Bread Quality Raises Eyebrows

Established bakeries blame the rising phenomenon on clandestine bakeries and the poor quality of flour that floods the market.

It is almost a free for all trade. Bread making in Cameroon, like many other sectors, has been invaded by quacks, with the end result being the not-so-satisfactory quality of products served customers.

Bread is highly consumed in Cameroon, reason why it is easily found in almost all shops in neighbourhoods.

But ask where some of it is produced, and you will never get the answer.

The distribution chain is established by stakeholders and most of them are quick to note that it is a survival of the fittest game where the smartest wins the market and desired gains.

A phenomenon that has left many wondering, given that the quality and weight of what they purchase in most of the shops leaves much to be desired.

André Noël Tsafack, a bread vendor in Yaounde, told Cameroon Tribune, that he has seen the good, bad and ugly site of bread production in Cameroon.

Clandestine bakeries have cropped up, with respect for standards almost inexistent.

“They operate till about 4 a.m after which you only see the products in shops,” said André Noël Tsafack.

Cameroon Tribune was shown all the local bakeries from the Etoudi to Biyem-Assi neighbourhoods; most of which do not respect the weight and quality as required by the standards set by government.

“Clandestine bakers, kill the market for established bakers and vendors as they supply almost all the shops in the neighbourhoods, making it impossible for people to buy straight from bakeries,” André Noël Tsafack said.

The situation in conventional bakeries might differ, though pastry chefs and biscuit manufacturers say there is more to the unstable quality of bread that consumers sometimes find in the market.

The quality of flour has not been the same for some time now, with business persons blaming low quality on the rising phenomenon.

The Production Manager at the Calafatas Bakery, Christoph Essouga, regrets that they have had to destroy thousands of loaves of bread because of poor quality wheat.

“We are obliged to either readjust our ingredient mixture not to produce bread that will not meet the taste of consumers,” Essouga stated.

Meantime, a loaf of fresh white bread of 201 grams in most established bakeries visited is sold at FCFA 110, with bakery officials stressing that the respect for weight, quality and price remains their priority.

This is to allign with the regulation which focuses on the respect for the health of consumers.

“Given the role of bread and bakery products in the diet of most people, the Cameroonian government has made compliance with the statutory standard NC 213:2003-03 mandatory in order to regulate the activity,” notes the Cameroon Employers’ Organisation for Bakers.

The Cameroon standard for bread has been mandatory since 2004.