Baker's reward for longer-lasting loaf.

Byline: Alan Plews

A new product waiting to be launched on Teesside could be the biggest thing to hit the UK since sliced bread.

In fact it is sliced bread - but with one big difference. It will keep fresh for a fortnight and will be packaged in "selection boxes" - slices of different varieties in one loaf-sized pack.

And it has won the Stockton depot of Rathbones Bakeries pounds 10,000 funding from this year's Home Grown Cereals Authority's enterprise awards.

Rathbones, which bakes 275m loaves and 535m rolls a year, believes the new concept will appeal to sandwich lovers everywhere.

Chief scientist Hugh Gorton says: "We have developed technology which allows the bread to stay fresher for longer without the use of artificial preservatives or modified atmosphere packaging.

"It means the selection box breads will keep for four weeks, rather than five days."

Apart from the obvious benefits to the UK consumer, the longer freshness period will open up a potentially huge new export market in fresh, unfrozen bread.

Bakery manager at Stockton Gary Holland says: "This is cutting edge technology and we are ready to market the concept and go into action."

And when the company does go into action the bread will also be marketed in a new way - as part of a selection pack of four different types of bread within a loaf-sized box.

Mr Holland says: "Some consumers in the family might like granary, wholemeal or white and this will give everyone the choice."

Jem Mitchell, technical manager at the depot, says: "There has been a significant amount of investment into this process and a lot of time spent by our development team making sure everything is right, especially from a food safety angle.

"We are talking to some of the bigger retailers at the moment and there is interest out there.

"Once that interest is firmed up we are ready to go into production."

The Stockton depot is the only one in the group with this technology for bread - although one plant is using the process for rolls - and Mr Holland is hoping to add to his 90 staff as sales grow.

This is the second success of the year for the depot.

In April it took one of the industry's top awards - the Sonnie Kear trophy at the Welsh National bread baking competition.

The branch entered five of the six open classifications and walked away with honours in each - two firsts, two thirds and one commendation - to give them the main award.

The entries were in the plant baking technology section rather than traditional hand craft.

Rathbones, a Wigan company with its roots going back to the 19th century, took over the William Jackson site at Yarm Road, Preston Farm, three years ago.