Sainsbury's trading standards case redirected

In June 2024, the Real Bread Campaign submitted a complaint about Sainsbury's 'in store bakery' marketing to Oxfordshire County Council, the company's Primary Authority for trading standards.

Responding to further information submitted by the Campaign in July 2025 and January 2026, on 20 January 2026, the officer responsible for the case wrote:

The officer wrote: 'I have already given my detailed response on several previous occasions. I appreciate that the Real Bread Campaign may not agree with these views, but would note that the simple repetition of the question is not going to result in a different response. If you disagree with my previously expressed views I would continue to encourage you to address your concerns with your local Trading Standards / Environmental Health department who can give you their interpretation of the legislation.'

Campaign coordinator Chris Young replied: 'Thank you for your work on this case. It is unfortunate and frustrating that your intervention has not fully resolved the situation.'

(Not quite) starting from scratch

On 21 January 2026, Young sent following to the trading standards department of London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the local authority for Sustain / the Campaign:

In its 'in store bakery' marketing, Sainsbury’s continues to use claims that we believe are misleading and / or factually incorrect, and so in breach of consumer protection legislation. 

The company's ‘freshly made every day’ claim states (or, at the very least, strongly implies) that the whole process takes place in store on the day that products are sold. We have seen Sainsbury's using this promise to convince people to part with their money in branches where the statement simply is not true. Nothing is freshly made every day in any of the stores shown in the attached photos, for example.

In a number of such stores we have seen, the display features products that were manufactured elsewhere, where they were baked for a first time to stop fermentation and set the crumb. At a later date (which can be many months after manufacture) the products are merely re-baked in store for a few minutes to brown and crisp the crust. Other products we have seen beneath the signs are ‘thaw-and-serve', meaning they were not baked in store at all, simply defrosted before being put on display. 

'Freshly baked' is another assurance Sainsbury's gives to customers about when, where and how products are made. Again, this is used to market prefabricated products that are baked for a second time, as opposed to being freshly baked.  

Not all of the products in Sainsbury's 'in store bakery' section are manufactured in the UK - the company's Taste The Difference stonebaked white baguette, for example. Products that are manufactured overseas at some point in the past, imported and re-baked (or merely thawed) are not what the average shopper would understand either 'freshly baked' or ‘freshly made every day’ to mean.

Sainsbury's does make some products from scratch in some stores, but how is a shopper to know which products are 'freshly made' and 'freshly baked' in which stores? In June 2024, we submitted our complaint directly to Sainsbury's Primary Authority, Oxfordshire County Council. After long correspondence and some progress, the trading standards officer investigating the case has now redirected us to LBTH. You can find further details below.

A survey carried out by MEL Research in October 2025 found that 71% of respondents believed many supermarket ‘baked in store’ or ‘freshly baked’ type claims are misleading. We look forward to you helping bring this case to a swift resolution by Sainsbury's removing such claims, to help restore people's trust and confidence.

Jump to updates

See also

• New research echoes Honest Crust Act calls
• Loaf-tanning salon lies?
• Sainsbury’s drops fresh bread claim
• Sainsbury’s admits unclear flour labelling
• Sainsbury’s forced to re-label 50% white loaf
• Sainsbury’s ordered to say adios to white flour in wholemeal tortillas