A baker from Leeds has been told to stop using his favourite sprinkles on his cakes and cookies, because they are illegal.
When trading standards arrived at Rich Myer’s Get Baked in Headingley, Leeds on September 30 and told him they had received a report he was using ‘illegal sprinkles’ he thought it was a joke.
Then he realised the officer in front of him had ‘quite a serious tie on’ and the situation was no laughing matter.
Very quickly, a not so sweet saga unfolded involving E-numbers, trading standards and the fate of Birthday Bruce.
Rich said: ‘He started asking me where I get the sprinkles. What I use them on, if I knew they were illegal, so I showed them the packets and showed them the cookies.’
The 32-year-old had been using American sprinkles which he purchased in England on the birthday version of his Bruce cake and The Simpsons inspired Raspberry Glazed Donut Cookie.
He said he favoured American sprinkles because ‘British sprinkles don’t work and their colour runs out.’
‘I buy them in England, I buy them from a shop in England – they are not hard to find,’ he added.
As ‘sprinklegate’ unfolded Rich kept his customers updated on Facebook. At first he introduced the saga as a side note, casually dropping into a post that he had been visited by trading standards.
Then, when customers asked what the problem was he went into detail about ‘how passionate he was about sprinkles.’
He wrote: ‘The sprinkles are imported from USA and may contain colourings that aren’t allowed over here. They’re being tested and we will find out next week.
‘I realise how insane this is. Unfortunately, I am only prepared to use them and no others. If I can’t use them, I won’t use any.
‘I will be on sprinkle strike and won’t budge for no man. Anyone who is into sprinkles will know what I’m on about.
‘Sprinkles you can get in this country are totally s**t. Birthday Bruce will never be the same again. I’ve genuinely lost sleep over this.’
On October 7, Rich received an email from Trading Standards – which contained the test results and some devastating news.
A few days later he shared the results with his customers.
He said: ‘We have heard back from Trading Standards, and have been told that we must cease use of our sprinkles with immediate effect.
‘Obviously, we will be following the rules, and removing them as of now. Whilst this might seem like it’s not a big deal, it’s actually very f***king annoying as A LOT of people ask for Birthday Bruce’s and Raspberry Glazed Donut Cookies are not only our best selling cookie but they’re utterly sensational.
‘It is HIGHLY unlikely that we will find any legal sprinkles that we will use as a replacement. British sprinkles just aren’t the same, they’re totally s**t and I hate them.’
What makes the sprinkles Rich had been using ‘illegal’ is the additive E127 which is allowed in the USA but only in certain products such as ‘cocktail cherries, candied cherries and bigareaux cherries in syrup and in cocktails’ in the UK.
Trading Standards tested the sprinkles Get Baked had been using and confirmed they contained E127.
The baker told his fanbase he would have to ‘think over’ alternatives.
Following the post, lots of Get Baked customers suggested secret code words could be used to access sweet treats which still contained the sprinkles but Rich said that was not an option and he would stop using the ‘illegal sprinkles.’
Rich said: ‘Obviously we would never intend to break the law, so now we know we can’t use the sprinkles we won’t be using them.’
He said after the visit Trading Standards did not confiscate the sprinkles and he was not sure what he would do with his stock.
‘A lot of people are saying you could get around it but we won’t be doing that. I don’t want to upset Trading Standards, even though they’ve upset me.
‘Trading Standards didn’t confiscate the sprinkles. I have to look at their beauty and not use them, it’s very hard to deal with,’ he added.
In a statement, West Yorkshire Trading Standards confirmed it has visited Get Baked.
It said: ‘West Yorkshire Trading Standards can confirm that we have advised the business concerned the use of E127 which is not permitted in this type of confectionery item.
‘We stand by this advice and would urge all food business operators, when seeking to use imported foods containing additives, to check that they are permitted for use in the UK.’
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