Sustainable food in care cateringBriefing paper

2006

What the NationalAssociation ofCare Catering isdoing

In 2005, the NationalAssociation of Care Catering(NACC) and Sustain, thealliance for better food andfarming, embarked on a projectto explore the opportunities forsustainable food procurementin care catering. Throughfunding from the Departmentfor Environment, Food andRural Affairs (Defra) asustainable food procurementworking group was set up andplans for a pilot project weremade. While care catering alsoencompasses meals on wheels,young people in care andpeople with physical andmental health needs andlearning difficulties, the pilotproject will focus on residentialcare homes for older people asa manageable starting point.This paper gives a briefexplanation of what we meanby sustainable food and whythere is a need for the project,outlines the key obstacles andopportunities and pointsreaders to sources of moreinformation and useful casestudies.

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Evidence suggests that what we eat has moreimpact on climate change than any otheraspect of daily life. The production, retailing,transport, packaging and preparation of foodaccounts for 31% of the EU's contribution toglobal warming.1 Buying sustainable foodreduces energy use and thereby reducesadverse environmental effects. Sustainablefood can also support struggling ruraleconomies.

In recognition of the role public sector cateringcan play in promoting sustainabledevelopment, the Government, in 2003,launched the Public Sector Food ProcurementInitiative (PSFPI) as part of its SustainableFarming and Food Strategy for England.2

"The PSFPI's five priority objectives are to:

1. Raise production and process standards 2. Increase tenders from small and local

producers 3. Increase consumption of healthy and

nutritious food 4. Reduce adverse environmental impacts of

production and supply 5. Increase capacity of small and local

suppliers to meet demand."

Some schools, hospitals and other public sectorbodies are already beginning to demonstrategood practice in these areas.3 The RoyalBrompton Hospital, London, for example, nowbuys almost 15% of its food from local and/ororganic sources,4 Bradford City Council buysmost of its vegetables from local suppliers aswell as eggs and fresh meat for their school

meal service5 and Staffordshire County Councilhave a contract with eight small independentbutchers to supply residential homes, DayServices and early learning centres with meatand poultry sourced from a maximum of tenmiles from the establishment withinStaffordshire or the West Midlands.6 Bybringing care catering into the sustainable foodprocurement agenda, positive contributionswill be made to the environment, UK ruralcommunities and care home residents alike.

Why we shouldpromote sustainablefood in care catering

The NACC sustainablefood procurement policy

The NACC advocates food procurementpractices that support sustainabledevelopment. As such, the NACC will:

Engage and raise awarenessamongst all those involved in carecatering (local authorities, privateand voluntary care providers,suppliers and clients) in issues ofsustainable food procurement.Work with all parties to identify howthey can contribute to moresustainable catering in residentialcare home for older people.Develop a broad framework forchange that the whole sector canwork with.

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Healthy foodHealthy food is.

food uncontaminated by microbiological poisonsor toxic residues;food that does not compromise our resistance toinfection, or render ineffective medical treatments;a food supply that is micronutrient-dense, fibre-rich and provides essential fats to reduce the risksof developing cardiovascular diseases, somecancers and other diet-related illnesses. (Thislargely comprises a variety of whole-grain cerealsand other starchy staples, plentiful and variedvegetables and fruit, diverse nuts, seeds andpulses, some dairy produce and, for non-vegetarians, occasional fish and meat);access to the best quality food (as outlined above)for the most vulnerable in society, particularly lowincome groups and, especially, babies andchildren, older people, and those who are ill.

Local food Local food is food that is consumed as close as possibleto the point of production and processing. "Possible"may be from a mile down the road, it may be fromwithin the region or it may be from the UK. Local foodcan be sustainable food because, with reducedtransportation, it produces less carbon dioxideemissions and therefore has a reduced impact onclimate change. Buying local food also supports localjobs and livelihoods. Studies have shown that every£10 spent with a local food business generates £25 forthe local area compared to £14 for every £10 spent ina non-local food business, such as a supermarket.7 Oneway to encourage the use of local food is to designseasonal menus - menus that use ingredients whenthey are in season in the UK. Seehttp://www.sustainweb.org/publications/downloads/goodfoodpp.pdf (pp 48-51) for a UK seasonality chart.

