Northern Foods, the company which supplies a range of British supermarkets, has announced sales figures that suggest Brits have a general preference for chilled foods over frozen goods.

In its second quarter of sales for 2010, Northern Foods saw a 16.1 per cent rise in the sales of chilled foods, whereas the sales of frozen foods decreased by 16.2 per cent, indicating a sharp decline in the popularity of frozen food.

Also, the company saw a 10.9 per cent increase in the amount of baking products that it sold, while the group's first-half overall sales growth was three per cent.

Stefan Barden, chief executive of Northern Foods, said: "We are taking decisive actions to ensure that we are well positioned for the competitive market conditions which we are experiencing and expect to continue."

Last month, Asda announced that it was spending £100 million to revamp its Chosen By You range, which includes chilled, baked and frozen products.