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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of requiring that the definition of bread only includes produce which has been made without the use of food additives.

Defra, alongside the Department of Health and Social Care, the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland and Wales, Food Standards Scotland and the Scottish and Welsh Governments have been conducting jointly a review of The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and The Bread and Flour (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1998 to ensure the regulations are fit for purpose and support UK industry while protecting consumers.

Existing food labelling rules and other requirements on the control of additives in food production ensure that food is produced safely and labelled effectively to enable consumers to make informed choices on the food they buy and consume. While we are always looking for ways to improve our regulations, legislative intervention is just one option and should be restricted to areas where there is clear market failure.