Food produced using minimal amounts of pesticides and fertilisers About one-quarter of the carbon dioxide emissionscreated by the food system comes from food'sproduction. This includes the manufacture andtransporting of fertilisers and pesticides and use of fuelon the farm.8 Some farming systems use reducedamounts of artificial fertilisers and pesticides, therebyreducing carbon dioxide emissions. The environmentalbenefits of using products from these systems can besignificant. Organically grown crops, for example,require 50% less energy input per unit area thanconventionally grown crops, and organic dairyproduction has been shown to require 74% less energyinputs per unit output compared to conventionalsystems. Organic farming systems have also beenshown to encourage greater biodiversity.9

Marine Stewardship Council certified fish While fish can be a nutritious choice, fishing practicesoften have detrimental effects on stocks andecosystems. In 2005 it was estimated that 97% ofworld's fish stocks were either fully exploited, overexploited, depleted or moderately exploited.10 TheMarine Stewardship Council (MSC) runs an assurancescheme where fish come from fisheries with a rigoroussustainability policy: fish are not from threatened fishstocks and not fished using unsustainable fishingmethods. See http://www.msc.org/.

Fairly traded food Fairly traded products ensure that the producers andfarmers in the developing countries where the productsoriginate get a fair wage for their work and are moreable to improve their living and working conditions.11

For guidance on how more fairly traded products canbe procured in the public sector see http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/trade.htm

What we mean by sustainable food

By sustainable food we mean food that, through its production, processing, distribution,sale and consumption, provides social benefits, such as good quality food, good healthand education, protects the environment and avoids unnecessary use of natural resources,and contributes towards economic development. In other words, food that supportssustainable development. Sustainable food includes:

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Food produced with higher animal welfare standards Conventional farming systems are usually intensivewith the health and welfare of the animals oftencompromised. For example, factory farmed animalsmay never see natural light and selective breeding hasresulted in broiler chickens that grow so fast their legscan not support them and consequently becomecrippled.12 Some examples of production methods thatguarantee higher animal welfare standards includeRSPCA Freedom Foods,13 free range and organic.14

Traditional, regional foods Foods that have a unique link to a geographical placeand/or culture can be designated protected namestatus (either PDO (Protected Denominations ofOrigin), PGI (Protected Geographical Indications ofsupply) or TSG (Traditional Speciality Guarantee)).There are 31 registered products in the UK, includingJersey potatoes, Scotch Beef and Blue Stilton. Usingthese products supports UK producers and canpromote taste, diversity and cultural richness. Forinformation see http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodrin/foodname/uk.htm.

Food with reduced packaging and waste Huge amounts of waste from food and food and drinkpackaging are produced in the UK each year. Mostwaste in the UK is either incinerated or buried withsignificant environmental implications due to, withincineration, the amount of fossil fuels used andpollution created, and, with landfill, the methane gasand toxic substances released. Some ways of reducingpackaging and food waste in catering includerequiring:

Goods to be supplied in bulk.Reusable containers.Recycled or biodegradable materials.Improved quality and taste of meals served.Appropriate portion sizes.

Food from social enterprises Social enterprises are committed to generating notonly economic profit but also social and environmental"profit". Buying food from social enterprises cansupport sustainable development. Seehttp://www.sustainweb.org/sauce/ for more details.

Mains water Mains drinking water in the UK is safe to drink and ofhigh quality. By using mains water in care homesrather than bottled water, or less healthy bottled andpackaged drinks, environment benefits from reducedpackaging and food miles are realised, the health ofthe residents is promoted and significant financialsavings can be made. For example, water frombottled-fed cooling machines costs £6 per 19 litrescompared to 2p per 19 litres for mains-fed coolingmachines15 and being well hydrated helps reduce theoverall costs of looking after those in care. The healthand safety concerns associated with moving heavybottles around are also avoided and storage space issaved. See http://www.water.org.uk for more details.

