Our daily bread can be a nutritional disaster | Letter

In his article on ultra-processed foods, Giles Yeo writes: “Ultimately, bread is made from flour, salt, water and yeast” (Why the double standards on ultra-processed foods? Because some have better PR than others, March 6) . That’s like saying that coal and diamond are both just carbon, or that vodka and whiskey are both just alcohol. In doing so, Yeo forgets (or overlooks) the transformative processes that lead to very different things. Lactic acid bacterial fermentation, fundamental to the process of making true sourdough bread, leads to flavor changes and, as mounting evidence suggests, could have health and nutritional benefits.

In the meantime, Chorleywood bread process breads are not “just” made of three or four natural ingredients. This industrial system virtually eliminates fermentation (like many acid products on the market, there is no lactic acid bacteria involved at all) and uses a cocktail of additives. Concerns are growing about the potential negative effects of this on the human gut and our microbiomes. That’s before any discussion about the potential effect of consuming additives and industrially modified ingredients. We recommend sticking to real bread.
Chris Young
Real Bread campaign coordinator