Morrisons has agreed to remove signage claiming selected bakery items are ‘made in store from scratch’ following a trading standards complaint lodged by the Real Bread Campaign (RBC).
A spokesperson from Morrisons confirmed to British Baker that the retailer makes the majority of its bread and rolls from scratch in 450 of its stores nationwide.
However, for some of its ‘more specialised items’, Morrisons said it worked with third party bakeries to supply products which are then baked off in store. “We apologised for the incorrect signage which was on display and instructed our stores to take it down,” added the spokesperson.
Among the supplied products are those under the Morrisons’ The Best range, which it said were ‘very difficult to produce in store’ as they required non-standard ingredients such as sourdough and extended production times.
Morrisons said it was ‘proud to have 1,300 skilled bakers and provide over 40% of the bakery apprenticeships in the UK’. It has just been named a finalist for the Bakery Retailer of the Year 2024, with judges praising its dedication to the bakery experience that “started at the door” as well as the improvements made over the past few years.
In reaction to Morrisons’ changes, Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young commented: “We welcome this result and trust that trading standards officers at West Yorkshire Joint Services will ensure the company swiftly fulfils its promise to correct this misleading marketing.”
RBC’s complaint was submitted to West Yorkshire Joint Services (WYJS) on 12 June 2024. Although Morrisons has taken action on the above issue, the Campaign has asked WYJS to review other points of its complaint including identifying whether bakery products were manufacturered elsewhere and whether they have been frozen between manufacture and sale.
In-store bakeries at other supermarket chains including Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Co-op, M&S, and Waitrose have been labelled ‘loaf tanning salons’ by the Campaign, with similar complaints submitted to local authorities in recent months. Outcomes and responses to these complaints have yet to emerge.
A previous trading standards complaint from the RBC saw Lidl drop ’sourdough’ from the labelling of a crusty bloomer on its in-store bakery range last year.
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