Should a Shop Be Allowed to Say Fresh When It Arrived Frozen?
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I popped into Marks this morning for a Friday treat. I saw a belgian bun on the shelf behind the bakery section next to the oven and asked if i could have one. The lady said yes but advised they are still frozen! I feel very misled that my fresh bun in the freshly baked section was in fact baked else where. Frozen and defrosted!! Should shops be allowed to do this?
A lot of bakeries get around this by buying in the buns frozen, but then finishing them in-store (putting on icing, cherries or whatever) That way they can say they are freshly prepared in-store.
Slightly surprised M&S do this though.
I feel if it's sold as previously frozen it's ok, but putting it next to a oven implicitly implies it's baked.
I think most stores do that to some degree but its a rubbish process, many big supermarkets have their own bakeries where they bake bread fully from beginning to end but would use parbaking for smaller items like some cakes other smaller supermarkets, convenience stores or service stations use parbaking exclusively. The issue with parbaking is they add additional chemicals because of the freezing process and the bread is given huge amounts of yeast because only a subset will remain after the freezing process so if you are receiving a lot more yeast in the bread. There is also the factor that parbaking results in bread that is much shorter life when finally baked than conventional bread possibly because of the extra yeast so is often linked to more food wastage and not good for the environment. Parbaking is a low grade food product that is convenient for shops logistically with less waste for them and therefore more profitable, for the end consumer the advantage is smaller shops will stock bread and freshly baked products but if you have access to a proper bakery or a supermarket with a full bakery that is much higher quality option.
Most people don't care though, so much of our food nowadays is processed with additional chemicals added. However the issue is it can confuse people because they think the packaged bread is less good than the freshly baked bread when in fact its likely the packaged bread came from a full bakery and might actually be healthier than the parbaked bread that appears fresh. So proper freshly cooked bread is #1, packaged bread (Hovis etc) is #2 and parbaked is #3 but many would assume parbaked is #2 or even think its the same as #1.
I have to say Iv never taken this into consideration and would normally buy ' fresh' over packaged so this is really interesting to know BonzoBanana
MumOfThree I must admit it still smells fantastic but I worry abit about all the extra yeast, I mean yeast is a fungus and that may be why it is shorter life more of the dormant yeast becomes active so the bread is shorter life when finally cooked. Some people are allergic to yeast in bread although the symptoms may be mild.
https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-yeast-and-your-body
I just don't see the point you can often get normal bread for the same price anyway however I do buy it occasionally. My local coop often does it cheap sometimes less than 10p for a loaf or baguette after 7pm its hard to resist at those prices, I'm benefiting from its short life I guess. I bought one today actually for 12p about a foot, maybe 15 inches long.
I think they should not call it fresh.....but usually they call them freshly baked which can be confusing.
I do not really mind if something is frozen before cooking or baking.
I don't mind either its just having in the freshly baked section I feel really misleading. Specially ad you do pay more in marks.
MumOfThree I think M&S has some really great products and some of them are horrible...
I think there is a difference in freshly made and freshly baked...but like this u can buy the frozen pastry and bake it freshly at home...their plain u chocolate is one of the nicest....and plain u raisin is one of the worst.
I'm all for keeping things fresh but I really believe that they should be labelled as chilled or previously frozen or it is dishonest. I have a bad case of 'hate' towards supermarket carrots - if you don't keep them chilled (as they previously were) they rot within 24 hours yet there is no warning of this. Not good.
Yes agreed, i sometimes have a problem trying to keep fruit fresh at room temp and out all goes off i wonder of its because it's kept chilled.
MumOfThree Indeed it is - I now keep apples in the fridge and they last for ages. Perhaps we should demand more locally grown produce. (like that's going to happen and be affordable.....)
I don't think it makes much difference really, most item in the supermarket that are "Fresh" is not truly fresh in the sense of the word. Take for instance New Zealand Lamb how fresh could that honestly be , same applies to other Meats, Fruit ,Veg Fish etc. Even fresh milk these days have a 10 day date on it.
I take your point but my concern is the method of preserving the fruit and veg at it's best now reduces it's 'at room temperature' stability. Chill containers have vastly improved in efficiency over the past 10 years to the detriment of it's 'use by' time at the consumer end.
Not to argue with anyone but why pay for a frozen bun ....that is totally fresh...only frozen...as it has not been previously baked... and feel misled.
My opinion is the lady actually done you a favour....because you wanted it there and then.
What did M & S say when you aired your opinion?
I am happy to pay for something that states it has been previously frozen. I object to paying for something that will degrade if it is frozen again. Example:- I bought buns but nobody could manage to eat them so I feel that freezing them will keep them in tip top condition....... or maybe not.
I believe most shops do this, particularly the commercial ones on the high street . The only places that perhaps truly do things fresh on site are the independent shops, but you pay for that privilege
IF a company bakes an item, it can be considered fresh yes. Because they are getting it raw which is often the only way to transport food without it going off. After all, "Fresh Bread" can some times be a few days old before it gets to you.
Definitely not. If its baked in store then out to sell then yes but not when its not actually fresh.
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