Bread Labelling Transparency

We don't like artificial additives. Real Bread doesn't contain them. What we like perhaps even less is manufacturers using substances in the making of their products without even mentioning them.

Under current legislation, the use of so called processing aids can go completely undeclared but we believe it's high time that the Big Bakers did the decent thing and came clean.

Enforcement of European Parliament and Council: Regulations on Additives and Enzymes (England)
Food Standards Agency consultation

Enforcement of European Parliament and Council: Regulations on Additives and Enzymes (England)
Our response to the consultation (21 October 2009)

Stick One on ‘em!
Real Bread Campaign and the Real Food Festival have launched Stick One on ‘em!

Transparent labelling petition
Sign the petition calling upon The Federation of bakers and its members to phase out unlabelled processing aids and declare them in the meantime

Get the stickers
Download stickers so that you can Stick One on 'em yourself

Supermarkets

Statement from the Real Bread Campaign
on the possible use of unlabelled processing aids in factory bread - 19 May 2009

Letter to The Federation of Bakers
On 2nd April 2009, we sent an open letter to the Federation of Bakers and its member companies.

The Federation of Bakers
The eight member companies, with lists of some of their well-known brands.

Stick One on ‘em!

The Federation of Bakers continues to ignore our repeated invitations to give us and their customers an assurance that they do not use any undeclared processing aids in their products. In response, the Real Bread Campaign and the Real Food Festival invites you to Stick One on ‘em! and demand that the Big Bakers come clean.

If you don’t like the idea that the manufacture of the bread you eat might have involved a veritable cocktail of undeclared enzymes, some of which are known allergens and could be of GM or animal origin then please sign our petition.

Sign the petition to the Federation of Bakers

Current legislation allows manufacturers to use substances known as processing aids during bread production without declaring so on the label. These can include enzymes such as xylanase, transglutaminase, hemicellulase, phospholipase and maltogenic amylase some of which may be of animal or GM origin.

Whatever the state of current legislation, we urge The Federation of Bakers and its members to amend their bread product labelling with all possible speed to include a declaration of any and all added enzymes and other processing aids, with their names and provenance expressed in language that the ordinary consumer can understand. In the longer term, we call on all bakers to remove from their bread production all artificial additives and processing aids in the interests of the health and integrity of our most fundamental food.

To sign the petition please follow this email link and add your details to add your voice to our petition.

Get the stickers

In case you missed our Stick One on ‘em! stickers* at the Real Food Festival, you can download a sheet to print off yourself. They are formatted for an A4 sheet of 21 address labels.

Download Stick One on ‘em! stickers in Word format (71Kb)
Download Stick One on ‘em! stickers in PDF format (72kb)

Email us at realbread@sustainweb.org if you would like to recieve sheets of stickers.

*Remember – touching someone else’s buns can get you into all sorts of trouble, so please only use these on the labels of bread that you own. The Real Bread Campaign, Real Food Festival and Sustain remind you that sticking them elsewhere, say on supermarket shelves, bread advertising posters, bread in shops etc. could lead to you being arrested and even prosecuted for criminal damage and the like. Of course, what you do with them is up to you but don’t go saying that it was our idea or that we didn’t warn you…

Supermarkets

At the begining of June 2009, we sent a letter to the major supermarkets*, asking about their in-store bakeries (that produce their 'fresh' bread), which account for around 15-17% of the UK bread market. We continue to pursue this issue by email, post and phone.

* The supermarkets we are asking are Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Waitrose, Asda and Marks & Spencer

Statement from the Real Bread Campaign on the possible use of unlabelled processing aids in factory bread - 19 May 2009

After repeated questioning by letter and email, the Real Bread Campaign at last has secured confirmation from The Federation of Bakers that nothing of animal or GM origin is used by any federation member in the manufacture of any product unless clearly stated on the label. The statement covers ingredients, additives and processing aids.

Further to this, copies of communications from the federation’s three largest member companies* have been passed to the Real Bread Campaign, each company confirming that it does not use enzymes of animal or GM origin at all.