Food cooked with energy efficient equipmentA sustainable catering service uses energy efficientcatering equipment and saves money as well asenergy. An efficiently managed service will also reducethe amount of cooking oil, chemicals, and water used,as well as electricity and gas through heating andlighting. Good practice can involve regular servicing,refurbishment and recycling of catering equipment andrecycling of cooking oil. See Hospitable Climates,http://www.hospitableclimates.co.uk/ for guidance.

Current members of the NACCsustainable food procurement workinggroup, as of February 2006, includerepresentatives from Anchor Trust, apetito,Donisthorpe Hall Care Home, ESPO,Leicestershire County Council, StaffordshireCounty Council (seconded to GovernmentOffice West Midlands), Sustain, RhonddaCynon Taff County Council and the Vale ofGlamorgan Council. The working group seeksto represent all key players in care catering. Ifyou would like to be involved and/or keptinformed of group activity, please contact theChair, Bob Bird at bob.bird@anchor.org.uk.

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In terms of sustainability (protecting theenvironment, promoting health and well-being and supporting the local economy),the preferred catering service is one that usesas many as possible of the food optionsdescribed previously. The budgets, kitchenfacilities, staff capacity and motivation,customer needs and logistics of supply ofindividual care home will determine howquickly and to what extent the varioussustainable food options can be introduced.Not all care home caterers will be able touse seasonal, fresh, local and sustainablyproduced food from the outset but they willstill be able to take significant steps towardsbecoming more sustainable, howevergradual these might be.

While ready meals, for example, have higherfood miles associated with their productionand transport than meals cooked on-sitewith ingredients from a local producer, theymay still be able to support UK producers bybuying some of the ingredients fromproducers local to the factory. Ready mealsalso have a role to play where care homeshave limited kitchen facilities and staffcapacity. While freezing is probably themost energy-intensive type of foodprocessing (freezing 1kg of peas and storingthem for 6 months uses almost as muchenergy as flying them in from Kenya16), itprovides a way of using UK rather thanimported produce year round, therebysupporting UK producers. Frozen productscan sometimes be more nutritious than fresh(notably in the case of legumes (includingbeans, peas, broad beans) and also in thecase of some brassica such as broccoli).

What about readymeals and frozenfood?

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Obstacles and opportunities tointroducing more sustainablefood into care catering

One of the biggest obstacles to introducingmore sustainable food into care catering is lackof supply. In recent decades, smaller and moresustainable food suppliers and producers havefound it increasingly hard to survive, having tocompete against ever larger food producersbuying products more cheaply on worldmarkets. As a result, it is not always possibleto buy produce in the quantities required fromthe immediate locality or region. Wheresustainable food producers do exist in theimmediate area with the capacity to supply,further obstacles may include their lacking theinfrastructure to handle deliveries, undertakefood processing and meet health and safetyrequirements, most notably Hazard AnalysisCritical Control Point (HACCP) systems.Sustain's Hospital Food Project found that co-operative groups (sometimes including smallerproducers) and medium-sized producers anddistributors were often more able than smallerenterprises to supply hospitals having auditingprocesses in place, being able to handle bulkconsignments, and employing quality controlstaff. They would also often have moreflexibility than the larger enterprises.

Methods of overcoming these obstacles willvary according to the type and size of the carehome. A smaller independent care home ismore likely to be able to identify a localproducer able to supply food in the quantitiesthey require and have the flexibility in contractand catering arrangements to buy productsfrom them. A larger independent care homemay purchase food from supply intermediaries,such as 3663, which have their own centralisedsupply and distribution networks. It may bepossible to work with these intermediaries so

that they adopt sustainable criteria, thereby, asfar as possible, encouraging local suppliers tofeed into their supply chain. Care homesmanaged by local authorities, while having toadhere to EU procurement legislation (seebelow), may have the advantage overindependent care homes of having increasedpurchasing power. Both independent carehomes and local authority managed carehomes, however, may be able to buycollaboratively with other local authorityservices and organisations to increase theirpurchasing power. Both may also be able towork with existing wholesalers, encouragingthem to use local producers.

