Germany’s web of food laws got a little looser lately, with a court ruling that says that rolls and bread are ‘prepared food,’ and that bakeries with tables can sell bread anytime on Sundays, rather than just for a short period in the morning.
Independent and chain bakeries complained about being limited to three or five hours Sunday morning, while supermarkets at rail stations and gas stations could be open all day on Sunday, potentially snaffling up all the late-rising customers who missed the 9 or 10 am closings.
A previous ruling of the Bundesgerichtshof, Germany’s highest court, has allowed cafes selling prepared food to sell carry-out bread as long as they were serving prepared food and had tables for customers, and as long as the bread was ‘prepared,’ with a cheese filling or the like.
Last Thursday, on a case brought by the Ratschiller bakery chain appealing penalties for staying open too long, the court ruled again, agreeing with the company’s contention that bread and rolls are, in fact, ‘prepared food.’ The company’s lawyer made the case that “Bread rolls are prepared meals because they are made and baked from certain ingredients – flour, water, yeast, salt – and are then ready for consumption in this state,” and the court agreed.
