Food and Energy prices aren't used in the calculation of inflation because they are considered too volatile. That's why you referenced a POLL rather than any actual inflation information.
FAIL.
From the Fed Reserve Bank of San Fran-sicko:
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco: Economic Research, Educational Resources, Community Development, Consumer and Banking Information
One common way economists use inflation data is by looking at “core inflation,” which is generally defined as a chosen measure of inflation (e.g., the Consumer Price Index or CPI, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index or PCEPI, or the Gross Domestic Product Deflator) that excludes the more volatile categories of food and energy prices.
The CPI-U and the CPI-W, one of which is uses for COLA, includes energy and food. It always has and it always does.
The Federal Reserve, for it's particular purposes, needs a measure that best matches the long term trend.
All you've found is that there are multiple measures of inflation, each used for different purposes. Some remove the things that swing wildly. "Core" means what it implies, the very center of inflation.
Regardless, all the measures of inflation, including the CPI and the PCE, accurately track the long term trend in inflation.
Common Misconceptions about the Consumer Price Index: Questions and Answers
"Has the BLS removed food or energy prices in its official measure of inflation?
No. The BLS publishes thousands of CPI indexes each month, including the headline All Items CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the CPI-U for All Items Less Food and Energy. The latter series, widely referred to as the "core" CPI, is closely watched by many economic analysts and policymakers under the belief that food and energy prices are volatile and are subject to price shocks that cannot be damped through monetary policy. However, all consumer goods and services, including food and energy, are represented in the headline CPI.
Most importantly, none of the prominent legislated uses of the CPI excludes food and energy. Social security and federal retirement benefits are updated each year for inflation by the All Items CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Individual income tax parameters and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) returns are based on the All Items CPI-U. "
