The Federation of Bakers has welcomed recent guidance from Defra on the use of the word ‘wholemeal’ for loaves and packaging.
Last week the government department published ‘Bread and Flour Regulations (Amendments) Technical Guidance’ which outlines how to comply with the food standards law when producing, importing, or selling bread and flour.
This included clarification on the use of the word wholemeal, marking an end to the debate over whether 50/50 loaves – such as Hovis Best of Both or Kingsmill 50/50 which are made with white and wholemeal flour – would have to change their names or packaging.
It stated that ‘wholemeal’ is only allowed in the name of bread when all flour used as an ingredient is wholemeal, and that it may be used as a wider description of a product as long as it’s clear that this is in relation to the flour used as an ingredient rather than part of the name of the bread. It offered the example of sliced bread made with an equal blend of white and wholemeal flour.
Andrew Pyne, chief executive of the trade body which represents the UK’s largest plant bakers, welcomed the “valuable clarification regarding the use of the term ‘wholemeal’ in relation to labelling a loaf of wholemeal bread, as well as where wholemeal flour is used as an ingredient in other bread products”.
Notably, the guidance aligns with the legal counsel given to the Federation of Bakers last year which found that bread manufacturers were compliant with the law and wouldn’t have to make changes.
“This guidance reinforces that our members have been correctly interpreting and applying regulations, and consumers can be reassured that the industry continues to provide legally accurate and helpful labelling,” Pyne added.
He also highlighted that the guidance would “ensure the addition of folic acid to non-wholemeal flour (as a public health benefit), be integrated and correctly labelled”.
Real Bread Campaign responds
The latest guidance was also broadly welcomed by the Real Bread Campaign, which has for many years lobbied the government to review the Bread and Flour Regulations.
“In general, we welcome this guidance, as it should help to create clarity for producers, retailers, consumer protection officers and, ultimately, all of us as food buyers,” said Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young. “It highlights a number of gains for which we, and others successfully lobbied, including a regulatory definition of wholemeal and exemptions that offer choice to people who need or want additive-free non-wholemeal flour, albeit only to a very limited extent.”
However, Young also expressed disappointment that Defra did not take the opportunity to update the Regulations to “make them more fit for purpose today”.
The wholemeal update was also met with dismay. “We are disappointed by the interpretation of the Regulation that has been used in the guidance, which risks rendering the word wholemeal almost as technically meaningless as the unregulated term whole grain,” Young said. “We maintain that for such a product, the only place the word wholemeal should appear is on the ingredients list.”
Late last year The Whole Grain Initiative – which aims to increase consumption of whole grains – proposed standards for a unified and global definition of the team ‘whole grain’. It highlighted the lack of consensus among governments and regulatory bodies has led to a range of conflicting interpretations that are difficult to navigate, according to the Initiative.
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