Tesco drops ‘expertly baked in store’ claim following trading standards complaint
Source: bakeryinfo.co.uk, 28th July 2026
Tesco has switched out its bakery aisles signage that claims products have been ‘expertly baked in store since 1968’.
The retailer confirmed to British Baker that this was part of its regular review of in-store signage. In its place, Tesco has put the updated pledge ‘expertly selected for quality & taste since 1919’, which it noted better reflected the range of bakery items it sold across all store formats.
The move comes two years after the Real Bread Campaign submitted a complaint to Hertfordshire County Council, which is Tesco’s primary authority for trading standards. The complaint alleged that instead of baking in store, Tesco was stocking prefabricated products brought in from distant factories (some overseas) and simply defrosting or baking them off in what it labelled “loaf-tanning salons” to brown and crisp the crust.
A council spokesperson also confirmed the change to British Baker, saying: “We have discussed this with Tesco and they have let us know that they are moving to more generic instore signage to better cover the full variety of items they sell”.
The Real Bread Campaign highlighted how trading standards officers had not confirmed whether Tesco had stopped making other claims in its bakery signage cited in its May 2024 complaint, such as ‘baking fresh from our ovens every day’ and ‘freshly baked throughout the day’.
Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young said he welcomed the long-overdue result of Tesco’s signage update, whilst continuing a call on all bakeries and retailers to be “fully honest and transparent about where, when, how and with what their products are made, so that shoppers have the chance to make better-informed buying choices”.
He added that what’s really needed is a change in law. “Shoppers need to be able to trust that a retailer’s promises are true and that they are not being misled by omission of key facts,” said Young. “We continue to fight for an Honest Crust Act of updated and improved legally-binding standards, and urge the government to properly fund and empower consumer protection services.”
A previous complaint lodged by the Real Bread Campaign resulted in Morrisons removing its ‘made in store from scratch’ claim at in-store bakeries back in 2024.
Other action from the organisation over recent years has seen Lidl dropping the word ‘Sourdough’ from its Crusty Wheat & Rye Bloomer loaf, and Ocado renaming its own-label loaves from Wholemeal Sourdough to Brown Sourdough.
