Bread prices have at last begun to rise, but this mainly reflects the mammoth increases in flour and energy prices. Our world poll on bread prices (pg 4), collated by the Economics Intelligence Unit, is up to date for September 2006. The places on the chart showing the price of bread in London and Manchester make shameful reading!

A new snacks brand - The Funky Snack Company - is being launched by Chaucer Foods (Hull). The brand's first products include a range of bite-sized toasties, which are shaped like mini toast and are available in both sweet and savoury flavours, including strawberry jam, cinnamon & raisin, marmalade, Worcestershire sauce, cheese & pickle and bacon & brown sauce. Marketing director Richard Brewer, says: "The toasties are ideal snacks for both adults and kids and great as food-on-the-go or in lunch boxes. They are high on taste but low on guilt and contain significantly less fat than many crisps and corn snacks. When we unveiled the range at a leisure exhibition, the brand's wacky logo attracted plenty of attention and the products themselves are recognisably different."

Belcolade, the Belgian chocolate from Puratos (Buckingham, Bucks), has re-launched its website, http://www.belcolade.com, making it more user-friendly and interactive.

Butt Foods (Nottingham) has launched a Bread Bowl, which is sturdy enough to hold soups, chilli and curry, and yet soft and tasty enough to eat.

French bakery manufacturer Délifrance UK (Wigston, Leics) is continuing to extend the grab-and-go market with the launch of four ranges of added-value ranges including sweet pastry baskets, filled croissants, filled brioches and a unique deep swirl of French croissant pastry. Délifrance UK's marketing controller Lucy Pickersgill explains: "The market for new and innovative snacks to eat on-the-go is constantly evolving, with consumers demanding more choice and variety in Continental morning goods and more fruit-based alternatives to meet their five-a-day intake. We are continuing to develop our traditional Viennoiserie recipes for the British market."

Greenhalgh's (Bolton, Lancs) has just launched its new range of savouries, jointly developed with top Indian chef Bishal Risaily, head chef at Victoria's India in Longridge, Preston.

It is thought that up to 45% of us may suffer from food allergies and intolerances. Livwell, (Hull) the gluten-free brand, has spent four years improving its bread range and has taken to Europe to source equipment.

dawn foods (Evesham, Worcestershire) is promising a breakthrough for bakers with the launch of its 'just-add-water' Choux Pastry Mix. Once baked, it can then be filled with fresh cream or Dawn New England Frosting and finished with Dawn Spread 'n' Gloss to make classic éclairs and choux buns.

January is the time of year when most consumers are looking towards healthy products to kick-start their New Year. Bread is a low-fat food, packed with vitamins and minerals, including calcium, iron, folic acid and B vitamins, says Kluman & Balter (Waltham Cross, Herts).

Steenbergs Organic has relocated its organic spice, herb and seasonings activities to a new purpose-built building, which uses 100% green energy.

The new Breakfast Selection from Bakehouse, supplier of breads and pastries for bake-off, is offering three continental favourites in one case - 16 All-butter Croissants, 10 Pain Chocolat and 10 Pain Raisin.

Baking pink birthday cakes modelled on My Little Pony is not what usually springs to mind when thinking of pastimes of adult, male prisoners. Yet this does not seem to faze prisoners at Lindholme's category C, medium security prison, which also holds prisoners serving life sentences.

T he UK is the world's bargain basement for bread according to new figures from the Economist Intelligence Unit, supplied exclusively to British Baker.

Well another year is over and we have survived, but it has been one of the most difficult years we've had for a very long time. While our year ends on 31 January, by the look of it we shall be lucky to have put on more than a 2-3% increase on last year on a like-for-like basis.

You would be hard put to find somebody who has lived in South Wales in the past 75 years who has not heard of Ferrari's.

I am writing to thank Mark and Sally Biggs from Biggs Bakery in Littlehampton for their kind generosity and for making it a very special Christmas for William and his seven friends in Hawthorn house at The Children's Trust, a national charity providing care, education and therapy for children with multiple disabilities and complex health needs.

George Saunders,

Des Benson

Organisers of Interbake China 2007 - one of Asia's largest international bakery exhibitions - say that Western expertise is very much in demand in the country, whether for machines, production, product design or packaging.

Wholegrain bread is being promo-ted as a 'superfood' across Ireland by food safety body Safefood.

Tesco's bakery sales are ahead of budget and up year-on-year, category manager Andy Brocklehurst told British Baker this week.

In the past 25 years, the face of retailing across this country has changed completely. In have come the big supermarkets and out have gone the local community shops - bakers often being a typical example. And I see nothing in the preliminary report from the Competition Commission that will change anything one iota (pg 8).

A Pat-A-Cake bakery and sandwich shop in Workington, has been put up for sale after the business went into liquidation last year (British Baker, 1 December, 2006) .

