The aroma of freshly baked bread wafting down the aisles of your local supermarket may genuinely enhance the shopping experience. But the product itself is unlikely to be the real thing, it was claimed yesterday. In-store bakeries are merely 'tanning salons' where loaves made and part-cooked earlier elsewhere are simply browned, according to the Real Bread Campaign. It found bread sold in supermarkets can be laden with artificial ingredients because loopholes in labelling rules mean they need not list all additives and processing aids. In-store bakeries are merely 'tanning salons' where loaves made and part-cooked earlier elsewhere are simply browned The campaign said customers were victims of 'legalised deception' and thousands of specialist bakeries had been forced out of business by such 'retail theatre'.In a report out today, it says: 'People probably believe the crusty, delicious-smelling loaves produced by supermarkets' in-store bakeries are real bread made using just flour, water, yeast and salt.'In many cases, an in-store bakery is little more than a tanning salon for baguettes. They take loaves baked at a low temperature then chilled or frozen, and bake them again to re-soften the crumb and give the crusts an attractive hue and crunch. 'Though they might look like, smell like and be marketed as freshly baked loaves, such 'bake-off' products are in a sense biscuits. They have been cooked twice.' It said moisture loss caused by double-baking can make bread go stale more quickly. Supermarkets dress up these loaves as 'fresh' or even 'artisan' bread - suggesting they are the result of craft and expertise. But a range of processing aids and additives are used, while fat, ascorbic acid, soya flour and sugars are included as 'improvers'. Processing aids include the fungal enzyme alpha amylase, which increases volume and gives a darker crust and prolonged softness. The campaign said it could cause an allergic reaction. Enzymes created by genetic modification may also be included. Supermarkets refused to reveal the additives and processing aids used when asked by the Real Bread Campaign. Tesco, Asda and Morrisons could not give details of any loaf that met its definition of real bread --made only with flour, water, yeast and salt. Sainsbury's claimed to have six with no additives or processing aids. But Real Bread said a flour treatment agent was used. Waitrose sells bread from independent artisan bakeries and Marks & Spencer has eight products that meet the definition. A Real Bread spokesman said: 'The use of "fresh" and "freshly baked" to describe bake-off products is legalised deception.' 'Supermarkets should phase out artificial additives and processing aids. In the meantime, they should list all the additives used.'
i had no idea about this, thought my ASDA was baking bread for real, now i know the guys in the kitchen are bread frauds >.< i dont care i will only eat warburtons anyway
