The Real Bread Campaign

The Real Bread Campaign THE organisation fighting for better bread and the people who make it. If you need a reply, please email [email protected]
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M&S claims white flour in wholemeal loaves isn’t an ingredient……and a trading standards officer agrees!After almost thre...
25/06/2026

M&S claims white flour in wholemeal loaves isn’t an ingredient…

…and a trading standards officer agrees!

After almost three years, a trading standards officer has closed the case on a complaint by the Real Bread Campaign about using non-wholemeal flour in ‘wholemeal’ loaves.

On 24 June 2026, a trading standards officer at London Borough of (Sustain’s / the Real Bread Campaign’s local authority) advised: ‘M&S state that the additional non-wholemeal flours referenced are not considered part of the Regulation 6 requirement relating to the preparation of bread. These materials are applied solely as a surface dusting to the crust post-bake/oven exit, once the bread has been prepared, and therefore do not form part of the bread-making process to which Regulation 6 applies.’

The officer concluded: ‘LBTH is in agreement with this assertion and has taken no further action in respect to this. Case closed.’

Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young, who had been pursuing the case since July 2023, said: ‘The company’s defence, that the flour is added after baking so isn’t an ingredient, is laughable. What isn’t a laughing matter is that trading standards officers at two local authorities have swallowed that line.’

Similar complaints about other companies remain unresolved. You can find full details in the latest news section of the Real Bread Campaign website.

Previous trading standards complaints by the Real Bread Campaign have resulted in M&S removing the claim 'ancient wheat variety' from modern hybrid rye flour, and correcting front-of-pack claims on 'Only...X ingredients' range products to match the actual number of ingredients used.

(Photos taken before the November 2024 amendment to flour 'fortification' requirements.)

We love wholemeal Real Bread!Turning 100% of the grain into flour and then making it into additive-free is pretty much t...
25/06/2026

We love wholemeal Real Bread!

Turning 100% of the grain into flour and then making it into additive-free is pretty much the least processing you can do and still call it bread.*

It means you get all of the flavour and nutrition, and the natural and human resources that went into producing the grain don't get diverted or wasted.

There's plenty of evidence that indicates consuming more dietary fibre is a good idea so, unless there's a medical reason why you can't, we encourage you to eat more wholemeal Real Bread!

There's a growing bank of free recipes on our website - and if you've developed one you'd like to add, please email us.

There's also evidence to suggest that making wholemeal bread by the sourdough process might help our bodies get more of the natural nutritional value out of it.

If you're concerned about pesticide (and other agrochemical) residues on and in grains, then you might want to opt for certified organic wholemeal flour and bread.

ALWAYS read the ingredients list, or ask for the details, to be sure of wht you're getting.

Despite our ongoing lobbying, the term 'wholegrain' STILL is not defined or regulated by UK legislation, so is technically meaningless. Similarly, brown, malthouse, Granary, malted etc. are unregulated marketing terms.

If a product has a fibre-based marketing claim on the front of pack, again read the ingredients list and nutritional information panel on the back.

Governmental guidance in the UK is that adults should be putting away 30g of fibre a day and children should be scarfing 15-25g, depending on their age. Official figures indicate that 96% of adults and the majority of children fall short of these targets.

*Yes, there will be a small loss with any milling process and some vollkornbrot etc. can be made from unmilled grains...

Want Real Bread? Look for The Loaf Mark!There are more than 200 Real Bread Loaf Mark users around the UK and beyond. New...
24/06/2026

Want Real Bread? Look for The Loaf Mark!

There are more than 200 Real Bread Loaf Mark users around the UK and beyond.

New and renewing Loaf Mark licenses we've welcomed this week:

Bekery
Bob's Bread Bakery
Bread of Haven
Dr Dough
Dreamworth Artisan Bakery
The Fat Batard Bakery
Greenfield Bakers
Lucy's Loaves
Nancy Bakes

For more about the scheme, see Monday's post and for full details, please head to our website and click The Loaf Mark banner to visit the page.

You can find hundreds more bakeries (and add yours for free) on our Real Bread Map.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has replied to a Soil Association letter, of which the Real B...
24/06/2026

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has replied to a Soil Association letter, of which the Real Bread Campaign was a signatory, calling for a ban on glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant.

Extracts from Defra's reply:

'Pesticide residues on food are also accounted for as part of our pesticides regulation. The GB Maximum Residue Level (MRL) regime sets high standards of consumer protection to ensure that residues in our food supply do not harm human health. There is an ongoing pesticide residue monitoring programme to provide assurance that pesticides are used in accordance with their authorised conditions and that food on the UK market complies with the rules and is safe to eat.''

'The government has agreed with the EU to establish a common SPS area, by way of an SPS Agreement and pesticides regulations are in scope. This will make agrifood trade with our biggest market easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers. Negotiations began at the end of 2025, and the details of the SPS agreement are still to be negotiated.'

'We are currently assessing the implications of the transition from the existing pesticides regulatory system to a future framework defined by the SPS agreement.'

'Last year the government published the UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP). It sets out how all four UK governments will support farmers, growers and other land managers to increase their use of sustainable farming practices to reduce the potential harm from pesticides and control pests and pesticide resistance effectively, whilst protecting food security.'

