Correct: core inflation excludes food and energy because they have volatile price swings. For example, recent oil prices have trended considerably downward -- which would skew inflation numbers, and cause poor policy choices.
That's not to say the food and energy prices don't show up in the core: they do as they are assimilated into the greater economy. Just not their "retail" numbers.
Here's a look at core vs "headline" (which includes energy and food costs). Note how they are similar, but core is less volatile:
http://www.advisorperspectives.com/d...e-and-Core.php
You can see that trying to use headline vs core inflation as a way of saying that we do have high inflation is a red herring.