The little-known trick supermarkets use to make bread appear ‘healthier’

With so many options to choose from, picking a loaf of bread at the supermarket is no easy task.

Some people will gravitate towards brown bread, as they assume it’s the healthier option, but it turns out it might not always be what it appears.

An expert has flagged a trick manufacturers use on supermarket bread that makes it look brown even though it’s actually made with refined white flour.

Clare Thornton-Wood, the lead principal dietitian at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, tells Metro that it’s ‘common’ for bread to be cosmetically coloured.

What is fake brown bread?

‘Generally, the colour comes from [adding] molasses or malt powder.’
So, how do you know if the bread you’re buying is actually brown?

To give yourself the best chance of buying the ‘healthiest’ bread, what you’ll want to do is carefully examine the name on the packet and label, as well as the ingredients list.

For bread that’s in a supermarket bakery section, and is loose/not pre-packaged, the list might not be easily accessible – you’ll likely have to ask a member of staff to provide it.

When you have this information, check the ingredients to see if the brown bread is made with ‘wheat flour’.

If so, it’s likely been made with refined white flour, and the colour is cosmetic.

To find the real deal, you’ll want to pick bread made from 100% wholemeal or wholewheat flour.

Interestingly, you should be safe with bread that’s named and clearly labelled as wholemeal, as wholemeal is protected by UK law under the Bread and Flour Regulations (1998).

Hey, foodies!

Add us as a Preferred Source

At Metro Food, we're here to bring you all the latest foodie news, delicious recipes, restaurant reviews, and cooking tips.

As a loyal reader and a part of our vibrant community, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories
Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.

Add us as a Preferred Source

This states that the word ‘wholemeal’ is only allowed to be used in the name of the bread when all of the flour used in it is wholemeal.

Although the Real Bread Campaign says this is ‘hard to police’, and they claim to have found previous examples in supermarkets where wholemeal bread wasn’t made using 100% wholemeal flour.

With that in mind, it’s worth giving the ingredients list a once-over before you pop your bread in the trolley.

Another trick to look out for...

In the UK, all bread made with non-wholemeal flour is required to be fortified with calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin and folic acid.

Clare explains: ‘This is mainly to replace these nutrients that are removed when the flour is processed and the wheat germ removed.’
So, if these additives aren’t listed on the ingredients list of your supermarket bread containing wheat flour, there’s a good chance it wasn’t actually made in the UK.

Is supermarket bread actually healthy?

However, Clare says she believes supermarket bread ‘can be’ healthy, adding that wholemeal bread is the ‘ideal’ choice.

But like everything, she states that this should be ‘eaten in moderation’.

‘It would be fair to say that wholemeal bread provides more nutrients such as fibre, protein and vitamins and minerals than most other types of bread; however, it does not mean that all other types are necessarily  “bad”,’ she explains.

‘Seeded bread is also a very good choice, the seeds provide fibre, protein and healthy fats, including Omega 3s.

‘Fibre content is important – try to choose a bread that has at least 4.7g of fibre per 100g.’
However, she doesn’t want people to stress too much about buying bread at the supermarket.

If you tend to prefer white bread, the expert has nothing against you eating this and points out that it’s actually a ‘useful source of calcium’, due to the added calcium carbonate it contains.

She adds: ‘As a nation, we know that we eat too many ultra-processed foods; however, this is not generally driven by bread consumption but by many other highly processed foods such as biscuits, cakes, sausages, and ready meals.

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.