Irwin’s Bakery is a slice ahead of the game in Northern Ireland, with the launch of its new bread sizes. These come in advance of a new EU directive in April 2009, which will see bread weight restrictions lifted.

Irwin’s, based in Co Armagh, is bringing in new, smaller loaf sizes in one of its signature brands and claims it is the first bakery to offer new sizes in NI. In the summer, the firm trialled three new smal-ler loaves in its Nutty Krust range, to gauge consumer demand.

The bakery decided to make its 600g Nutty Krust Sunflower & Pumpkin Seed, 600g Malted Grain, and 400g Half Loaf per-manently available, after 300,000 were purchased following the launch.