News and Events
FAKE SOURDOUGH ATTACK
On Tuesday 17 June 2008 New Norcia Bakeries launched an advertising campaign in its home city of Perth against the blatant selling of “fake sourdough” by many bread producers.
New Norcia Bakeries has also made representations to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in an attempt to bring an end to the widespread national practice of deceptive labeling of sourdough bread.
The move that has caused concern among bread manufacturers throughout Australia has been brought about by New Norcia Bakeries belief that many bakeries are trying to ride the wave of popularity of sourdough bread as more and more evidence of the nutritional and health benefits of genuine sourdough bread are uncovered.
“Sourdough bread is not new; in fact it is thousands of years old”, said Director of New Norcia Bakeries, Kingsley Sullivan. “However its authenticity and integrity are directly related to production of bread using live lactic acid bacteria, a true sourdough culture, without the use of commercial yeast. Unfortunately many bakeries are passing off normal yeasted bread with or without the use of additives to produce extra acidity as sourdough bread.”
He went on to explain, “The natural fermentation of starch and naturally occurring sugars in grains used for breadmaking by a natural yeast starter culture which harbours dominant populations of yeasts and lactobacillus in a balanced relationship is what makes genuine sourdough bread.”
“When milled grains are subjected to the long, slow fermentation required of genuine sourdough, phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors are neutralized, the vitamin content (especially the B vitamins) increases, and tannins, glutens and complex sugars are partially digested by naturally occurring micro-organisms into simpler compounds,” he said.
New Norcia Bakeries’ representations to the ACCC have been backed by the Artisan Baker Association, a national body representing the cream of Australia’s artisan bakers.
Executive Officer of the ABA, Graham Prichard said. “We are greatly concerned that consumers are being misled and in some cases, blatantly deceived. We are supporting a submission to Food Standards Australia to have a definition of sourdough written into the Food Code to ensure anyone mislabeling sourdough bread is brought to account.”
“I understand the frustration of a quality producer like New Norcia Bakeries who are having the integrity of their product usurped by pretenders,” Mr. Prichard said.