The director of an industrial-scale bakery has defended the company’s reputation following claims that at least one consignment of bread had to be recalled because of an asbestos scare.

Eugene Scholten, chief executive of Bakkersland, told RTL news there had never been direct contact between bread and the asbestos used as insulation in the company’s ovens.

Scholten told the broadcaster he could guarantee no Bakkersland bread containing asbestos had ever hit the Dutch supermarket shelves. The insulation is on the outside of the ovens and there is no direct contact with the products, he said.

One consignment of bread was recalled from a distribution centre but this decision was taken as a precaution after a problem with one of the ovens, he said. Research showed the bread had not been contaminated with asbestos.

Television current affairs show Zembla will report on the claims on Thursday evening. It says problems with the ovens have affected three different Bakkersland plants.

Bakkersland was formed in 1990 as the merger of 10 family-owned bakeries. It operates 16 factories nationwide.