The whole wheat bread will finally be: why the new regulation benefits the Spanish consumers

The regulations governing the manufacture and trade of bread in Spain date back to 1984. Technological progress and new forms of consumption necessitated its renewal; In addition, controversial aspects have emerged in recent times that should be clarified. The new regulation, announced at the Council of Ministers on April 26, 2019, addresses some of these aspects and is a clear improvement over the old. Let's see why.

A first aspect to emphasize is the definition of common bread as opposed to special breads. In the old regulations, the definition of plain bread was somewhat restrictive and some breads, such as those made from blends of white flour and bran and bread without salt, were included in the specialty bread category.

This clbadification would not be more important if it was not used because it serves to establish VAT on bread and permitted additives, which are more limited for this type of bread. Thus, ordinary bread was subject to a very low VAT (4%), whereas special dishes had a reduced VAT (10%).

In 2012, the curious situation that gluten-free breads, the only ones consumed by the collective celiac, could have a VAT higher than ordinary bread, was discussed. This has hurt the group that already has enough problems and since then, gluten-free bread has the same VAT rate as ordinary bread.

The new regulation makes it clear that bread made with whole flour, to which bran has been added, without salt or with a lower content of it, will be considered common. Therefore, they will all have the same super reduced VAT.

With this modification, we obtain that breads with better nutritional characteristics, or that must be consumed by certain problem groups, are not registered with a higher VAT. This could increase its production and consumption.

The new regulation also addresses the definition of wholemeal bread. The old regulation was very diffuse and defined it as "the one based on complete flour". This included bread with 1% whole flour (and 99% white) until it was fully processed with whole wheat flour.

This is very important because the nutritional benefits of whole bread are related to the presence of the external parts of the grain (bran and germ). The information that reaches the consumer could be confusing.

The new regulations clearly indicate that integral bread can only be used to make whole bread. If the manufacturer makes bread by mixing whole wheat flour and white flour, you must indicate the percentage used. With this measure, the information is clearer and the consumer can make purchasing decisions with more guarantees.
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At this stage, the new flour regulation, which was renewed in 2016 and clearly defines the term whole flour, which should contain all the grain, was also positive. It is not possible to market blends of white flour and bran as complete flour.

Something similar has happened with cereal breads other than wheat, such as rye, oats and corn. Until now, this denomination could be used in breads made from wheat flour and a small proportion of these flours. The new regulation clearly states that rye breads or other cereals must be prepared exclusively with these flours and indicates the percentage if blends are used.

In the same way as in the case of whole grain breads, some consumers opt for this type of bread for nutritional reasons and should have the most complete information possible.

The rise of the loaves of the mother mbad and its good image have made its definition necessary, not treated in the previous regulations.

In this case, the regulation is quite restrictive. Unlike what happens with whole grain breads and cereals, it's not possible to indicate a percentage of leaven. In order for the bread to be considered "made with leaven", a minimum proportion of the leaven (5% on the weight of the flour) is defined and, above all, the use of baker's yeast in the kneading is limited to a maximum. 0.2% on the weight of the flour.

In our country, many bakers made breads with higher percentages of yeast, but also with higher percentages of yeast; these breads are therefore not part of the current definition.

The result should be that the amount of "leavened" breads on the market is not very high and has a very acidic taste, because of the fermentations of lactic acid from this process. These fermentations will dominate the low percentage of yeast used.

The benefits of sourdough are more related to the flavor and aroma of the bread, as well as its shelf life, and the consumer must decide to buy them for these characteristics rather than for the definition on the shelf. # 39; tab.

In the same way, bakers should try to make bread suited to the taste of their customers rather than seeking specific labeling. For this, the use of the mbades is positive, even if the amount of yeast used must be greater than 0.2%.

A final point is the reduction of the salt content of bread. This problem is not new: the current bread has been reducing it for years, as a result of agreements between the government and producer badociations.

Although bread is not a high-salt product, its daily consumption makes it one of the main sources of salt in our diet, after sausages. It is known that high consumption is linked to a high mortality rate and, in Western countries, sodium consumption is higher than that recommended. Therefore, any effort to reduce salt intake should be welcome.

The problem is that salt improves the taste of bread and other products. So, salt reduction should be done gradually. In fact, the deadline of 2022 is the following to comply with the restrictions imposed. The inclusion of this point in the regulation confirms the success that these actions already have.

From now on, it is important to have tools to correctly comply with this standard. As has been demonstrated, the regulations in force to date have not been respected. A study from the University of Valladolid showed that only 35% of the complete breads were made from whole flour in its entirety and that 15% of the cases were not in compliance with the regulations in force.

These cases can undermine consumer confidence in the system, with very negative results.

It would also be useful to have a unified definition of the term "integral bread" throughout the European Union (at present, each country defines it in one way), which would allow the existence of nutritional claims in its packaging. It is shown that a higher consumption of whole bread improves the health of the population, so anything that is done to increase its consumption can be positive. However, the unified definition goes beyond what is addressed in these regulations and will have to be left for a future.

Manuel Gomez Pallarés: Professor of Food Technology, University of Valladolid