Kingsmill

Bread makes an important contribution to the diet. It is an important source of carbohydrates and it provides protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals such as calcium and iron.

White bread is low in fat and sugar and it is a major source of calcium in the UK diet. Although it does not have as much fibre as wholemeal bread, it still provides around 10% of the UK's fibre intake.

Bread got some bad press in the wake of the anti-carb celebrity diet craze, but it's important to realise that carbohydrates are necessary as part of a healthy balanced diet and experts recommend that they should make up about a third of our daily diet.

Carbohydrates provide fewer calories (kcal) than the same amount of fat (carbs provide 4 kcal for each gram, while fat provides 9 kcal for each gram).

Most bread is low in sugar (less than 5%).Most of the sugar is produced naturally by the yeast during the fermentation stage rather than being added to the recipe.

Bleached flour is not allowed to be used in the UK or Europe, so all white flour is unbleached. Bleached flour may be used in the USA where it is still permitted.

The Bread and Flour Regulations require that wholemeal bread must be made from 100% wholemeal flour.

A bread labelled as 'brown' can be made from a mix of white and wholemeal flours or a blend of white flour and wheat bran. It would be illegal to call a loaf 'brown bread' if it was simply dyed white bread.

The major cereal grains are wheat, oats and barley. Whole grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally-occurring nutrients of the entire grain. Even if the whole grains have been turned into flour or flakes, they will still deliver the same great balance of nutrients found in the original grain. 

At the moment, there is no recommended daily amount for whole grain in the UK but in America they recommend having 48g of whole grain a day (2010 US Dietary Guidelines, based on a 2000 calorie food pattern). 

Salt is added to bread to help control the fermentation of the dough. It affects the texture and the flavour of the bread. We met the 2010 Food Standards Agency salt targets by the end of 2009 and are working now to move to the 2012 targets set by the Department of Health as part of the Government's Public Health Responsibility Deal. 

Sodium is a mineral required to help keep the body in balance, but too much has been implicated in the causes of high blood pressure. Most sodium in our diet comes from natural or added salt (sodium chloride). Food labelling rules state that we must label the level of sodium in the nutrition information panel - we give the equivalent salt level as well, as most of us talk about salt levels rather than sodium. The sodium and salt figures on pack are not designed to be added together as they are two ways of describing the same thing.

The only bread not suitable for vegetarians or vegans is Kingsmill 50/50 with Omega 3 because the omega 3 is sourced from fish oil (the most effective form).

All of our other breads are made only with vegetable fats and the emulsifiers used (E471, E472e) are sourced from vegetable oils. Any tin grease used is also made from vegetable oils, and all enzymes are suitable for vegetarians.

There have been some reports that bread can be made with animal based enzymes but we would like to assure you that we do not use any animal enzymes in our Kingsmill products.

We thoroughly check all of our ingredients including enzymes, to ensure that they are vegetarian. The only product that we produce that is not suitable for vegetarians has omega 3 derived from fish and is clearly labelled as 'not suitable for vegetarians'.

This is so you can see at a glance what is in a slice of bread or in one roll and how much of the GDA it provides. We believe that labelling based on Guideline Daily Amounts provides consumer friendly information.

We follow the IGD* Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) Best Practice Guidelines regarding the declaration of GDAs.

Their guidelines state that if space is limited, we should show the GDAs for an 'adult', in place of separate columns for men and women. Although there may appear to be plenty of room on our packs, we have to provide a lot of information and all of this has to be a reasonable print size to be legible, so we have found that the 'adult' figures the best way to incorporate the GDAs.

The IGD developed a set of GDAs for 'adults' using the women's figures to encourage appropriate consumption, particularly amongst those with low energy requirements, so we are in effect giving a 'worst case' example on our packs.

*The IGD is a unique organisation in the UK as it brings together the food industry, food retailers, consumer groups and enforcement agencies. 

While all of our bags are capable of being recycled, not all councils will accept them. However bags are recyclable through recycling banks, details of which are available on the WRAP (Waste & Resource Action Plan) website.

The aim of developing a range of breads is to produce great bread for all the family and every bread occasion - we're realistic about the fact that not all children (or even adults!) will eat wholemeal bread and Kingsmill 50/50 is a great way to give them whole grain goodness in their diet. In terms of fibre, our Tasty Wholemeal bread has 2.5g of fibre per medium slice, while Kingsmill 50/50 medium slice has 2.0g of fibre in one slice.

Kingsmill 50/50 with Omega 3 has 94mg of EPA and DHA per 100g and 38mg a slice. If you eat 2 slices per day, you will get 30% of your recommended daily intake±.

Kingsmill 50/50 with Omega 3 tastes like white bread but will provide you with more fibre than a normal white loaf and gives you an easy way to top up your Omega 3 levels. It contains the very long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), from fish oils. EPA and DHA are considered the best forms of Omega 3 as they are ready for the body to use. Our aim is to help families top up their Omega 3 levels - Kingsmill 50/50 is one of a range of foods with Omega 3 on the market, although the best source is oily fish.

±Recommended Daily Intake of Omega 3 based on 250mg per day, European Food Safety Authority, 2009

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential because the body cannot easily make them itself; they have to be obtained from the diet. They are biologically active substances, which influence a wide range of functions in the body - DHA Omega 3 is a major constituent of the human brain and retina, and is also found in breast milk.

Nutrients are more concentrated in the crusts because there is less moisture, however, there is still a lot to be found in the rest of our bread and we're realistic about many kids' tastes- if they just won't eat crusts then it's just one less thing to worry about.

It's simpler than you might think! We wanted to ensure that it was just like you would do at home, so we created a special machine, which literally cuts the crusts off once the bread is baked.

The crusts that are cut off our Crusts Away! loaves are combined into nutritious animal feed so that nothing goes to waste.

Baked to a special recipe, our Farmhouse White Loaf has a softer texture and a delightful fuller flavour, with a dusting of flour on its distinctively rounded golden top.

Seeds are naturally high in oils - the good news is that the type of fat that comes from seeds is the healthier mono and polyunsaturated types, while the one we really need to worry about (saturated fat) is still very low at 0.4g per slice.

All bread is good for you - and starchy foods should make up about a third of our daily diet. White bread is a major source of calcium in the UK diet and although it has less fibre than wholemeal, it still has 1.1g fibre in every medium slice. Our Tasty Wholemeal bread is a delicious blend of wholemeal flour and kibbled malted wheat. Not only does it taste great but it's a good source of fibre and of whole grains.