Real Bread Campaign review of 2025

At a time when things have been getting ever-more challenging in people’s lives, in small bakeries, in the public and charity sectors, and the world in general, there is a continuing need for finding and sharing ways to make bread better for us, our communities and the planet.

Here's a brief recap of the Real Bread Campaign's work championing additive-free food, independent businesses, and everyone’s chance to make better-informed choices.

We knead your dough!
For more than a decade, the Campaign has been powered mainly by the generosity of bakers and other Real Bread lovers. Sadly, this income is no longer keeping up with the rising costs of everything.

If you want to help ensure that the charity Sustain is able to keep building on the Campaign's work and successes since 2008, please consider joining the Campaign, making a doughnation, buying a Real Bread book or gift, or leaving a legacy. Bakery owners can also sign up to The Real Bread Loaf Mark scheme.

January to March

During Real Bread Week, we were a partner in Scotland the Bread and Scottish Food Guide’s annual Scottish Bread Championship, which attracted more than 200 entries. The awards were announced during the third annual Scottish Festival of Real Bread at Bowhouse in Fife, which was attended by around 1100 visitors. We also spotted people celebrating our annual, awareness-raising initiative in: Canada, Cyprus, England, India, Ireland, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Peru, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, USA and Wales. 

Food and drink specialist publisher Grub Street made our Knead to Know…more business handbook available worldwide, with advance orders from book sellers in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand. 

In March 2025, the Campaign, The Long Table and Hobbs House Bakery brought together more than 70 farmers, millers, bakers, academics, activists, broadcasters and other Real Bread lovers at Brimscombe Mill in Gloucestershire for BATCH: Stroud, a day of chewing over the present state - and future - of better-bred bread.

Whilst Daniel Zeichner MP was in the Shadow Cabinet, he was supportive of our work and asked us to help arrange visits to Real Bread bakeries in his Cambridge constituency. As Mr. Zeichner became Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, we wrote asking him to take action in support of the producers and buyers of a staple food: bread. We included a reminder of our Honest Crust Act proposals for improved composition, marketing and labelling standards.

As the result of a Real Bread Campaign complaint, online retailer Ocado advised us that the company was in the process of correcting the naming of a loaf from ‘wholemeal’ to ‘brown’, due to it being made from a mix of wholemeal and non-wholemeal flour.

April to June

Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) added its support to the Campaign’s call on the Government to update and improve standards and guidance on food labelling and marketing.

New Defra guidance highlighted a number of gains for which we, and others, successfully lobbied. These included a regulatory definition of wholemeal, and exemptions from mandatory flour ‘fortification’ that offer (albeit very limited) choice to people who need or want additive-free non-wholemeal wheat flour.

As the result of a Real Bread Campaign complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, Kingsmill withdrew a marketing claim based on USDA dietary guidelines, which is not on the UK register of permitted health claims. Our trading standards complaint resulted in Aldi removing the word wholemeal the name of a loaf that is 50% highly-refined white flour.

The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner, replied to our letter, agreeing to a meeting and advising that his office would contact us with a date.

July to September

Sourdough September was again celebrated across the UK and beyond. While the Campaign coordinator was unable to spend hours investigating the reach as in previous years, we did see people joining the fun in Australia, Brazil, Chile, England, India, Ireland, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Suriname, United Arab Emirates, USA and Wales.

We began an investigation into the identity and purpose of 'fermented wheat flour' used by 16 of the UK’s largest industrial dough fabricators, asking them whether it was: a sourdough starter that makes dough rise, a 'label friendly solution' to extending shelf life, or something else. Asda and the Federation of Bakers told us it was the second of these, while we continued to seek clarity from the other 14 companies we asked.

In July, we learned that Defra’s Food Compositional Standards Team had ‘noted there are some examples [of wholemeal ‘bread’ labelling, highlighted by the Campaign’s research] which in their view seem to infringe requirements and could warrant further investigation / action.’

The Campaign coordinator attended the launch of a new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for The Baking Industry. He was also part of a delegation to 10 Downing Street that presented calls to PM Keir Starmer and other ministers, urging the Government to rebalance the UK's food system.

Over the summer, we consulted with people whose work is related to grain, flour and bread. The purpose of the one-to-one conversations was to explore the major current (and future) challenges, needs and opportunities along the grain chain, and if there’s a role Sustain could play in addressing these. 

As the result of trading standards complaints by the Campaign, in September we learned that M&S was reviewing labelling and marketing claims on a number of products.

With charitable grant funding remaining elusive and other income failing to meet rising costs, Sustain had to cut Real Bread Campaign staff time by 25% to just one person, working three days a week.

October to December

M·E·L Research published results of a survey of more than 1500 UK adults, conducted on behalf of the Campaign. Findings included that that the majority of respondents: agreed that ingredients and additives should be listed for ‘bread’ sold loose / unwrapped; believed that many supermarket ‘baked in store’ or ‘freshly baked’ claims are misleading; and said that it’s unacceptable that ‘sourdough’ isn’t defined in food labelling law.

Sustain convened an online meeting of school food educators, bakers and organisations that work with schools to discuss the Campaign’s proposed Real Bread in Schools project.

Also behind the scenes, we've been quietly beavering with organisations including Better Food Traders, Coventry University, Gaia Foundation, Organic Research Centre, UK Grain Lab, and a number of regional grain networks / alliances on work related to the UK's non-commodity grain revival. Initiatives fermenting away include a UK Grain Networks Community of Practice; a movement building circle; the Resilient Infrastructure for a Successful Emergence in the UK’s Grain Economy (aka RISE) project; and a publication called Baking a Better Tomorrow (due out in February 2026, ahead of Real Bread Week).

The Federation of Bakers (FoB), an industrial baking trade organisation, responded to our 'fermented wheat flour' investigation. On its website, FoB stated: ‘this fermentation process produces natural organic acids which naturally help to inhibit mould and thereby extending the freshness and shelf-life for the consumer.’ One of the 16 companies we questioned, Aldi, similarly confirmed that it was flour cultured using specific bacteria that generate propionic acid (or other organic acids), used to delay staling and / or inhibit mould growth in order to extend product durability (shelf life). By December, one of our Instagram posts on the issue had attracted more than 5 million views and nearly 41,000 likes.

Our best yet hope of a government enacting our Honest Crust Act proposals left the building when Daniel Zeichner was moved on from Defra in September’s Cabinet reshuffle, without arranging that meeting with the Campaign. We believed that early indications suggested that the new team had little appetite for our proposals.

Campaign coordinator Chris Young was named Slow Food in The UK’s joint Person of The Year. ‘Another win for Real Bread’ he said.

See also

• News
• Articles
• True Loaf magazine