The wholemeal bread brands that aren’t as wholesome as you think

PICKING up a wholemeal loaf in the supermarket may not be the healthy option shoppers have been led to believe.

Some so- called wholemeal loaves contain up to four different types of flour, even though regulations state the name can only be used if all the flour comes from whole wheat grains.

Researchers at consumer group Which? compared the ingredients of 11 wholemeal loaves, including the big four supermarket own-brands and leading brands Allinson’s, Hovis and Warburtons.

Every loaf contained soya flour while fortified wheat flour, fermented wheat flour and barley flour were also discovered.

Four different types of flour were present in an Allinson’s Classic Wholemeal bread loaf, while three variants were found in both Hovis Wholemeal bread and Kingsmill Tasty Wholemeal bread.

Both wholemeal wheat flour and soya flour were found in Warburtons Wholemeal loaves.

While in the UK there is no legal definition for wholemeal, it is generally flour from the entire wheat grain, which contains the bran and the germ. Hovis told Which? its loaf complies with the regulation and that the wheat flour is being used as a carrier or bulking agent, not as a ‘flour ingredient’.

It also said ‘soya is classified as a legume, not a cereal, so again would be outside of the scope of the regulation’.

Experts said soya flour is apparently added to give bread better volume and crumb softness.

Allied Bakeries, which makes Allinson’s and Kingsmill, said: ‘We use fermented wheat flour in our Allinson’s Classic Wholemeal loaf for flavour and to help the loaf remain fresh for as long as possible.’ In both of these cases, the manufacturers claim that the non-wholemeal flours are not used as an ‘ingredient’ but fulfil another purpose, such as texture or to maintain freshness.

At Ocado, a 650g loaf of Allinson’s Classic Wholemeal Bread costs £ 1.35, while Kingsmill Medium Sliced Wholemeal Bread 800g costs £1.00 at Sainsbury’s.

Waitrose charges £1.05 for an 800g packet of Hovis wholemeal medium bread.

Which? said: ‘If you want to know exactly what flour is being used in your bread, you can always make your own.

‘With four ingredients – flour, water, yeast and salt – it’s very straightforward, especially if you use a bread maker.’

However, the consumer group said that even with the addition of other flours, a slice of shop-bought wholemeal bread contains about 2.5g fibre per slice, compared with the 1.1g of fibre per slice of white bread – still making it a healthy option. Due to grains being ground down during processing, white and wholemeal breads have a higher glycaemic index (GI) than wholegrain bread, according to Leah Dowling, lecturer in dietetics at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia.

This results in glucose being released into the bloodstream more quickly. Foods with a high GI index can cause blood sugar spikes and have been linked to a raised risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Regular consumption of lower GI foods helps to regulate blood glucose levels, keeping us fuller for longer.