OTTAWA -- Climbing prices for fresh fruits and vegetables as well as meat products helped fuel the 1.6 per cent increase in Canada's annual inflation rate in December, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Here are five popular foods that are burning holes in the wallets of Canadians, according to the StatCan data:

Lettuce: The leafy green salad staple was a whopping 21.8 per cent more expensive in December than it was a year ago.

Apples: They were 11.8 per cent more expensive than they were a year ago.

Pasta products: They were 9.5 per cent more costly than they were a year ago.

Oranges: They were 8.8 per cent more expensive than they were a year ago.

Fresh or frozen beef: Beef was 5.8 per cent more costly than it was a year ago.