Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Food Standards Agency on the use of the term (a) sourdough for bread products that do not use traditional sourdough bread-making techniques and (b) freshly baked for bread products sold in shops that that have been produced off-site.

The Food Standards Agency were part of the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations recent review of Bread and Flour Regulations. The key proposals for change are outlined in a public consultation published on 1 September 2022 which is open for responses until 23 November 2022. The Government considered the merits of requests for the inclusion of a definition for sourdough in law but is keen to avoid creating further regulatory barriers in trade at this time. The Government is therefore supportive of non-regulatory measures and encourages further work on the joint industry code of practice which could help achieve a better mutual understanding in this area and help address the technical differences around the production of sourdough. An update of existing guidance around commonly used marketing terms - such as reference to food being ‘fresh’ - across all foods is planned for the future.