Marks & Spencer (M&S), the food and clothing chain, has announced it will become the first UK retailer to start adding fibre to its entire range of pre-packed bread and rolls.

From January, there will be a minimum of 3g of fibre per 100g of bread, with levels in M&S’ Supersoft White Bread increasing by 44% from 2.5g to 3.6g.

The move comes six months after the company announced it would make all its bread with yeast fortified with Vitamin D, providing a minimum of 15% of daily requirement with two slices. It is also part of a trend towards increased-fibre breads, following Kingsmill’s Great White, which the company says has two and a half times the fibre of a regular Kingsmill white loaf, and Hovis launching its Good Inside breads, which contain Omega 3, wheatgerm and fibre.

Jenny Galletly, product developer at M&S, said: “The days of the simple white loaf are numbered. We are now adding fibre to all our bread – including white, to make it healthier for all the family.”

The company added that recent surveys had shown many people were lacking enough fibre in their diets and that it hoped to extend the fortifying of bread with both Vitamin D and fibre to its instore bakery offer from April.