Fat in bread

[Ramrod]

Three slices of bread have more fat than Mars bar
Lois Rogers and Jonathan Ungoed-Thomas



SOME bread sold in Britain’s supermarkets contains so much fat that eating three slices gives you more fat than a Mars bar.
Industry insiders have disclosed to The Sunday Times that food manufacturers are using fat to bulk up and extend the shelf life of common foods.



Until traditional local bakeries closed in the 1960s and 1970s, bread rarely contained fat. But it is used in new processed versions to ensure bread stays moist and fresh longer.

Research by The Sunday Times last week identified Marks & Spencer Organic Wholemeal Bloomer and Warburtons Seeded Batch as having some of the highest fat levels. Three slices of each contained 12 grams and 12.3g respectively. A standard-sized Mars bar, weighing 62.5g contains 10.9g of fat.
By contrast, some brands of sliced white bread, which has generally been regarded as the least healthy option, contained as little as 1.3% fat. The fat content of brown breads varied from 2.1% to 8.9%.

Although a small proportion of fat in brown bread might be accounted for by oil from the wheatgerm used to produce the bread, most of it is in the form of added vegetable fat and oil.

Modern production methods allow fat to be chemically manipulated so that the texture � described by industry insiders as the “mouth feel� of a processed food � does not give away the inflated fat content.

Malcolm Kane, former chief food technologist for Sainsbury’s, said: “The disproportionate amount of fat in the average daily diet, which is masked by the judicious use of other ingredients, is why people find it so difficult to control their fat intake.

“It is entirely possible for the industry to warn people about the high fat content of processed foods because they already do it with low fat products. Manufacturers don’t do it because they don’t have to.�

Jens Kristott, a food technologist for Britannia Food Ingredients which supplies the cocoa butter fat for Mars bars, said: “People think there is no fat in bread and there shouldn’t be. It is used in industrial bread-making because it makes the whole process much cheaper. Instead of wasting time and energy leaving the bread to rise naturally in a warm place, you can force in bubbles of air using fat to hold the structure.�
Tom Sanders, professor of nutrition at King’s College London, believed food manufacturers were adding fat because it was cheap and readily absorbed flavourings: “I am very surprised they are putting so much into bread. I have noticed that the average ready-made sandwich used to contain about 300 calories and now seems to contain about 450. That might be part of the reason why.�

A spokesman for Marks & Spencer said ingredients were clearly identified on its product labels in line with the company’s image as a responsible retailer.

Warburtons attributed its bread’s high fat content to the seeds in it. It said fat was added to bread to make it keep longer and was done in response to consumer demand.

'kin barstewards


link

[yesman]

Yes I get Fat in ma Whit Bread as well

[Jerrek]

Hmm, bake your own bread.


This is, to say the least, slightly disturbing, and I'd wager quite true here too.

[bopdude]

Just goes to show you, you don't know what your getting shoved down your neck nowadays, good job I don't do a lot of bread thanks to Mr Atkins


But fat in bread what next, *Soilent green mode ( spelling )

[Jerrek]

um, butter = fat... You need some fat in butter, whether that be oil, butter, or perhaps eggs.

[bopdude]

Originally Posted by Jerrek

um, butter = fat... You need some fat in butter, whether that be oil, butter, or perhaps eggs.

Granted but a mars bars worth

[paulyoung666]

isnt this another stop worrying about it job , if everyone worried about everything theey ate then they would be dead because they didnt eat anything

[Chimaera]

Right I have now declared my house to be a bread free zone - have crossed 'bread' off the shopping list for later and replaced it with 'standard sized Mars bars'.
Although how I will make ham sandwiches with them for lunch next week remains to be seen!
And they will melt in the toaster as well?

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by Chimaera

Right I have now declared my house to be a bread free zone - have crossed 'bread' off the shopping list for later and replaced it with 'standard sized Mars bars'.
Although how I will make ham sandwiches with them for lunch next week remains to be seen!
And they will melt in the toaster as well?

aint going to work i reckon , mind you , batter them and deep fry them

[Ramrod]

French toast anyone?

what a joke you cant compare bread with mars bars!! fat isnt the only ingrediant. Is 65% of a mars bar water? no its not but in some bread it is. grrrrrrrrr these people are just out to make a story and scare people.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by gary_580

what a joke you cant compare bread with mars bars!! fat isnt the only ingrediant. Is 65% of a mars bar water? not its not but some bread it. grrrrrrrrr these people are just out to make a story and scare people.

yup i reckon so

[Chimaera]

Originally Posted by gary_580

what a joke you cant compare bread with mars bars!! fat isnt the only ingrediant. Is 65% of a mars bar water? not its not but some bread it. grrrrrrrrr these people are just out to make a story and scare people.

Well it's scared me!!!!!
No more bread in this house - Mars bars all the way!
(I wonder how the kids will take that?)
Mind you, I think I read somewhere this week that white bread makes you fatter than wholemeal?? Perhaps we should just give up eating altogether?

[Theodoric]

Originally Posted by Chimaera

<Snip>Mind you, I think I read somewhere this week that white bread makes you fatter than wholemeal?? Perhaps we should just give up eating altogether?

It won't be a problem if you buy your sandwiches from M&S. They obviously feel that white bread is for the hoi polloi, not M&S customers. If you're fortunate you might find a ham and cheese sandwich made with white bread but otherwise you are likely to be out of luck.

[Mr_love_monkey]

The reason you find so much fat in bread these days is because of the way it is made - bascially they have a process called the CBP - the Chorelywood Bread Process, which basically though one method and another, allows them to greatly reduce the amount of time needed to make bread, i.e. it only takes a few minutes (I believe) to have the dough ready, as opposed to the day it would take for 'natural' bread, however a downside of this is the large amount of hydrogenated(hard) fat needed to keep the bread stable, and make sure that it tastes right, these days however hydrogentated fats are slowly being replaced with fractionated fat, which is basically made from palm oil - however, some literature has also linked it with heart disease, so it doesn't make it any better than hydrogenated fat.

A good book to read is 'Not on the label' which has a whole chapter on the bread making process - the whole book is quite an eye opener (or a stomach churner - especially the bit about chicken...)...

Also bread is classified as a high salt food by the Government Health guidelines, with .5g going into every 100g of bread.