A leading nutritionist says the importance of fibre in food such as bread is “poorly recognised” - with the nutrition of a loaf “well below the radar”.

According to Professor Judith Buttriss, director general of the British Nutrition Foundation, the importance of a high-fibre diet is not as well recognised as other health messages, such as getting 5-a-day of fruit and veg.

Buttriss is a speaker at New Frontiers in Food & Drink, a cutting edge conference to discuss the food industry of tomorrow which takes place this summer, where she will be discussing product fortification; from mandatory to added value.

She told British Baker: “The importance of fibre-containing starchy foods such as bread is poorly recognised and bread’s nutrient contribution well below the radar. Yet bread is an important contributor to fibre, providing almost 20% of current intakes, with half of this from white bread.”

Calcium

Buttriss also pointed out the value of bread as a source of calcium and iron - something which, according to national UK dietary surveys, teenage girls and young women often lack.

New Frontiers in Food & Drink takes place on Friday 26 June at St Pauls, 200 Aldersgate in London.

For more information and to book a place at the event, visit www.newfrontiersinfoodanddrink.co.uk/.

The conference will give business leaders the opportunity to sense-check development strategies, listen to speakers and will provide valuable networking opportunities.

Other speakers at the conference include Food Futurologist Dr Morgaine Gaye, nutrition research manager Dr Roberta Re and Charles Spence - a professor of Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford.