Spam luncheon meat and canned chilli have joined Kraft macaroni and cheese, Jell-O desserts and Kool-Aid powdered drinks as the recessionary foods of choice as the global downturn grips US households.

Hormel, the meat products company that launched Spam in 1937, said on Thursday it had seen double-digit increases in sales of the canned meat during the quarter ending on April 26, continuing a trend that started late last year.