If something is sold in a supermarket should it be clear on the packet that it has been previously frozen? (not an exciting thread, its about bread).

[ZeroFuchsGiven]

As title says.

My dp and ds went to Tesco on friday night, they wanted Panini bread but there were none on the shelves in the bakery bit, they asked a member of staff who went in the back and brought them out 2 packs which were frozen, the date on them was the 6th.

Obviously they were to be put on the shelves the next day.

I am not bothered either way but just wondered if this was a thing, I honestly thought the fresh bakery products would be well, fresh! I normally buy these and freeze them but I didnt know they were previously frozen.

So is this how the fresh bakery's are actually run? Does anyone know?

I know the sainsburys local by me do this as I've seen it somewhere in some small print. Don't remember where. Probably depends on the store and the item. Some things are definitely cooked fresh although cooked have been frozen in their raw state

I’ve gone to buy ‘fresh’ prawns before and some of the packets at the back were still frozen because they haven’t defrosted them properly before they put them out.

Also I think the importance of listing it is less
Important with things like bread that don't come with a food poisoning risk. It's probably stated somewhere though if you look hard enough

Many of our ‘fresh’ produce is actually frozen at some point. Doesn’t really surprise me anymore

I dont think its important to say I just thought they WOULD

There is nothing on the packet anywhere to say it was previously frozen.

Ive been buying and freezing them for years and they defrost really well, I think thats what I'm more surprised about tbh.

Did you think someone was arriving at 4am to make all the dough for all the fresh bread in Tesco’s?

Some stores must be baking fresh. Our ASDA used to give away fresh yeast (they sell it now). Why would they have fresh yeast behind the bakery counter if someone isn’t making dough for bread?

Well yes, the staff in the bakery are not dressed in 'normal' Tesco uniform, they are dressed like Bakers.

I used to work at a supermarket bakery and yes they do come in at 4am. Earlier if its an online store. The loaves and rolls would be baked from scratch. Croissants and pastries from frozen, and speciality breads would be baked off from from frozen/part cooked.

Thank You, I was starting to feel a bit stupid thinking there were actual Bakers in the Bakery 😂

I worked in a Tesco Express and the only baking we did there involved putting the frozen bread, pastries etc into the oven for 10-15 minutes

Even the "hand made" bakery stuff is frozen. It comes in boxes ready made in dough form, half cooked or whatever it is, I don't know. I take it from the freezer, cook it, bag it and it goes out on the shelves as "freshly baked" cake/bread

I don't come in at 4am! More like 7am and nothing is made by hand from scratch with raw ingredients where I work. It all comes out the freezer from boxes that arrived with the rest of the frozen/chilled delivery. I don't work for Tesco though.

Thanks for the replies, Like I say I'm not fussed either way I just thought anything previously frozen would be labelled as that.

I have actually refrozen the leftover ones and have no doubt they will defrost absolutely fine.

In our local morrisons I think some of the bread is done in store (it has a very large open bakery and you can see them doing cakes etc), but most comes in ready made and then is just chucked in the oven briefly.

And yes I've also seen "fresh" prawns that were still half frozen.

@RainbowWheel, do you know where prawns come from? They wouldn't get to the uk still edible if they weren't frozen. Pretty much all 'fresh' fish is frozen.

Yeah, as I explained to the OP who was asking if ‘fresh’ stuff in supermarkets was previously frozen.

I'm here to congratulate you on your thread title, @ZeroFuchsGiven

Yes, I guess I would if I shopped there. They do at Morrisons

I remember an episode of Gordon Ramsey's series (the one where he shouts at people in America) and the massive argument about 'fresh frozen'. He wasn't having any of it.

I think it was calamari.

Mind you, I don't suppose I expect them to be actually making the dough at the supermarket

Is it Morrisons that always has unfrozen fish on the fish counter? They certainly sell fish that hasn't previously been frozen, and you can buy prawns that haven't been frozen - why do you think you can't?

My husband used to go in for 3:30am when he worked at a small-ish in-store sainsburys about 6/7 years ago and make much of the fresh bread alongside the bakers and a lot of the cakes on the counter too.
He hated putting the jam inside the donuts and always came home moaning that cleaning the cream machine was a pain.

@SarahAndQuack. Prawns come from either Canada/Alaska or Asia depending on whether warm water or cold water prawns, they are all frozen at source & shipped to the UK to sell as fresh. The supply chain is over a week so the prawns would be off if they weren't frozen.

Except for Icelandic prawns which come from Iceland

Prawns are an issue because you shouldnt re freeze seafood