§ Mrs. Cazalet Keirasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will consider issuing a leaflet setting out the best method of keeping the national loaf fresh?
§ Mr. MabaneThe best method of keeping national bread is to wrap it in a clean dry cloth and store it on a shelf in a cool, light, dry pantry. Wide publicity has been given, and is still being given to this advice in "Food Facts Advertisements," in Exhibitions, on the Kitchen Front broadcasts and by other means. A test has been recently carried out by the Ministry of Food of loaves purchased in 21 different towns throughout the country. These loaves were purchased in the normal manner and were posted to the Ministry's headquarters. On arrival the loaves were stored for 8 days in the manner suggested. On the eighth day the loaves were examined in the presence of members of the Press, and were all found to be still in good condition. In the normal way there should be no necessity to store bread for more than 3 days, and it is clear from this test that National bread selected at random throughout the country is well capable of storage for at least that length of time. A common mistake is to enclose the bread in an air-tight tin or to put it into containers which either are not ventilated or kept properly clean. I am gratefult to my hon. Friend for calling attention to this matter and while I do not consider that the production of a special leaflet is necessary, I hope that my reply will secure that adequate publicity is given to the best method of keeping the national loaf in a fresh condition.