Real Bread Campaign has ‘concerns’ over M&S’s ‘five-ingredient’ rolls

The Real Bread Campaign has raised “concerns and questions” about M&S’s “five-ingredient” bread rolls.

In a LinkedIn post published over the weekend, Chris Young, co-ordinator at the Real Bread Campaign, highlighted that the back of pack lists “11 ingredients (15 if you don’t exclude the ‘fortificants’ that were added to the flour)”, and asked, “how can M&S claim it is made from only 5?”

Young also highlighted a need for M&S to clarify whether processing aids were used.

While the front of pack claimed the rolls were made using sourdough culture, there was “no mention of that on the back”, he wrote.

“If it’s the ‘dried fermented flour’, why call it something different, and where’s the quantitative ingredient declaration (QUID) required due to it being emphasised on the front?” Young asked.

“Having gone to the effort of minimising the number of ingredients, why has M&S chosen to unnecessarily list refined wheat flour from one supplier separately from the rest of the refined wheat flour from other (unnamed) suppliers on the ingredients panel?”

The post concluded with Young stating he had written to the retailer “to see if we can find out”.

M&S is understood to have introduced the ‘Only… ingredients’ range in response to shoppers’ growing concerns around ultra-processed foods.

The number of ingredients on front of pack have therefore been condensed to reflect items that shoppers might find in their cupboards. For instance, a recipe that listed ‘flour’ as an ingredient would not list its fortificants.

It comes after M&S’s Dark Chocolate & Coconut Date Bar, which also claims on the front of pack to have only five ingredients but names nine in the full ingredients list, also sparked online debate last week.