ABU DHABI // Bread may contain a little less flour and a lot more air as bakers try to find a way round a retail price ceiling and rising costs.
Quality will be compromised as businesses shift to cheaper ingredients unless the Ministry of Economy allows them to raise their prices, bakeries and food experts say.
"Bakers will start to blow up their bread like balloons with more chemicals to give it more volume and more taste," said Sven Mostegl, a food and catering consultant.
"The problem is that in the end they will be cheating the customer. It is a bad story."
Global prices of food staples such as sugar, wheat flour and cooking oils are at record highs because of bad weather, growing demand and political instability in some producing countries.
That means some bakers may manipulate their recipes to compensate. Gluten, a natural protein found in wheat, can give bread elasticity and stability as it rises. Increasing the proportion can give a loaf more volume and weight for less money.
Customers would unwittingly be paying for less bread, while ministry officials would not be able to see the difference during routine checks of product prices and sizes.
"Some bakeries will use cheaper materials and decrease quality, or reduce the size of their bread," said Samir Malkawe, marketing manager for Al Corniche Automotive Bakeries & Markets in Abu Dhabi. "Bread is entering each home, from the highest to the guy cleaning the street. It is vital. The Government should not force bakeries to do this."
The bakery's invoices from its wholesale food supplier in Abu Dhabi showed that a monthly bill for ingredients including seeds, cinnamon, almond, spices and olive slices jumped by a third to about Dh1,200 in two months.
Officials at Khushi Trading Co in Dubai, a leading importer of sugars and spices, said the prices of sugar had risen by about a quarter in the past six months.
Mohammed Hutait, owner of the Lebanon Flower Bakery in Abu Dhabi, said the price of unsalted butter had risen 30 per cent, and the price of 50kg of sugar had risen to Dh170 from less than Dh100.
On some items, including bread, the bakery is just breaking even, he said. But the business remains profitable overall and he will not consider changing baking formulas.
"Many bakeries are being forced to make changes in the kitchen, but for us it is very simple — our customers would notice," he said. "If you play with the formula, you are playing with the quality. But many other bakeries will still do what they can because they feel they have no option."
Mr Hutait and Mr Malkawe said bakeries have been prodding the Ministry of Economy to allow an increase in bread prices.
But the rise in production costs is not enough to warrant an increase in prices at the consumer level, said Dr Hashim al Nuaimi, director general of the ministry's consumer protection department.
The ministry will do everything it can to ensure quality is not compromised as a result of the cap on retail prices, Mr al Nuaimi said.
"To put more water or something like this than flour is illegal, and if I find any claims that this is the case, I would make time and effort to give them a penalty," he said.
econroy@thenational.ae
SNAPSHOT
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August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston
August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's
August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley
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- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
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SPECS
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MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
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Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
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Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
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Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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May 15: Yokohama, Japan
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Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
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Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
