Most bread 'not fit for vegetarians'

But because they are destroyed during cooking, bakers are not required to list them as ingredients, according to the Real Bread Campaign group.

These claims cast doubt on the vegetarian status of pre-packaged and in-store bakery bread, said Philip Lowery, director of the campaign, which represents local and organic bakers.

'This is a significant issue for vegetarians, vegans and Muslims, whom I believe would be outraged if they knew this was in their bread,' he added.

'We have written to the industrial bakers, asking them to voluntarily label their bread or stop using these additives, but have yet to get a reply.'

Campaign organisers are offering the public warning stickers to put on bread and urging them to sign a petition against additive use.

The Federation of Bakers, which represents makers of leading brands such as Warburtons, Hovis and Kingsmill, said consumers need not worry.

'UK bakers have nothing to hide. All wrapped bread produced in the UK is clearly labelled and strictly adheres to EU legislation,' said director Gordon Polson.

Real Food Response: This is a case of lazy journalism, which has misrepresented the facts to make a story that is easily challenged as of course it is not true that 'most' bread is unsuitiable for vegetarians. The writer found this piece from the Grocer magazine, which had slightly misquoted me, didn't bother to check any facts and went with a story that exagerated and made big errors.

What was actually said was that 90% of bread sold in this country is produced industrially using the chorleywood method; that bakers who used this method often used enzymes in the production of this bread that they didn't have to list in the ingredients list as they were classed as processing aids, and that some of these enzymes could have been made from animal sources such as pigs pancreas.

The real point was about the lack of transparency; the fact that we don't actually know what is used to make our bread because labelling laws allow manufacturers to exclude things from the ingredients list; and that some of these enzymes have been shown to leave residues in the finished loaf that could have health implications.