The move in Brussels to abolish national legislation on prescribed quantities for pre-packed products, such as bread, was a hot topic for bakers in 2006, and will continue to be so this year.

Administrators say "a number of serious, interested parties" have come forward as potential buyers of Welsh bakery chain Ferrari's, which called in administrators on 18 December.

A Sustainable Communities Bill, which sets out to protect high street retailers, was backed by 175 votes to 17 at its second reading at the House of Commons last week.

A major trend in the industry will be increased satiety, making the consumer feel full for longer. By increasing the amount of soluble and insoluble fibres in bakery goods - with such products having a low glycaemic index - energy is released slowly and steadily, helping to control appetite as well as cholesterol levels.

The National Association of Master Bakers (NA) board of directors met in London last week and decided to close its training section, possibly affecting five assessors.

Suffolk baker Mark Felgate was named as "The Nation's Tastiest Baker" of regional bread as part of the eighth Farmhouse Breakfast Week celebrations this week.

Organic wheat prices have hit an "historic high" as a supply crisis combines with soaring demand.

The National Association of Master Bakers (NA) has given its support to the Baking Industry Exhibition, which takes place from 6-9 April, 2008, at the Birmingham NEC.

The Federation of Bakers' (FoB) seventh annual conference will be held on 16 May, with a variety of high-profile speakers.

Vision Capital has ordered a shake-up of former Northern Foods' bakery businesses, after its purchase of the assets was approved by shareholders on 15 January.

nSTOP PRESS: Women can halve their risk of breast cancer by eating a diet rich in wholemeal bread and wholegrain cereal, according to new research. The Leeds University study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology this week, tracked the eating habits of more than 35,000 women over seven years.

The bun spice formula from Unifine Food & Bake Ingredients (Milton Keynes, Bucks) is three times as strong as the average liquid spice, claims the firm. Quality Bun Spice enhances the flavour of fruit in specialities such as hot cross buns, Bath buns, teacakes, fruit loaves and tea breads. It also banishes that bitter aftertaste often associated with spice concentrates, says Unifine.

Macphie of Glenbervie's (Stonehaven, Kincardineshire) market research shows that, consumers are keen to try new flavours in hot cross buns, with apple and cinnamon, lemon and raisin and chocolate versions all making an appearance in the market last year, as well as mini versions for children, and hot cross bun loaves.

Specialist ingredients manufacturer Zeelandia (Billericay, Essex) offers a range of custards, including Roma Cold Classic, to create trifles and Easter gateaux.

Bakers can use Kluman & Balter's photocake decorating system for Easter cakes. Images of rabbits, flowers, eggs or other Easter themes can be transferred from a PC to a special printer that uses coloured, food-safe ink to print onto sugarpaste sheets, which can be placed directly onto the cake. Kluman & Balter (Waltham Cross, Herts) also supplies basic cake pre-mixes, chocolate drops, shavings, curls, marzipan blocks and specialist glazing gels for Simnel cakes.

With Christmas over, the next treats to appear on bakery shelves are hot cross buns, according to Gb Plange UK (Runcorn, Cheshire).

With chocolate being a hit at Easter time, Bakehouse (Bagshot, Surrey) has developed the Triple Chocolate Danish, with a filling of soft, dark chocolate with white and milk chocolate drops, encased in a traditional plait of flaky Schulstad Danish pastry and topped with real chocolate pieces.

Sweet bakery and ingredients specialist Dawn Foods (Evesham, Worcestershire) is offering an Easter recipe, using its Baker's Select Carrot Cake base, as an alternative to the traditional fruit cake recipe.

Cheshire-based BakeMark's (Wirral) Easter lines range includes a number of versatile, easy-to-use products.

(Brentwood, Essex) the independent flour miller, offers bakers a range of premixes, concentrates and toppings, for producing Easter goods.

Do-it-yourself cake decorating is already a big hit in the USA. Now, new company Cake Décor, based in Glasgow, is set to capitalise on this growing trend in the UK.

Over-worked, obsessed by details and prone to fits of temper, chefs have a fearsome reputation thanks to the on-screen antics of Gordon Ramsay. So you might think selling bread to top restaurants is a nerve-wracking affair for a baker. Turn up with something that doesn't match the head chef's lofty expectations and there's a good chance you'll be sent away with a flea in your ear or at least a stream of invective.

Last year, Bolton-based Greenhalgh's set in motion ambitious plans to rebrand and expand its retail estate. Production director, David Smart explains that traditional bakeries like Greenhalgh's are facing increasingly tough competition from modern fast food chains and cafés, such as Starbucks and Caffè Nero, making modernisation and product innovation essential.