'The NAP introduces a UK domestic target to reduce the potential pressures from pesticides on the environment by 10% by 2030. The NAP will support moves by farmers towards more sustainable pest management through increased use of integrated pest management (IPM), an environmentally friendly and holistic approach to pest, w**d and disease management. IPM practices can reduce the risks associated with pesticide use, helping to protect wildlife, and enhance soil and water quality.'

You can read the letter and full details in the latest news section of our website.

Sustain: The Alliance For Better Food And Farming

Planning school / community projects for this autumn? Bake Your Lawn!Grab your copy of the Real Bread Campaign's grow-a-...
23/06/2026

Planning school / community projects for this autumn? Bake Your Lawn!

Grab your copy of the Real Bread Campaign's grow-a-loaf guidebook from our website today.

Starting with as little as a small handful of wheat and a square metre of soil, we wrote the book to help you guide children on seed-to-sandwich journeys of discovery.

(Or you can skip to the recipes or Lessons In Loaf section of ideas for bready cross-curriculum tie ins.)

These photos are from summers past, 2011 - 2024, including from Regents Park Allotment, Overbury Grasshoppers, Southgrove School, Wellhome Academy and a homeschooling parent in Northern Ireland.

If you have photos from your own project inspired by Bake Your Lawn, we'd love to see and share them. Please send to the email address in our profile / bio.

With temperatures in the UK this week forecast to reach the mid-to-high thirties, please spare a thought for bakers, slo...
23/06/2026

With temperatures in the UK this week forecast to reach the mid-to-high thirties, please spare a thought for bakers, slogging away in the heat to make Real Bread for you.

If caring for their people means that some bakery owners amend their opening hours or what they make, changing what you can buy and when, please be kind and don't give them grief about it.

It's also a good time to remember that in other parts of the world, some Real Bread bakers face more extreme conditions for months on end, and even year-round.

(And yes, it's not just bakers sweating away at work or life in general.)

Want Real Bread? Look for The Loaf Mark!More than 200 bakeries around the UK and beyond currently use The Real Bread Loa...
22/06/2026

Want Real Bread? Look for The Loaf Mark!

More than 200 bakeries around the UK and beyond currently use The Real Bread Loaf Mark to help shopper spot additive-free bread at a glance.

> A bakery signs an annual agreement that they will only use The Loaf Mark to promote what the Campaign calls Real Bread and The Sourdough Loaf Mark to promote genuine sourdough.
> You simply need to Look for The Loaf Mark!

Rather than being an award, certification, accreditation or assurance from the Real Bread Campaign, it is a marketing tool we offer to bakeries and retailers.

We still lobby for mandatory full ingredient (and, if used, additive) listing for all loaves, and call upon all bakers and retailers to do so voluntarily in the meantime.

You can find full details (including how to become a Loaf Mark licensee and answers to FAQs about the scheme) on the Real Bread Campaign website.

Photos of The Loaf Mark in action at Cavan Bakery.

Freezing bread is a great way of preventing food waste but might there be other reasons for doing it? The internet is aw...
22/06/2026

Freezing bread is a great way of preventing food waste but might there be other reasons for doing it?

The internet is awash* with claims of health benefits resulting from freezing and / or toasting bread. Upon what are these claims based and have they been proven as fact?

Research suggests that freezing starchy carbs (pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, industrial dough products etc.) *might* increase its level of resistant starch, which might be enhanced further by then toasting / reheating.

Changing starch to this less digestible form *might* have a range of health benefits.

Before anyone gets over-excited and starts promoting toast as a cure for diabetes, though, things need unpacking: you can find a long read piece in the latest articles section of the Real Bread Campaign website.

*Well, an algorithm-driven social media echo chamber in our corner of the interweb, at least…

20/06/2026

Most leavened bread is made by fermenting flour, usually using a sourdough starter or baker's yeast, but...
..flour can be cultured using bacteria that generate propionic acid to anitmicrobial levels that inhibit mould growth. Such a culture can be added to dough and simply listed as ‘fermented flour’ because food labelling legislation does not classify it as a preservative or other additive.

This is despite the preservative effect of the anti-microbial amount of propionic acid that, if extracted from the culture, would have to be listed by name and / or as E280.

In some cases, companies go as far as making claims about their products not containing preservatives, leaning into the knowledge that many people want food that is additive-free and 'more natural'.

Last year, we found ‘fermented wheat flour’ listed in ‘sourdough’ and other products sold in the names of all of the UK’s 10 largest supermarket chains and six other major brands.* In August 2025, we asked each of them to clearly state the identity and purpose of the ‘fermented wheat flour’ they list.

Three of the companies confirmed our understanding that the 'fermented wheat flour' was being used for its preservative effect, rather than as a sourdough starter. The other 13 companies have been less forthcoming.

This isn’t about whether preservatives are ‘good’ or ‘bad’, it’s about transparency and honesty in labelling and marketing, to allow shoppers make better-informed buying choices.

You can find out more about this, and many more issues related to grain, flour and bread, on the Real Bread Campaign website.

*The product in this reel was manufactured by a different company, which wasn't included in thr research we began in 2025.

Just came across these snaps of gözleme making at a cafe in Islington. Taken by Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Yo...
19/06/2026

Just came across these snaps of gözleme making at a cafe in Islington.

Taken by Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young in 2009, back when Sustain was based at an office near Angel.

You can find a gözleme recipe in the Baking a Better Tomorrow magazine we produced with Better Food Traders, Organic Research Centre and UK Grain Lab.

The PDF version is still available to download via our website.

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