Lidl forced to rename bread after being accused of misleading customers

05 December 2023 , 10:15

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Lidl originally called the bread Sourdough Rye Crusty Bloomer (Image: The Real Bread Campaign/Facebook)

Lidl has been forced to rename one of its bread loaves after it was accused of misleading customers by calling it sourdough.

The Real Bread Campaign argued that the Lidl “Sourdough Rye Crusty Bloomer” contains yeast, which is not traditionally found in sourdough. This is because sourdough doesn't use commercial yeast to rise - instead, it is made using a live “starter” which is a naturally fermented mixture of flour and water. Campaigners had dubbed the bread "sourfaux".

The campaign group also said the loaf should not be labelled as rye bread, as it is made from 56% wheat flour and just 12% rye flour. Following the complaint, which was originally rejected by the supermarket before being raised to Trading Standards, Lidl has now renamed the bread the “Crusty Wheat and Rye Bloomer”. The bread retails at £1.99.

Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young said: “We’re thankful that Lidl has come up with a more appropriate name for the product but we shouldn’t have to be spending our time on individual cases like this. Whichever party forms the next government, we urge them to introduce our proposed Honest Crust Act of improved composition, labelling and marketing standards.”

He added: “In the meantime, we urge all bakeries and retailers to adopt the measures voluntarily, including displaying full ingredients lists of unwrapped products at point of sale, so shoppers can make better-informed buying choices.”

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A spokesperson for Lidl said: “In a recent survey conducted by YouGov, shoppers named Lidl as their number one in-store supermarket bakery. Their love for Lidl's baked goods was reinforced further last month at the Baking Industry Awards, after being crowned Bakery Retailer of the Year. We continuously review and update our bakery range to ensure that we have the best offering for our customers at the lowest possible prices.”

Which? said: “Many supermarket sourdough loaves we investigated contained additional ingredients that make it possible to complete a loaf in a couple of hours, making it cheaper to produce. While these ingredients aren’t bad for you, or unhealthy, they are not present in traditional sourdough bread. And if you’re someone who chooses sourdough because it doesn’t contain added yeast, you’ll want to avoid those loaves that contain it.”

Levi Winchester