Whilst the Real Bread Campaign welcomes the opportunity to share this clarification with British consumers, we are saddened that neither the federation of any of its member companies took the chance to reply to the Real Bread Campaign or the Real Food Festival with such unequivocal answers when we first put the question to each of them in a letter of 2 April.

We are further disappointed that the Federation has not accepted any of our four written invitations to confirm that none of its member companies is using any unlabelled processing aids in the manufacture of its products.

We therefore draw the following conclusions:

Federation members may be using unlabelled processing aids.
The Federation has no intention of phasing out the use of processing aids.
The Federation has no intention of taking the voluntary step of declaring the use of processing aids on product labels.

We have again put these possibilities to the Federation and await their reply.

Consumers in search of Real Bread made with all natural ingredients and no artificial additives or processing aids can search for their nearest local supply using the Real Bread Finder at http://www.realbreadcampaign.org/

* The three largest members of The Federation of Bakers are Allied Bakeries, Premier Foods (Hovis) and Warburtons, with WD Irwin & Sons Limited, Frank Roberts & Sons Limited, Fine Lady Bakeries Limited, Delifrance (UK) Ltd. and William Jackson & Son Limited completing the membership.

Open Letter from the Real Bread Campaign to The Federation of Bakers

On 2nd April 2009, the Real Bread Campaign and the Real Food Festival sent the following open letter to the Federation of Bakers and its member companies (Premier Foods, Allied Bakeries, Warburtons, Frank Roberts & Sons, Fine Lady Bakeries, Delifrance (UK), WD Irwin & Sons and William Jackson & Son), which collectively produce around 80% of the bread we consume in the UK.

Sign up to our newsletter for updates on any response we receive.

Gordon Polson
Director
The Federation of Bakers
6 Catherine Street
London
WC2B 5JW

2nd April 2009

Ref: Transparent and honest labelling of bread

Dear Mr Polson,

As you are aware, current legislation allows manufacturers to use substances known as processing aids during bread production without declaring so on the label. We at the Real Bread Campaign and Real Food Festival know that these can include enzymes such as xylanase, transglutaminase, hemicellulase, phospholipase and fungal alpha-amylase some of which are known allergens or may be produced using substances of animal or GM origin.

Our organisations are dedicated to increasing the production and enjoyment of Real Bread, the definition of which excludes the use of any artificial additives or processing aids. We therefore invite you to confirm that your members use no such aids in the manufacture of any of their products.

Should you be unable to do so, we urge your members to take the ethical step of amending their bread product labelling with all possible speed to include a declaration of any and all added enzymes and other processing aids used, with their names and provenance expressed in language that the ordinary consumer can understand.

It is impossible for people to make fully informed choices of the foods they purchase and eat if they are unaware of the full list of ingredients and processes involved. We believe that, whatever the state of current legislation, food labels should include sufficient information to enable consumers to make truly informed decisions. Any attempt to increase bread consumption as part of a healthy diet is disingenuous if not accompanied by a transparent and honest disclosure of all that goes into the making of different breads.

The development of bakery enzymes in the past two decades demonstrates how industrial innovation can outstrip regulatory capacity, especially where the long-term effects on consumers eating food produced using enzymes in combination might never be tested adequately.

We trust that you agree that the only essential ingredients of basic leavened bread are flour, water and yeast, to which a small amount of salt may be added. In the longer term, we call on all bakers to remove from their bread production all artificial additives and processing aids in the interests of the health and integrity of our most fundamental food.

Should any baker decide to take this route, we invite them then to list their products on our Real Bread Finder at http://www.realbreadcampaign.org/

Yours sincerely,

The Real Bread Campaign and the Real Food Festival

The Federation of Bakers

Here are the eight member companies, with lists of some of their well-known brands.

Premier Foods (Hovis) - Hovis, Mother’s Pride
Allied Bakeries Limited - Sunblest, Kingsmill, Allinson, Burgen
WD Irwin & Sons Limited - Rankin Selection, Guinness Whole Grain, Nutty Krust
Warburtons Limited
Frank Roberts & Sons Limited
Fine Lady Bakeries Limited
Delifrance (UK) Ltd.
William Jackson & Son Limited