Body & Soul1 min ago
''fresh Bread''
7 Answers
At one time if you bought freshly baked bread and rolls from a supermarket the 'best before' date was usually the next day. Recently I 've noticed that the 'best before ' date is 2 days ahead. So items put on the shelf on 3rd of month state best before 5th of month and are indeed still there on the 5th and are usually stale. How can they be classed as 'fresh' bread?
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There is no legal definition of "fresh" in EU or UK food laws.
The reason this is happening is that many supermarkets nowadays are beginning to include substances such as calcium propionate in their in-store bakery bread to extend the shelf-life of the bread both in store and at home. Calcium propionate essentially inhibits mould growth in food, which is the key reason why bread has a best before date. To be honest, everything else being equal, calcium propionate can legitimately be expected to extend the shelf life of bread by up to a week if the recipe dosage is right. It's not foolproof though as you can have a loaf that's fine inside but has a rock hard crust after a day or two!
Calcium propionate has been used for donkeys years in prepackaged bread made by the Chorleywood Process by Sunblest etc and can have some odd side-effects. My late dad used to get hiccups eating any bread made this way!
Long-life bread made by the Chorleywood process has so much propionate in it that the best date can be around a month ahead. Other preservatives are available and I've seen in the USA, bread that has a best before date of up to 10 weeks ahead!
The reason this is happening is that many supermarkets nowadays are beginning to include substances such as calcium propionate in their in-store bakery bread to extend the shelf-life of the bread both in store and at home. Calcium propionate essentially inhibits mould growth in food, which is the key reason why bread has a best before date. To be honest, everything else being equal, calcium propionate can legitimately be expected to extend the shelf life of bread by up to a week if the recipe dosage is right. It's not foolproof though as you can have a loaf that's fine inside but has a rock hard crust after a day or two!
Calcium propionate has been used for donkeys years in prepackaged bread made by the Chorleywood Process by Sunblest etc and can have some odd side-effects. My late dad used to get hiccups eating any bread made this way!
Long-life bread made by the Chorleywood process has so much propionate in it that the best date can be around a month ahead. Other preservatives are available and I've seen in the USA, bread that has a best before date of up to 10 weeks ahead!
Until the end of rationing in the early 50s it was illegal to sell bread baked the same day. It had to be at least a day old.This was to discourage over-consumption.
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