Making of Bread Act 1757
| Act of Parliament | |
 31 Geo. 2. c. 29 | |
| Other legislation | |
|---|---|
| Repeals/revokes | Price and Assise of Bread Act 1709 |
The Making of Bread Act 1757 (
bones
to keep bread white.
Background
Right Honourables, saving the loaves, and dividing the fishes by James Gillray
In
British – governments
since at least the thirteenth century. Prior to the mid-eighteenth century, selling underweight bread was a punishable offence, and thus sometimes stones were used to increase the weight of bread to avoid the regulation.
As white bread became preferable, so did the adding of alum. The concept that a
wholegrain, and which was discouraged during times of food shortage.[1] Bakers in 1735, complained about the poor quality of flour they received. Traditionally an exporter of wheat, after 1750, England began importing it, with the consequence of rising prices of bread.[2]
The originating bill was introduced after a report accused bakers of using alum lime, chalk and powdered bones to keep bread white, and was passed and published in 1757.[3][4]
The Act
The Act aimed to protect the making of bread and punish those that adulterated it.[4] It generally related to London, with the aim of changing people's behaviour in bread consumption. In order to persuade bakers to make and sell household bread, the Act abolished the traditional White and Wheaten grades.[2]
Effects
The Act had little effect on eating habits in
Wheaten bread to the new household type.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Cockayne 2007, p. 100.
- ^ a b c Petersen & Jenkins 2017, pp. 102–105.
- ^ "History of Bread - The Industrial Age (1700-1887)". Federation of Bakers. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ^ a b Rhys-Taylor 2020.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-300-11214-6.
- Petersen, Christian; Jenkins, Andrew (2017). Bread and the British Economy, 1770–1870. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85928-117-8.
- Rhys-Taylor, Alex (12 May 2020). Food and Multiculture: A Sensory Ethnography of East London. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-18173-9.