British taste buds are favouring ready-made rice and noodle dishes instead of pasta.
Sales of pasta in the UK fell by 4.2% in the last year while rice sales rose by 3.6% and noodles by 2.6%.
In tandem with the switch has been prodigious growth in ready-to-heat meals which many families may find quicker and easier despite pasta taking only a few minutes to cook.
Trade magazine The Grocer said: "Arrivederci pasta? More of us are saying farewell to the Italian staple in favour of rice and noodles.
"Pasta is down 4.2 per cent in value and 3.9 per cent in volume in a sector increasingly shaped by every-second-counts convenience."
