Dispute over half a loaf costs German baker €15,000

A baker in Bavaria who says he had to spend €15,000 on new scales after a row with a customer over half a loaf of bread has made headlines across Germany, Euronews writes.

The dispute took place in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, a town north of Munich, where baker Matthias Breitner has for decades sold half loaves to customers who do not want to buy a whole one.

As first reported by Bild and RTL, the row began when a customer emailed to complain after weighing a half loaf at home and discovering it was 10 grams lighter than half the stated weight of a full loaf.

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Next time it will surely be ten grams more,” Breitner replied.

The customer subsequently contacted the authorities, and the local weights and measures office told Breitner he could no longer sell half loaves without weighing them individually.

Breitner says he does not want to sell pre-packaged half loaves, meaning portions cut for customers must instead be weighed at the point of sale.

As a result, he says he had to install new scales across his bakeries at a total cost of around €15,000.