As with many things in life, size isn't everything. While the behemoths of the baking industry will naturally take up the lion's share of shelf space in multiple retailers, opportunities are opening up for small regional operators to supply at a local level.

With the countdown on to 2010, when the new Food Standards Agency (FSA) guidelines on salt levels begin to bite, and with retail giants continually shifting their marketing stance on additive-free, non-GM or low salt, bakers are under constant pressure to keep up with changing demands.

This year SIAB, the Italian bakery exhibition, comes around again, following the three-year agreed rotation with Europain France and IBA Germany.

Flour cost rises of over 25% will result in a 10% increase in bread prices in the Republic of Ireland (approximately 10-17 cents loaf), according to the Irish Bread Bakers Association (IBBA), which represents the major plant bakeries in Ireland.

Equipment supplier Aga Foodservice said its bakery operation continued to perform well, in a trading update this week.

The Real Good Food Company this week said that overall trading "exceeded expectations" last year, although Hayden's performance, part of its bakery division, had fallen short of predicted levels.

Bakery equipment supplier RH Hall is moving to a new 23,000sq ft headquarters in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.

supply chain, I am often in contact with companies that have an interest in new product development and innovation. Or so they say!

A new flavoured pitta chips business is due to start production in County Donegal, north-west Ireland, in April.

The Scottish Association of Master Bakers (SAMB) has warned bakers to be aware of new "poorly defined" gangmaster licensing laws.

n Quiznos, the US sandwich chain, has appointed Greg Brenneman, the former Burger King chief executive, as its new president and chief executive. Brenneman left Burger King in April and currently manages TurnWorks, a private equity firm, which has acquired an undisclosed stake in Quiznos.

Northern Foods said its remaining bakery business returned to growth of 1% in the third quarter, in a trading update this week.

William Reed Events & Exhibitions promised "massive investment" as it unveiled plans for a new Baking Industry Exhibition (BIE) this week.

Supermarket bread on sale in London is cheaper than bread on sale in Cairo, Bangkok, Beijing and even Manchester, latest figures from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) reveal.

Most traditional craft bakers report that their role on the high street has radically altered over the last few years.

A record number of 33 British bakery, food and drinks companies is set to exhibit at a trade show in Dubai, which aims to take advantage of the 80,000 British people who are now living in the Gulf region, according to research conducted by Food from Britain (FFB).

Bakery company Finsbury Food Group says it is finalising new premium cakes ranges for Morrisons, the Co-operative Group and Asda, following premium relaunches with Somerfield, Sainsbury's and Tesco last year.

Carrs Milling Industries said in an AGM statement this week that a massive increase in wheat prices, combined with high energy costs, will make it a tough year for its food division.

W e kick off our first issue of the year with a look at Britain's Top 50 Retailers by number of outlets (pg 14). I could have guessed the Top 10 and wobbled towards the Top 20, but there would have been more than a few hazy moments predicting the Top 50. One or two are struggling, but many are a real credit to the craft industry and we include comments from several key players.

Lyndale Foods has dropped its Maison Blanc Vite format, closing two trial stores in London.

The Scottish Association of Master Bakers' (SAMB) training department feels very encouraged and positive about the future of bakery training in Scotland, especially for 2007. Although the current round of European Social Fund (ESF) programmes is almost at an end and the future of this funding is very uncertain, Scottish bakers can really benefit from the 2007 projects that have been approved. Through the Scottish Bakery Training Council (SBTC), which develops and manages the ESF projects, the SAMB can continue to offer training opportunities for employed adults across all of Scotland during 2007. The SBTC has secured European funding to support training projects with a total value of almost £575,000 to help train bakery staff at all levels. As well as training leading to Scottish Vocational Qualifications at Levels 1, 2 and 3, the money also helps to pay for management and technical training.

"Irwin's bakery of Ireland, in partnership with the beer brand Guinness, has created a new Guiness bread, following two years of pro-duct research and development.

Administrators say they are hopeful of a quick sale after Welsh bakery Ferrari's went into administration on December 18.

n Northern Foods' shareholders voted in favour of the disposal of the firm's speciality bread, chilled pastry, cakes and flour milling businesses to Vision Capital at an Extraordinary General Meeting this week.

Tortilla supplier Discovery Foods has denied industry rumours that it is about to be sold to Mission Foods, which claims to be the world's largest tortilla company.

Tesco has been fined a total of £24,000 after a bakery worker was badly burned when hot oil from a doughnut machine dripped onto her feet.

Welsh plant baker Brace's says police are baffled after three of its £50,000 lorries were set on fire on December 27.

Bakery giant Greggs dwarfs its rivals on the high street, both in the takeaway and fast food sectors, according to British Baker's new league table, the Top 50 Bakery Retailers 2007 (see pg 14).