I recently purchased a loaf of Abbotts bread from Woolworths and noticed it was in a plastic bag with markings on saying that it could be recycled through Red Recycle in the supermarket. Since I know this soft plastic collection is no longer in operation, I have to wonder if Woolworths are freezing bread and reselling at a later date. Anyone know if this is the case. I may be wrong and Abbotts are just using old stock bags. If not the loaf I bought could be a year or more old…
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Hi @nicolaannestuart, welcome to the community.
The bread won’t have been frozen.
Manufacturers spend a lot of time and cost developing their packaging, to try and stand out to tempt a customer to purchase. To save costs, they also do large packaging manufacturing runs and hold significant packaging stock (so they never run out - which would be disastrous).
It is likely Abbotts are using existing packaging they have, have decided not to revise the labelling in anticipation of a plastic recycling program to recommence again in the future or have decided the cost to revise existing packaging isn’t worth it. The packaging may not have full current information, but the bread will be baked recently and not frozen for 12 months or more.
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Further to that, few companies with Redcycle bags have removed the reference. It is not just Abbotts.
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I have bought bread which is still defrosting, particularly the Alpine Bakery low carb varieties. I haven’t noticed that normal breads are subject to this, it seems the ones that are in bags that seem to be in a long life gas environment seem to have needed defrosting.
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There are many products whose labelling still refers to Redcycle and probably will until they’ve used up all their existing packaging.
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There are also numerous examples of product with the latest recycling symbols on the packaging. Colesworth included, tray and plastic wrapped products can have 2 or 3 requirements. One portion typically the tray to the recycle bin, another the wrap return to store, and a third such as a tie or label to bin-landfill. It’s unclear what will happen at the store assuming there is a collection point available? No need to mention RedCycle.
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Yes I’ve noticed that. They’re often microscopic too which isn’t great for older eyes.
A supermarket got fined $2,000,000 for selling bread baked in Ireland as fresh bread in Australia
Which one?
Coles. But that was 8 years ago.
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In the past, and I assume still, Woolworths Moruya has frozen at least some bread lines. Some of these products are then mouldy inside 2 days. I assume this is due to coastal humidity.
Bread’s a great medium for growing mould. High humidity and simply having been frozen will do the trick, especially if it was frozen while still warm from the oven. Any moisture in the air inside the bag condenses and freezes. If the bread’s allowed to defrost in the bag, the frost turns back into water, and the bread’s crust gets damp. Leave it out of the freezer for a day or so in warm weather and voila! Mould.
My approach with my home-made bread is to allow it to cool completely before slicing, then pack it into a bag, freeze, and keep frozen, taking out only as many slices as are required. Mould doesn’t get a chance to form.
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To my knowledge all that packaged bread is all fresh and not been frozen.But when it comes to the Supermarkets bread that’s a different story.
I can attest all the Fruit and Vege at Woolworths has been frozen since the season it was cheap. Also, the bakery is the same. I bought some “fresh today” items for morning tea and when I got to the office they were frozen solid. Even the supervisor at the front end was surprised when I brought them back and tried tapping a piece of Helga’s bread on the counter but it was frozen solid. I am sure the manufacturers manufacture dates on the tags to account for this.
This seems unlikely as many fruits and veges will show very obvious signs of being frozen, lettuce would be a greenish sludge, for example.
What makes you think it has all been frozen?
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At first I didn’t believe, but then I discovered this. GF is the owner of the Helgas brand.
Bread freezes and recovers quite well when thawed. It isn’t the same as bread two hours out of the oven but then neither are any of the bulk packaged supermarket breads. Bread made on the premises or in a hot bread shop is a different product. It is a small surprise to me that a maker freeze some lines as (like most of us I suspect) I didn’t know of it.
Here is another example from TipTop.
The idea that all, or even many, fruits and veges would be frozen by Woolies is another matter. I am quite sure that many are kept in cold storage, possible with some additional treatment, to keep them well past harvest date but that is not frozen. Fruit and veg are often not truly fresh or picked at the peak of ripeness but I would need to see some hard evidence not this kind of self serving claim with no justification.
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If you’ve ever lived in the bush, frozen bread is not rare. Along with a host of other foods, particularly in some camps on smaller mine sites. One exception I remember was where bread was baked on site and it was superb; no wonder I put on weight whilst I was there.
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