NEWS extra


“The use of the words ‘wholemeal’ and ‘wheat germ’ are regulated but other common marketing terms are not”


abandon the owners of small Real Bread bakeries that help to keep our high streets alive.” He went on to ask: “If the current review of legislation


regulating the composition, labelling and marketing of flour and bread is neither the time or the place to consider our Honest Crust Act proposals to update and improve the regulation of the composition, labelling and marketing of bread then exactly when and where is?”


Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young said: “When it


comes to sourdough in particular, industrial loaf fabricators and others have seen the demand nurtured by artisan Real Bread bakers - as well as people’s willingness to pay a premium for their clearly different, high-quality products - and want a slice of the action. The thing is, not all manufacturers are willing to invest the time or new skills and knowledge necessary to craft bread by the sourdough process. Instead, some are choosing to use baker’s yeast and/or additives to produce fundamentally different products, yet market these as sourdough in order to profit from the ‘brand value’ of positive associations people make with the word. “Being cheaper to produce, especially when done at scale,


what we call sourfaux is typically sold at a lower price than a small, independent bakery can sell genuine sourdough. We believe this to be unfair competition and also misleading to shoppers, especially as companies still sell sourfaux at a premium compared to comparable products in their own ranges,” he added. “Everyone has the right to know how, when and where their


food was made and with what. We believe that this information should be instantly available to shoppers for whatever reasons they want or need it. “We are lobbying the government for an Honest Crust Act


of updated and improved regulation, including mandatory labelling of all additives – including so-called processing aids; mandatory full ingredient labelling/listing at point of sale for bread that is sold unwrapped; legal definition and regulation of use of ‘fresh bread’, ‘freshly baked’, ‘baked in store’ and similar; legal definition and regulation of use of a range of bakery marketing terms, including wholegrain, sourdough, artisan, ancient and heritage. “In the meantime, we urge all bakers and retailers to follow


these principles voluntarily and encourage Real Bread bakers to sign up to The Real Bread Loaf Mark scheme,” he said. Young added: “We believe that current regulations are not


fit for purpose, do not support small bakery owners and do not protect shoppers adequately. As the majority of people buy products sold as bread, we believe that ignoring their needs is an insult to practically everyone in the UK. Combined with the absence of adequate intervention and support in the face of skyrocketing costs, it feels like the government has chosen to


bakeryproduction.co.uk


Obstacles to better-informed food choices In a letter sent to a number of MPs in response to the recent letter writing campaign, George Eustice and Victoria Prentis* stated that existing legislation ensures that food is ‘labelled effectively to enable consumers to make informed choices on the food they buy and consume.’ The Real Bread Campaign cannot agree that this is the case,


believing that current regulations are outdated and not fit for purpose, allowing: • Retailers to sell unwrapped bread without displaying full lists of ingredients and any additives used.


•


Manufacturers to not declare additives deemed to be ‘processing aids’ even on wrapped loaves, though residues and by-products are permitted to remain in the finished product.


• Companies to market re-baked products as ‘freshly baked’, ‘baked in store’, ‘baked every day’ and similar, even if they were in fact made and first baked in a factory elsewhere - even overseas. The process uses around twice as much energy as baking once, and results in products that stale very quickly, increasing the risk of food waste.


• The use of undefined terms including wholegrain, sourdough, artisan and heritage/ancient grains to name and market substantively different products.


Young said: “Each of these represents a totally unnecessary obstruction to shoppers accessing fundamentally important information about a staple food, for whatever reasons they want or need it. Clearly ‘the market’ is failing to self-regulate, while the lack of actual regulation leaves consumer protection bodies all but powerless to act in cases of misleading marketing and incomplete/absent ingredient labelling.” On 27 August 2022, the Campaign exposed more than 20


examples of what it calls sourfaux - products named or marketed using the word ‘sourdough’ but made by fundamentally different processes, highlighting just one weakness in current legislation and enforcement. On 9 June 2022, the Campaign raised concerns of a possible breach of regulation of the use of the word wholemeal. The Campaign will respond to the consultation before the 23


November deadline and in the meantime consider what next steps to take.


Kennedy’s Bakery Production October/November 2022 13


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40