The European Parliament is to vote on the inclusion of a provision in the Food Information Regulation (FIR) directive, which would see UK bakers selling wrapped products by numbers allowed to continue doing so.

“Under the existing EU directive, there was a provision for member states to decide to sell some products by number, and the UK has legislation that allows wrapped bakery products to be sold by number,” explained Federation of Bakers (FoB) director Gordon Polson.

“That provision was unfortunately omitted when they transferred other directives across into the new FIR and we’ve been lobbying to make sure the provision from the existing directive is transferred into this new regulation.”

The provision covers all food products sold by numbers, not just bakery products. Polson said that, as far as bakery products were concerned, it only applied to wrapped products such as rolls, muffins and crumpets, so it wouldn’t affect high street bakers.

Polson said he wasn’t prepared to call the vote, but from speaking to UK MEPs, he was confident they all understood and supported the FoB’s position.

He added that even if the European Parliament did not vote in favour this time, it was not the “last chance saloon”, as it was only the equivalent of a first reading in Parliament. “We have also been lobbying the Commission to make sure they know the situation,” he said.

The vote is due to take place tomorrow (16 June).