A CRUMBY LAW ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT

Bruce Broadbent, general manager of Dallas-based ITT Continental Baking Company, says he just wants to bake bread and sell it competitively in Dallas and in other markets. If he obeys city ordinance, though, his bread loaves will be smaller than others offered in markets outside Dallas. If he obeys the state law, he could be cited for breaking a federal law. In the meantime, he says all the rigmarole is breaking his back as a businessman.

The ordinances causing the problems are pan-size ordinances. For pan loaves of bread -not including French bread or other breads not baked in a pan – the city ordinances states that a 1-pound loaf of bread manufactured for sale can only be 10 1/2 inches long; a 1 1/2-pound loaf is 14 inches, and so on. So every loaf, even if it’s to be sold outside the city limits, must stay within these boundaries. State law holds that loaf Knight says the ordinance is a consumer-protection device. Getting four extra slices, he says, fools the consumer into thinking he is getting more bread. He says the 12- to 15-Knight says the ordinance is a consumer-protection device. Getting four extra slices, he says, fools the consumer into thinking he is getting more bread. He says the 12- to 15-year-old ordinance must be completely studied before a decision can be made. “I never thought something as simple as this could be so complicated,” he says.