For your first shop, choose a half loaf labelled ‘wholemeal’ if you live in a small household and won’t get through a whole loaf within a few days. Then compare the ingredients, allergens and nutritional information for the exact variety you’re considering: fine, farmhouse and oven-baked loaves may have different ingredients. It’s also best to freeze a half loaf in portions if you won’t use it in time.
If you live alone or with one other person and don’t eat bread every day, a half loaf may be a better fit for what you use. It won’t prevent waste by itself: the Netherlands Nutrition Centre lists bread among the foods often thrown away at home. Freezing portions is still a good idea.
If this is your first shop, a clear product label can help you choose. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, bread labelled ‘wholemeal’ is made with 100% wholemeal flour; a brown colour alone doesn’t tell you that.
Half wholemeal loaves can vary in their ingredients. The products mentioned include wheat, barley, rye, sesame and soya in their product information. Check the ingredients and allergens for the exact loaf you’re buying; the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority explains that allergens must be listed on the labels of prepacked foods.
First, work out how much bread you’ll actually use. Then choose a loaf labelled ‘wholemeal’ and check that its ingredients and availability suit you.
| What to consider | What should you check? | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity and storage | Work out how many slices you’ll eat within a few days and, if needed, freeze the rest in portions straight away. | If I don’t eat bread every day, I don’t want the rest to go to waste; reducing bread waste is a priority for around 42% of consumers. |
| Wholemeal and labelling | Look for the label ‘wholemeal’ and compare the ingredients, allergens, fibre and salt per 100 g for the exact loaves. | I want to know whether the bread is genuinely wholemeal and what it contains. Checking the label is the first concern for around 33% of consumers. |
| Availability | Check whether your chosen variety is available at your shop or can be ordered online. | For my first shop, I want to be able to pick up the bread at a shop I’m already visiting; around 25% of consumers prioritise this kind of convenience. |
According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, the label ‘wholemeal’ means that the bread is made with 100% wholemeal flour. A brown colour or the name ‘multigrain’ doesn’t guarantee that.
First check that the loaf is labelled ‘wholemeal’, then choose based on the crust, texture or seeds.
A half loaf can also go uneaten. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends keeping opened wholemeal bread in a kitchen cupboard for 2 to 4 days.
If you don’t expect to finish the loaf within that time, freeze it in portions as soon as you buy it.
‘Wholemeal’ describes the flour used, not the full list of ingredients. The Commodities Act Decree on the Addition of Micronutrients to Foods defines baker’s salt as iodised table salt used for bread and other bakery products; the label doesn’t tell you which allergens the bread contains.
Read the ingredients, highlighted allergens and any ‘may contain’ statements on the packaging of the variety you’re buying.
The bread name can help you identify a variety, but check the label on that specific loaf for its ingredients and nutritional information.
AH Vloerbrood volkoren half is an oven-baked variety that Albert Heijn lists on its product page as available in store only.
Jumbo Fijn Volkoren - Half is a half wholemeal wheat loaf that Jumbo lists as available to order online.
PLUS Boeren volkoren half is a 400 g variety. PLUS says you can freeze the loaf at home on the day you buy it.
Lidl lists Halfje extra volkorenbrood as a product available in store only.
ALDI sells Extra vezelrijk volkorenbrood half and describes it as a dark loaf with seeds and grains.
Dirk sells Bakker van der Akker Boeren volkoren half as a fresh half-loaf variety.
Yes. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, bread labelled ‘wholemeal’ is made with 100% wholemeal flour. A brown colour alone doesn’t make this clear.
The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends keeping opened wholemeal bread for 2 to 4 days in a kitchen cupboard or 1 to 3 months in the freezer. If you don’t eat bread regularly, freeze it in portions as soon as you buy it and take out what you need.
Yes: the Commodities Act Decree on the Addition of Micronutrients to Foods defines baker’s salt as iodised table salt used to make bread and other bakery products. Check the label on the exact loaf to see which type of salt is listed.
Read the ingredients and allergen information on the exact packaging, even if you’ve bought the bread before. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority explains that allergens must be listed on the labels of prepacked foods; the half loaves mentioned vary in their declarations, including cereals, sesame and soya.
