Weighing rules force Bavarian bakery to spend 15,000 euros

A bakery in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm in Upper Bavaria has spent nearly 15,000 euros on approved scales after the Ingolstadt weights and measures office required it to weigh every half-loaf before sale, BR reported.

For decades, owner Mathias Breitner had cut loaves in half and sold each half for half the price of a whole loaf. The bakery changed its practice after two customers complained that their bread was almost 10 grams too light.

The weights and measures office then visited the bakery during a routine inspection. According to Stefan Thums, director of the Bavarian State Office for Weights and Measures, the bakery’s scale was no longer there.

Breitner subsequently bought nine approved scales and software for his six branches. The total cost was just under 15,000 euros. The scales are connected to the checkout system, although that additional function was not required by the weights and measures office. Breitner said it was essential to make the process faster and easier.

Why half-loaves must be weighed

The requirement is based on Germany’s measurement and verification rules. Anyone selling a product by weight must weigh it before selling it, Thums said.

A whole loaf is treated as a pre-packaged product once it leaves the oven, with its weight and price fixed. But when the loaf is cut in half, the two pieces can weigh different amounts. Each half must therefore be weighed before it is sold, the office said.

Amelie Breitner, who has worked in her father’s bakery since childhood, said the new scales added a step she did not fully understand. Previously, both halves of a mixed loaf cost 2.40 euros. Under the new system, one half cost 2.45 euros and the other 2.30 euros.

Customers had mixed reactions. One said that a difference of 10 grams was insignificant for half a loaf. Another said customers should pay the price that the product actually weighs.

For each half-loaf, Breitner must place the piece on the scale, select the bread type and wait for the weight to transfer to the checkout system. She said this meant two or three additional clicks and was not a major burden, although it could create more work when customers bought several loaves at the weekend.