Defra launches review as supermarkets accused of selling ‘fake’ sourdough bread

Government has launched a consultation to review the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 as sourdough loaves being sold in supermarkets have come under scanner with allegations that they contain additives and processing agents to speeden-up the process.

According to a report in The Telegraph, the so-called sourdough loaves being sold in supermarkets are made using the chorleywood process, which was introduced in the 1960s, to speed up the baking process. Bread made in this way contains additives and processing agents and the fermentation process can be reduced to 3.5 hours.

By contrast, sourdough can take up to 24 hours to make and is considered a healthier option because it is easier to digest and does not contain hard fats, stated the report, adding that the bread is made using a live “starter”, a combination of yeast and bacteria that grows inside a paste made of flour and water.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is leading the government review which is looking into loaf composition, labelling and marketing laws. Calling on Defra for introducing meaningful regulations on bread labelling, campaigners are accusing supermarkets of “adding a tiny bit of sourdough starter to the bread to justify the label.”

Rebecca Bishop, director and co-owner of Two Magpies in Suffolk, said, that supermarkets sell products (mis)labelled as sourdough, that are really made by a faster and very different process using additives and baker’s yeast.

“They wrap it in unnecessary and expensive packaging and undercut small bakeries that make long-fermented, genuine sourdough bread,” Bishop said, adding that  without the protection of legal definitions of freshly-baked bread, sourdough and other things,  “many small, true artisan bakeries will not survive this unfair competition”.

Reacting to the allegations, Defra said that it would consider amendments to legislation after the consultation.

“Bakers, including those producing sourdough and wholegrain products, can effectively market their products on their own merits within the rules as they stand, and legislation supports such marketing so long as it is not misleading,” reports quoted Defra as saying.

“While we are always looking for ways to improve our regulations, legislative intervention is just one option and should be restricted to areas where there is clear market failure.”