According to new figures produced for BPEX, bacon purchases up 7.9 per cent, fresh pork up 5.3 per cent and sausages are showing a two per cent rise.

BPEX head of Marketing, Chris Lamb said, “This continues the trend of people looking for high quality, value for money pork. This growth for both pork and for poultry comes at a time when beef and lamb are under pressure and are losing volume – even such staples as beef mince."

The figures also show, over the same period, twice as many households bought bacon than fresh chicken breasts while one and a half times more bought sausages.

The figures are the latest from TNS and covers the four-week period ending on 4 October, compared with the same period last year.