27/09/2026
The Real Bread Campaign stands for freedom of choice. We work towards everyone having a realistic chance to choose bread made without additives, for whatever reason(s) they need or want to do so.
The mandatory ‘fortification’ of almost all non-wholemeal wheat flour sold in the UK more or less denies the majority of us from having the choice of additive-free bread. We see it as involuntary mass medication of our nations, which effectively leaves most people in the UK with just two options: wholemeal bread or no bread at all.
Since 2009, we've called for a limited exemption in The Bread and Flour Regulations that would allow any mill to produce a quantity of non-wholemeal wheat flour without the mandatory additions.
To date, we've helped secure two exemptions to the UK’s ‘fortification’ requirements but they only apply to a very small percentage of the flour sold in the UK.
Please note that we don't call for the requirement to be revoked altogether. The majority of non-wholemeal wheat flour would still be ‘fortified’ but (this is the key point) the derogation would open up the opportunity to make an informed decision to people across the UK, not just those able to access and afford the currently very limited amount of exempted flour and Real Bread made from it.
Please also note that we do not have a position on any 'fortificant' individually and won't engage in speculation, discussion or debate at that level.
If you have personal health questions or concerns related to any flour ‘fortificant’, we encourage you to consult a registered dietician with the relevant expert knowledge.
When conducting your own research, we encourage you not to base conclusions / decisions on mainstream media articles, social media posts, or AI-generated answers / search results, all of which can include ill-informed (and even totally unfounded) statements. Please also avoid jumping to conclusions based on a single study / scientific paper.
One last point for now: in the UK (and other territories where flour ‘fortification’ is mandatory) the additions have always been exceptions to the no additives criterion of our Real Bread definition.
