The Italian team, which won the Sigep Gold Bread Cup in January, has been stripped of its winning title and repositioned in last place.

The contest, organised by Italian bakery industry organization Club Arti e Mestieri, initially announced the winning line-up during the Sigep exhibition in Rimini, Italy, as reported by British Baker.

Five international teams, including Italy, Israel, Hungary, Germany and the US, were required to produce 12 products as part of four different categories with overall scoring based on judging from a professional panel, a public vote and an online vote.

David Mizon, one of three international judges for the Sigep Golden Bread Cup, told British Baker the Italian team breached competition rules.

“Each team was given four allocated time slots during one day to produce and present three different items at a time to the judging panel. The Italian team only made half of the items required, but were still awarded the winning title during the exhibition,” David said.

The amended winning line-up for the Sigep Golden Bread Cup was officially announced by Club Arti e Mestieri almost one month after the competition took place. Hungary has been declared the winner, with Germany second and the US third.