When will UK see new bread Regulations and guidance?

In February 2024, Defra advised the Real Bread Campaign that it had notified the World Trade Organisation of planned changes to the Bread and Flour Regulations. The proposed date of adoption of the amended Regulations in England and Wales was 15 July 2024.

As that date passed, the Campaign emailed the relevant officers at Defra to ask for a new date for adoption of the amendments and accompanying guidance. A week later, the Campaign had not received a response.

Amendments to the Regulations will include enabling small mills to legally sell additive-free non-wholemeal flour, and people to buy unadulterated flour milled from wheats other than Triticum aestivum, such as spelt, einkorn and emmer.

Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young said: ‘This delay and lack of communication is frustrating. Defra also assured us the amendments would be accompanied by new guidance on the “all flour must be wholemeal” labelling law. There are more than ten cases in limbo, some of which date back to summer 2022, as trading standards officers put their investigations on hold pending the promised official advice.’

The process of amending the Regulations follows a public consultation that ran from 1 September to 23 November 2022. Prior to this, from September 2021 Defra convened several meetings of a Bread and Flour Technical Working Group, of which the Campaign was a member.  

The main reason for amending the Regulations is to add folic acid as the fifth mandatory ‘fortificant’ in non-wholemeal wheat flour sold in the UK. The amendments are due to be adopted in Scotland and Northern Ireland later in 2024, with producers/manufacturers required to comply by October 2026.

The Campaign continues to lobby for its Honest Crust Act proposals that were not included in the consultation.

Updates

22 October 2024: "Subject to parliamentary processes, Defra are now finalising plans to lay this legislation in the forthcoming coming weeks..." Defra concluded: "Provisions will include a 24-month transition period for implementation of new requirements. We will be continuing discussions on implementation and accompanying guidance for new requirements with relevant stakeholders. We will provide an update again when the final legislation is published."

1 August 2024: Defra replied to the email we sent on 15 July - 'In terms of timings the election has meant the date for adoption as projected in the WTO notification wasn’t possible. We can’t provide specific dates at this time as we need to confirm next steps with new ministers. Once we have more clarity on this, I will look to update you and other interested stakeholders.'