General
Unit Price
Atta Bread - English Oven is the cheapest and Perfect is the costliest.
Multigrain Bread - Harvest Gold and Britannia are the cheapest brands and Perfect Bake is the costliest one.
White Bread - In terms of unit price, Britannia is the cheapest brand and Perfect is the costliest.
Test Results
Dietary Fibre
Dietary fibre can generally be described as that portion of food that is not digested in the human small intestine. It passes into the large intestine, where it is partially or fully fermented.
A high-fibre diet offers many health benefits, which include:
a) normalising bowel movements
b) maintaining bowel health
c) lowering of cholesterol levels
d) helping control blood sugar levels
e) aiding in achieving healthy weight.
So, bread with high dietary fibre is good for consumers.
- Perfect had the highest dietary fibre and Bake 1 the lowest.
- Atta bread is preferred over white bread mainly for higher dietary fibre content. Interestingly, dietary fibre in Bake 1 was found lower than that in the white bread brands we tested.
Multigrain Bread - Harvest Gold had the highest dietary fibre and Perfect Bake the lowest.
White Bread - English Oven had the highest dietary fibre and Britannia the lowest.
Protein
Atta Bread - Protein amount was found highest in Perfect and lowest in English Oven.
Multigrain Bread - Protein amount was found highest in Perfect and lowest in English Oven.
White Bread - Protein amount was found highest in Perfect and lowest in Britannia.
General Parameters
Acid-Insoluble Ash
Acid-insoluble ash indicates the presence of sand, dirt and dust in food products. As per Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Regulations, ash insoluble in dilute hydrochloric acid on dry-weight basis should not be more than 0.1 per cent in bread. So, lower is better for consumers.
- Acid-insoluble ash was found below the prescribed legal limit in all brands.
- It was found lowest in English Oven (Multigrain) (0.004 per cent) and highest in English Oven (White) (0.043 per cent).
- Potassium bromate was not detected in any of the tested brands. This is good news for consumers.
- Name of the product
- Trade name, if any
- Name and address of manufacturer
- Batch or code number
- Net quantity in grams
- List of ingredients in descending order
- ‘Use by’ or ‘best before’ date
- Nutritional information
- FSSAI license number
- Logo indicating ‘vegetarian’ or ‘non-vegetarian’ status
- Storage information
- Maximum Retail Price (MRP)
- Customer-care details
- Perfect Bake (multigrain bread) pack had two stickers on it, one of which was not legible. Nutritional information and customer-care details were not provided – a clear case of legal violation.
- All other brands provided the required information on their labels.
Potassium Bromate
Potassium bromate, an additive, is a flour ‘improver’ that is added to flour to strengthen the dough, allow it to rise higher, and give the finished bread an appealing white colour. Various studies have linked this additive to cancer. In India, the government has banned the use of potassium bromate as a food additive on account of its alleged carcinogenic (cancer-causing) properties.
Marking
The following information shall be clearly and indelibly marked on the label of each packet: