Food prices in the European Union increased by 40% over the last five years.

Omissions

• No primary source (Eurostat HICP food index) was found stating an explicit '40% increase over the last five years' for the EU; the closest EU-wide food figure found (41%) refers to May 2023 relative to a 2015 base (roughly eight years), not five.
• Food inflation peaked in March 2023 (all-time high of 19.2% year-on-year in the EU) and slowed markedly afterwards, so the cumulative figure is very sensitive to the base year selected; choosing 2021 as the base captures the peak-inflation years and yields a higher figure than other windows.
• National-level evidence (e.g. BEUC: Denmark and Spain food prices 31% higher than in 2021, i.e. over roughly three years) suggests the EU-wide figure depends strongly on scope and period.
• The exact reference period ('last five years' relative to the October 2026 session, i.e. ~2021-2026) is not explicitly stated in the claim and could not be matched to a single official publication.

Sources

• PrimaryEurostat — Statistics Explained: Consumer prices - inflationThe overall change in the HICP in the EU during the period 2016-2025 was 33.0%, or an annual average of 3.3%.
• AcademicMatthews, A. — Food price situation in Europe (Real-MTAK repository)In the EU as a whole food prices were 41% higher in May 2023 relative to the price level in 2015, while the overall price level rose by just 26% during this [period].
• SecondaryBEUC (European Consumer Organisation) — Addressing food price surgesTake Denmark, where food prices today are 31% higher than in 2021. Spain draws the same result and consumers in Slovenia are facing a 4.5% [increase]...
• SecondaryTrading Economics — European Union Food InflationFood Inflation in European Union averaged 2.68 percent from 1997 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 19.20 percent in March of 2023 and a record low of -...