Florence Ofori-Agyeman, the Chief Executive Officer of Bakerz Relish, a baking firm, has advised bread consumers to avoid keeping it beyond four days, warning that extended shelf life could indicate excessive use of preservatives or unsafe baking practices.

Sharing insights from her decade-long experience in the baking industry in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Ofori-Agyeman said bread, as a processed food, should naturally have a short lifespan.

“Bread should not go beyond four days,” she cautioned, explaining that under normal conditions, even with proper storage, bread should not remain fresh for unusually long periods.

“When bread lasts for more than a week or two, consumers should ask questions,” she added.

Ofori-Agyeman, whose Bakerz Relish firm started in 2016, currently produces both therapeutic and non-therapeutic bread varieties, incorporating ingredients such as moringa, tiger nuts, millet, oats, and soy to promote healthier consumption.

Drawing from skills she learned during childhood from her mother, she said she turned to baking as an alternative livelihood and had since grown her business into a thriving enterprise.

Ofori-Agyeman noted that while preservatives were not inherently harmful, their misuse remained a concern in the industry.

She pointed out that some bakers continued to use unapproved substances or apply approved additives in excessive quantities to prolong shelf life, warning that such a practice could have dire consequence on the health of consumers.

“There are practices that have been passed down without questioning their effects. We need to ask why we use certain ingredients and what they do to the body,” she said.

The CEO also expressed concern over the continued use of harmful substances by some bakers, such as potassium bromate, a known carcinogen, and certain hydrogenated fats linked to cardiovascular diseases.

She, therefore, called on the relevant institutions like the Food and Drugs Authority to increase public education and regulatory oversight to ensure safe baking practices, stressing that bread had become a staple food and must be produced with the highest standards of safety and nutrition in mind.

“Bread has become a staple now, no longer a luxury, so we cannot continue doing things the old way,” Ofori-Agyeman advised.

“Institutions like the Food and Drugs Authority must step up public education and oversight, so bakers understand what is safe and consumers are protected. If we don’t ensure the right practices and ingredients, then we are putting people’s health at risk.”

To better preserve bread to avoid early spoilage, she advised consumers to keep bread in freezers rather than refrigerators to maintain freshness.

She also recommended portioning bread before freezing to avoid repeated thawing and refreezing, which could compromise food safety.

Additionally, the CEO encouraged the consumption of toasted bread, noting that it could improve digestibility.

“Toasting helps break down the starch, making it easier for the body to absorb and benefit from it,” she added.