INDEPENDENT BAKERY OPTS FOR TRAFFIC LIGHTS

A Northern Ireland bakery has become the first in the United Kingdom to apply the Food Standards Agency's traffic light labelling system on a premium range of its cakes. Graham's Home Bakery, based in Dromore in County Down, launched its new Indulgent by Graham's premium cake range at the recent Food and Drink show in Birmingham. The new luxury cakes currently feature three flavours - banofee, cappuccino and chocolate. While many of the cakes will carry a red light, Graham's isn't worried. It wants consumers to be clear what's in the cakes, according to sales manager Alistair Toal. ???We like to think of ourselves as a responsible manufacturer of quality food and what we are trying to do by adopting the labelling system is to give people a choice. We want to inform them clearly and easily what is in our products. ???It is an indulgent cake, a treat and people already know this, but rather than printing no information whatsoever, we want to give them the opportunity to make a decision when they are purchasing food during the weekly shop. They will have other products which will possibly have a lot of green in them and it's all about having a balanced diet. ???The red does not mean stop. What it simply means is that there is a higher than normal level of fat and sugar within that product and can be eaten as part of a balanced diet,??? he says. Graham's, one of Northern Ireland's leading home bakeries, is a leading supplier of cakes and muffins to MSVC, the owner of the SuperValu and Centra stores in Ireland and Budgens and Londis in Great Britain. Established in 1955, Graham's has been supplying MSVC NI to 121 SuperValu and Centra stores in the region since 2003. It also supplies its cakes to Dunnes in the Republic of Ireland. The company's product range includes celebration cakes, slab cakes, bagels, and tray bakes. Its brands include ???The Big Bun', a jumbo, premium muffin in flavours such as cappuccino and dulce deleche, banofee with Bavarian custard, and fruit-packed blueberry and ???Pick Me' cakes. The latest ???Indulge in Graham's' range features premium cakes made with the finest ingredients. The company's products are handcrafted and free from artificial flavours, colours and hydrogenated fats. Graham's success demonstrates the values embedded in the recently launched ???Northern Ireland Good Food Is In Our Nature??? campaign.