Buying bread or cake? Do not fully trust that label

Bakeries dominate a list of manufacturers duping consumers with misleading product labelling to drive sales, a report by the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) shows.

Investigations by the regulator in the year ended June 30 revealed that 15 bakers had misleading information on ingredients of their products.

Offending bakeries included DPL Festive, Broadways, Mini bakeries, Akiyda 2000, Uzuri Foods, Tiramisu, Fayaz, Absa, Kenafric, Kenblest and Bbrood bakeries.

Uchumi Supermarkets and Tumaini Supermarkets (Quickmart) were also caught in the investigation as well as Choppies Supermarket and See Sweet Royale, both of which have since exited the market.

Full disclosures

The watchdog fingered bakeries for failure to provide the weight of their bread and ingredients, while others marketed their bread as fortified but did not specify the alleged nutrients or vitamins used.

CAK ordered them to make full disclosures including revealing the ‘best before date’ when the bread went bad and not just ‘sell by date’ to protect consumers and not just retailers.

The authority says nearly all bakeries complied save for two mini bakeries and Akiyda 2000, whose compliance was ongoing by the time of publishing the 2021 auditor general report.

“The authority’s investigations established that Bbrood Kenya Ltd bread was not in compliance with the prescribed product information standards and ordered them to revise their bread labels to include information on the batch number, net weight, list of ingredients, and the date of manufacture. The case was closed,” CAK director-general Wang’ombe Kariuki said.

Shrinking bread sizes

The watchdog instituted investigations following claims of shrinking bread sizes as bakeries looked for ways to remain profitable amid increasing costs. CAK found some bakers did not show the weight of their bread.

The authority, however, said infringements did not cause harm to the health of consumers.

The price of bread went up mid this year for the first time in four years due to the rising cost of wheat, hitting household budgets at a time when the price of milk has also shot up.

Nearly all bread brands have recorded a price increase, with a 400 gramme loaf going up by Sh5 to retail at Sh55 while a 600 gramme loaf is going for Sh70 from Sh65 previously.

CAK said the price increase is consistent with presence of competition in relevant markets and closed another investigation on price-fixing among players.

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