Does garlic bread really contain garlic? Specialty breads will be regulated soon by the govt

The Narendra Modi government is under pressure to scrutinize specialty breads. It doesn’t matter if it’s garlic bread, whole wheat bread or multigrain bread – the government plans to regulate the industry. Presently, specialty products cannot be manufactured in accordance with any established standards. In a draft regulation sent to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare by the apex food regulation body, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), five categories of bread will be regulated.

The draft has been received by the ministry, which has approved it. As part of the proposal, whole wheat bread, brown bread, white bread, multigrain bread, and 14 specialty breads will be regulated, including garlic bread, egg bread, oatmeal bread, milk bread and cheese bread.

According to the company, the move was made after our company received leads related to consumers spending much higher amounts of money on special breads without knowing what their actual ingredients were. According to an anonymous senior government official on the development, the government is buying garlic bread, but it is unclear whether it contains garlic flavor or a piece of garlic. In some cases, the price of such products is double or triple what regular bread costs.

According to the proposed regulation, manufacturers will have to add the ‘specialty ingredient’ – for instance, garlic in garlic bread – to at least a certain percentage of the total flour content. As an example, oatmeal bread must contain at least 15% of oatmeal while garlic bread must contain a minimum of 2% garlic or brown bread must have at least 50% whole grain flour.

Bread categories under scrutiny
Whole wheat bread is the first category mentioned in the draft regulation in which the specialty ingredient is whole wheat flour, which should constitute at least 75% of the flour, whereas multigrain bread must contain at least 20% of grains other than wheat. As part of the specialty bread category, the draft stipulates that ‘the specialty ingredient’ must be present in cases where a prefix is added to the term ‘bread’.

Milk breads, for example, must contain 6 percent milk solids while honey breads must contain 5% honey. Likewise, cheese breads should contain 10% of cheese and wheat germ or oregano breads should contain a minimum of 2% of these ingredients. Breads with fruit, rye, triticale, raisins and protein-enriched ingredients should also contain 20% of the special ingredient.

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According to confectionery giants, most of their products follow uniformity. ‘Unfortunately, local products are not compliant with any standards. Audits and random checks won’t be efficient without regulation of the sector,’ the official quoted above said. A draft will be made available to the public for comments once it has been approved by the ministry, after which notification is issued. Following the final notification, the industry will receive handholding followed by ‘random sample checking.”