Today's consumer is increasingly interested in the ingredients of food products, carefully studying labels on supermarket shelves and striving to choose only safe food for their family. However, in an era of rapid information dissemination, alongside useful knowledge, a vast number of myths and pseudoscientific biases multiply across the media space. This is particularly true for white bread and classic loaves, whose industrial production often becomes the target of unfounded criticism on social media.

Sensationalist headlines about "chemical bread", "dangerous yeast", or "secret additives" frequently scare shoppers, forcing them to overpay for yeast-free alternatives. To understand where genuine science begins in these claims, we decided to look behind the scenes of production and expertly deconstruct each popular stereotype. Today, our guest is Ms. Vasylyna, Candidate of Technical Sciences.

— Ms. Vasylyna, welcome. Today, we are observing an interesting phenomenon in the consumer market. Shoppers have become much more attentive and are studying labels in shops in detail. Yet, along with the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, an enormous number of myths are spreading across social media. Industrial white bread and standard loaves have become almost the main target of such criticism. The greatest fear is associated with baker's yeast. Blogs often claim that yeast supposedly remains alive in the finished baked goods and subsequently harms the body. Tell us, as an expert, what actually happens to yeast during baking, and why is this myth so far from reality?

Welcome. You have noted this trend very accurately; the resilience of the yeast myth is indeed astounding, even though science explains it quite simply.

Baker's yeast consists of living, single-celled microorganisms of the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Their sole and crucial role is to carry out complex biochemical processes during dough fermentation. In other words, they are only needed at the preparation stage to make the dough rise and give it a fluffy texture.

Once the piece of dough enters the oven, the temperature inside the future loaf begins to rise gradually. At the mark of just 50 to 60 degrees Celsius, the vital activity of yeast cells ceases completely. Further heating leads to irreversible processes: cellular structures are destroyed, proteins denature, and all enzymes are inactivated.

There is no living baker's yeast in a baked loaf. After baking, all that remains are isolated, broken-down cell components, such as proteins, amino acids, polysaccharides, and mineral substances. These are ordinary constituents of food products that are subsequently easily absorbed and broken down by our digestive enzymes in exactly the same way as any other nutritional elements from food. Therefore, there are no grounds to fear yeast in finished bread.

— This is a very important clarification, as many people overpay for the label "yeast-free bread", unaware that sourdough operates on the exact same principle. But let us move on to the second wave of consumer panic — namely, food additives and E-number labelling. For most buyers, this index is a danger signal. Take ascorbic acid, or additive E300. We know it as ordinary vitamin C and a beneficial antioxidant. Yet, upon seeing E300 in a loaf's ingredients, people begin to suspect the manufacturer of chemical manipulation. Explain why bakeries add vitamin C to dough and what happens to it in the finished product.

The paradox of ascorbic acid is a fascinating example of how food technologies differ from everyday perceptions. We know vitamin C as an antioxidant, but in bread dough, it acts as a very effective oxidising agent.

During dough mixing and fermentation, ascorbic acid oxidises into dehydroascorbic acid under the influence of atmospheric oxygen and the flour's natural enzymes. It is this new compound that takes an active part in strengthening the gluten matrix of the dough. As a result of chemical reactions, additional strong bonds are formed between the protein molecules of gluten. The dough becomes resilient, elastic, and much better at retaining the gas produced during fermentation.

However, during baking, ascorbic acid and all products of its conversion are completely destroyed at high temperatures. Therefore, in the finished loaf, it practically does not function as vitamin C. We use it strictly as a temporary technological tool to manage dough properties in very minute doses — usually from 0.002 to 0.02 per cent of the flour weight. This additive is one of the safest and most extensively studied in the world; hence, its use is permitted in Ukraine, the European Union, and most other countries.

— Ascorbic acid is clear — it is destroyed in the oven. But what about other components that remain in the finished product? I am referring to emulsifiers. One often hears the opinion that factories use mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E471) or lecithins merely to mask poor-quality flour and create an artificial, rubbery crumb. Then there are enzyme preparations, whose names also sound rather confusing to the consumer. Tell us why modern large-scale production cannot do without these components and how they affect our bodies.

Arguments about masking poor raw materials are entirely baseless. The primary purpose of emulsifiers is to improve crumb structure, increase loaf volume, and slow down staling processes.

One of the most important mechanisms of emulsifier action lies in their interaction with gluten proteins and starch. They form special complexes with the amylose fraction of starch, which slows down its retrogradation process. Simply put, starch retrogradation is the very reason why bread goes stale. Thanks to emulsifiers, a loaf retains its softness, elasticity, and freshness significantly longer.

Unlike many other components, emulsifiers do indeed remain in the finished product. However, most of them are derivatives of ordinary natural fatty acids or plant phospholipids. During digestion, they are broken down by gastrointestinal enzymes in exactly the same way as any other dietary fats or oils. In scientific literature, additives E471, E322, and E472e are considered among the safest, which is why many countries do not even set strict quantitative limits for them.

As for enzymes, the situation is even simpler. Amylases, xylanases, and proteases are not food additives in the traditional sense. All these enzymes are naturally present in the wheat kernel from the very beginning. However, due to weather conditions during wheat growth or milling specificities, their natural activity in the flour may decline. Technologists merely adjust this balance. During mixing and fermentation, enzymes help form a beautiful, porous bread structure. But because they are protein-based, they completely denature and lose their activity during baking at temperatures as low as 60 to 80 degrees Celsius. In the finished loaf, they simply do not exist as active substances.

— You have brilliantly explained the difference between safe technological tools and fabrications. But for our conversation to be entirely objective, we should also mention real risks. In the history of the food industry, there were indeed cases where hazardous substances were used — such as potassium bromate (E924), which is now banned. There is also a persistent stereotype that the white colour of a loaf is achieved through artificial flour bleaching using some aggressive chemistry. What is the truth here, and how do the state and the European Union control the safety of what we eat today?

You are absolutely right that safety requires constant oversight. Potassium bromate, or E924, was indeed once a popular flour oxidising agent. But as soon as scientific research demonstrated its potential carcinogenicity and health risks, this substance was categorically banned in Ukraine, the European Union, and many other countries worldwide.

Modern legislation strictly prohibits the use of any food additives that have not passed state and international safety evaluations or are used beyond established limits. The mere presence of the letter "E" in the ingredients does not indicate danger. This index simply means that the substance has been studied, tested, and officially permitted for use in the food industry under strictly regulated conditions.

As for the myth about flour bleaching, it is complete fiction. The light, white crumb of a loaf is the result of using high-grade flour, which simply contains a minimal amount of dark, outer grain particles. It is modern milling technologies — which involve meticulous sorting and enrichment of intermediate products — that determine the beautiful colour of the flour, not any chemical bleaches.

The quality of a modern loaf is shaped primarily by the properties of high-quality raw materials, proper management of mixing and fermentation processes, and effective production control at the bakery. Therefore, when choosing products, I advise consumers to rely on scientifically proven facts rather than sensationalist internet headlines, which often distort the essence of natural biochemical processes.

Ms. Vasylyna, thank you sincerely for this thorough and fascinating account. I am certain that following our clarifications, shoppers will look at bread shelves with much greater understanding and trust in the work of technologists.