The new quality standard for bread, which comes into force on July 1, will guarantee consumers the acquisition of perfectly characterized and labeled quality products.
This standard, which was approved in Minister council through Royal Decree Last April, set a legal precedent in food quality standards by introducing positive taxation.
In addition, the new standard will improve the competitiveness of the Spanish bread sector, guarantee fair competition between industries, establishing the same conditions for all producers and facilitating innovation, meeting the new needs of consumers.
Likewise, it guarantees a high level of product quality and improves the information received by consumers, clarifying the sales denominations, as well as the rest of the voluntary information that the operators can use.
News of the norm
The bread quality standard contemplates stricter requirements to consider an integral bread, since it demands that 100% of the flour used be integral. It will be necessary to indicate the percentage of flour in the labeling for those wholemeal breads or other cereals that are not made exclusively with this type of flours.
It also includes more stringent requirements in the case of other cereal bread. For example, it is established for rye bread that is made only with that type of flour. The multicereal bread is also defined.
The definition of sourdough is specified, which is preserved at a type of processing that limits the use of industrial yeasts, and the requirements are established to use the name "made with sourdough".
Likewise, the norm defines the artisanal elaboration of bread, in which the human factor must prevail over the mechanic, and the requirements that must be fulfilled in order to include this mention in the labeling of the products.
In addition, a new definition of common bread is introduced, which includes breads made with other types of flour different from wheat, thus allowing the use of whole grain flour, other cereals. It will also include products that are more beneficial to health and are in high demand by the modern consumer, such as products with bran.
This new definition of common bread now allows a reduced VAT to be applied to many more products that are currently considered as habitual consumption in households, such as wholemeal breads, other non-wheat breads and breads made with bran. In this way, and thanks to the extension of the definition of "common bread", the reduced VAT rate (4%) plus types of bread that currently had a rate of 10% will benefit.
As a result of the negotiations between the different administrations, a measure has been included to limit the amount of salt that can be used to make common bread.