Although the product reached the population with 35 grams, authorities estimated that “the difference was not that noticeable.”
14ymedio, Havana, 29 May 2025 — Bread from Cuba’s ration system’s regulated basket has once again been the victim of a “serious violation,” which reduced its already meager weight from 60 to 35 grams (2.1 to 1.2 ounces) at the La Especial grocery store in Ciego de Ávila. Outraged by the abnormal size of the rolls, residents of the province complained to the authorities, and this Thursday, in an article published in Invasor, the response of the director of the Food Industry in the province is paraphrased: “Although the rolls were underweight, the difference was not that noticeable.”
In reality, the dough lost between a third and half of its intended weight, and the rolls reached the population weighing between 35 and 42 grams (1.2 and 1.5 ounces). “As insignificant as it may seem,” Invasor argues, the altered weight can “make a difference between one day and the next for the people of Ciego de Ávila,” especially for a product whose availability in the ration stores is also irregular.
Five fines of 8,000 pesos each were imposed, the outlet reports, without mentioning who was sanctioned, although it added that the administrator of La Especial, the master baker, and the “workers involved” will also be punished.
“Such a violation is even more serious considering the instability in production and the ever-questionable quality.”
“Such a violation is even more serious considering the instability of production and the ever-questionable quality. Despite this, the 75-centavos bread is an option for many compared to the high cost of non-state-run products,” he asserts.
Trying to excuse La Especial, the director of the Food Industry, Ramón Arrizabalaga, explained that the production process at the bodega has faced problems in recent times due to constant power outages and low-quality flour, which could have influenced the bread’s weight.
In addition, he said that other irregularities were found, such as the fact that the “specialists designated to oversee the weight did not perform their duties as required,” and promised to “intensify” surveillance of the remaining 11 bakeries in the city, as well as those throughout the province, where a situation similar to that at La Especial could arise.
It’s not unusual for Cubans to demand that heads roll over bread, a scarce but “settled” food, especially when weight fluctuations have been a problem they’ve been dealing with for years. “The issue of bread weight is an old one, and we shouldn’t wait for people to report it before inspecting it, because that’s what they’re there for. Even when the flour is good, the bread doesn’t have the right weight, and everyone knows that. When it’s not inspected regularly, anything happens,” complained one user at the bottom of Invasor ’s Facebook post .
For a nominal price and despite its poor quality, the grocery store’s bread represents a significant relief for families who avoid paying for better, but more expensive, products. According to a price report published Wednesday by the National Statistics and Information Office, in Ciego de Ávila, a soft, 80-gram (2.8 ounces) bread, sold on a limited basis, can cost between 18 and 35 pesos.
The price doesn’t reach the 58 or 60 pesos that are paid for the same product in Havana and Santiago de Cuba, respectively, but it’s still prohibitive for Cubans.
The bakery industry is also in its most critical state in recent decades. Production, which experienced a 50% decline during the height of the Special Period and remained mediocre but upwardly mobile until 2012, is now even lower than it was in the 1990s.
In September 2024, the Food Industry was forced to announce a reduction in bread weight from the standard 80 grams to around 60, to ensure the product remained on sale despite the flour shortage.
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