produced?

Bradford City doesn't set the price of its pies.

That's done by a company called Centreplate which handles all

the catering at the stadium.

When we spoke to the company, it told us it's...

..from the club's supporters.

But it said in light of the points Kevin has raised,

it now plans to re-evaluate its pie offering.

But could what Kevin's seen and tasted be enough to convince

him to come back and support Morecambe a bit more often?

It's been a brilliant day and this pie is absolutely fantastic.

Is it good enough to make me change allegiances?

Maybe not quite, but I tell you what, it came very, very close.

Here at Rip-Off Britain, we're always ready to investigate

more of your stories on any subject.

Are you confused over your bills, or just trying to wade through

never-ending small print?

It's very frustrating because it makes what should be

a quite simple job a lot more complicated.

And I think some people just give up, so they don't get the best deal.

Maybe you're unsure what to do when you discover you've lost out

and that so-called "great deal" has ended up costing you money.

People are buying into this - I did, you know.

And are they going to be as awkward with them as they were with me?

You might have a cautionary tale of your own

and want to share the mistakes you made with us.

It upsets me an awful lot because, you know, I'm retired

and I begrudge having to pay that kind of money out.

You can write to us at...

Or send us an e-mail to...

Remember that the Rip-Off team is ready and waiting

to investigate your stories.

That's just about it from us for today, but you can find out more

tips on how to cut the cost of your shopping on our website.

The address, I really don't think you need reminding,

but here it is anyway - it's...

And of course, that's also the place to send us your own stories or

questions about topics you'd like us to look into.

By the way, not just food-related, but anything you spend your money on

and we'll keep on investigating whether those promises

and the prices really do stack up.

And it's on that note that I'm afraid we have to leave it for now.

Thanks to everyone who's helped us with our stories today

and of course to you for joining us.

We will see you again on Rip-Off Britain very soon,

but in the meantime, from everyone on the team...

-ALL:

-Bye-bye.