Bread and Bakery: Real Bread Essentials

It could be said that food law all started with bread. The Assize of Bread and Ale 1266 is widely acknowledged to be the earliest example of food law. This early example and the legislation which followed well into the nineteenth century sought to ensure that bread was neither adulterated nor sold underweight.

In more recent times, while quantity or weight continues to be regulated under the Weights and Measures Act 1985, the focus has shifted to the use of fortified flour, the presence of acrylamide and additives in industrial loaf production.