Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the goals of the Real Bread Campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Defra is aware of the Real Bread Campaign’s ‘Honest Crust Act’ campaign. We are satisfied, however, that the Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers and General Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002 is effective in protecting consumers from misleading labelling and advertising of food.

EU Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires pre-packaged bread to display full labelling information including an ingredients list. The exemption from labelling for loaves sold loose is made for the purpose of reducing unnecessary regulatory burden on small businesses and bakeries, while ensuring the essential information is clear to the consumer. These requirements, together with the guidance on terms such as ‘traditional’, ‘farmhouse’ and ‘homemade’ used by food businesses and trading standards officers, provide robust protection to consumers against misleading labelling.