The major bread fraud, what the tests revealed: Consumers’ health at risk

Tests carried out on whole-grain bread have shown that one of the samples does not contain the proper level of fiber.

The result shows a level of only 0.82%, or less than 1 gram per 100 grams of product. In short, the result is very close to zero, indicating that the bread is essentially a fraud. Although there is no officially defined quota, experts believe the minimum fiber level should be 6%, or 6 grams per 100 grams of product, which is also considered the European Union standard.

“We are not able we have failed to verify this, beyond certain standards that do not specify how much whole-grain flour the bread should contain, meaning what percentage is required for it to be called whole-grain or dark bread. We do not have these criteria,” said Ana Vuksani, lecturer at UBT.

“We saw that one ‘whole-grain’ bread had a very low fiber level it is not whole-grain bread. This is an abuse of quality. If people are looking for whole-grain bread as part of their diet, you must offer them whole-grain bread,” said chemist Ilir Pecnikaj.

“I cannot understand how quality can be abused, because it is the producer who directly abuses quality they know very well they are doing so. Why should you make me a very low-quality product and sell it as a high-quality one? That is the problem. I go to buy whole-grain bread, and you offer me mass-produced bread or bread made with flour that is allowed to be used only in pastry production, and sell it as whole-grain bread,” Pecnikaj added.

The specific case indicates that coloring agents were used in the bread and that it is not natural. In short, citizens are misled into consuming bread with added coloring marketed as whole-grain bread. In this case, the consumer not only fails to buy bread with health benefits but may also face health consequences.

“There is no specific percentage of coloring agents allowed in bread, and additives are among the main factors responsible for causing cancer in the human body. This is falsification a deception of consumers by taking their money for a product that is not what they are buying. Based on the amendments to the Criminal Code in 2019, this constitutes a criminal offense,” said Ana Vuksani, lecturer at UBT.

When whole-grain bread contains only 0.82 grams of fiber, it is clearly below the minimum level of 3 grams per 100 grams applied as an EU benchmark. It appears that oversight has not functioned properly or that something has failed, causing consequences for consumers. According to EU industry analyses, whole-grain breads on the market usually contain more than 6–7 grams of fiber.

“In truth, we are all here and have not heard of a single business operator being penalized for openly deceiving consumers,” Vuksani said.

First of all, fiber is not just a number on the label, it reflects the nutritional structure of the bread, how much of the grain remains in the product, and how it supports digestive health, blood sugar control, satiety, and other metabolic benefits associated with diets rich in whole grains.

“The additives considered among the main contributors to cancer, such as the coloring used in dark bread, cannot currently be properly identified in Albania, because we lack laboratory capacity to determine whether this bread is whole-grain due to quality wheat or the result of coloring agents and artificial improvers,” Vuksani said.

“Coloring agents are certainly used to make bread look like the bran-rich breads we used to eat, but in reality they are just dyes and provide no added value in terms of fiber. True fiber would come from grain that is less refined and less sifted. Most of these breads are made with additives that only give them color, while fiber levels show they are not of the proper quality,” said chemist Sokol Abazi.

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