In every case, procurement officers andcatering managers can seek support and advicefrom national organisations, regional Defrateams and local food groups (see Usefulpublications and websites, and People whomight be able to help). These experts canhelp to encourage small food producers applyfor contracts and help them, for example, workthough HACCP or cooperate with other localproducers and invest in processing equipmentand other infrastructure. The Defra websiteincludes lots of case studies that show what ispossible. See www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/casestudies/index.htm

Supply

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One of the barriers to sustainable food procurementmost commonly identified by buyers is the range ofprocurement legislation which appears at global,European and national level. The Europeanlegislation poses the greatest restrictions onsustainable food procurement but, as long the keyprinciples of procedural transparency, non-discrimination on grounds of nationality and valuefor money are adhered to, the legislation does notpresent as many barriers as many people believe.Value for money, as required by the UK government,requires that goods are procured on the basis of acombination of whole-life costs (such as running anddisposal costs) and quality, not just purchase priceenabling, as Defra says, "plenty of scope for publicsector bodies to pursue sustainable developmentconsiderations in their procurement of food andcatering services".

EU law currently allows purchasers to:Specify sustainable food with a legal basis, forexample free range and organic. Ask for food produced according to standards ofrecognised assurance schemes, or equivalent (seebox below for explanation of assuranceschemes). These can greatly simplify the task ofensuring environmental, quality and socialconsiderations are met.

Specify produce with protected name status, e.g.PDO, PGI or TSG. This is legal as long as notpart of an explicit local supply policy and thatthe proviso 'or equivalent' is included. Specify food for menus based on seasonality,local availability and regional identity. Specify non-GM.Require the supplier to use reusable containers,provide a take back service and deliver in bulkunits, and/or recyclable packaging.

EU law currently does not allow purchasers to:Specify Fairtrade product or labels. However,caterers and food suppliers can be encouragedto buy fairly traded products through voluntarynon-contractual means.Specify local (as this implies origin and thereforediscriminates on grounds of nationality).However, purchasers can ask for fresh, seasonalfood of high nutritional value, and flexible andfrequent delivery times.

This EU procurement legislation applies to contractsover a certain threshold.

EU legislation

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Cost Sustainable food, such as organic and fairly tradedfood, can be more expensive than conventionalfood. To minimise cost increases purchasers can:

Specify sustainable products with the smallestpremiums, for example potatoes and milk.Buy produce when it is in season. Accept class II rather than class I produce whichis usually only deficient in one or two cosmeticrequirements such as shape, colour, smallblemishes and marks. Use menus that contain more fruit andvegetables and moderate amounts of meat (asadvised by health experts).Offer fewer meal options and so buy feweringredients in larger quantities (tempered by thedesire and need to provide residents with anadequate choice of meals).

In addition, it is worth noting that: Better quality meat and meat products, oftenhave less added water and fat and therefore'shrink' less in cooking, so less needs to bebought in the first place.If tastier, better quality meals are provided,uptake is likely to increase and consequentlyeconomies of scale.Price increases can sometimes be partlycompensated for by other changes in thecatering system, for example using more energyefficient cooking equipment, cutting down onwastage and using auditing tools.

SkillsSustainable food can often involve preparing mealsfrom scratch using fresh, raw ingredients. Publicsector catering has, in recent decades, as part of costsaving, experienced some deskilling among kitchenstaff. Where menus are changing, it may benecessary to train the kitchen staff in use of seasonalproduce and appropriate cooking skills and alsoincrease their hours. While this may incur somecosts, staff are likely to feel more valued, experiencegreater job satisfaction and be less likely to leave.

Attitudes of consumersFor successful introduction of sustainable food, it isimportant that the consumers, in this case theresidents in the care homes, understand and supportthe changes. They should be consulted from thestart, involved in decision making and kept informedthroughout.

Assurance Schemes

Assurance Schemes have been developed inthe last ten years to support claims aboutproduction methods, environmental aspectsand animal welfare standards. Assured FoodStandards (AFS) is the umbrella body for theBritish Farm Standard and its Red Tractor logo,as well as several member schemes includingABM (Assured Bristish Meat), APS (AssuredProduce Scheme), ACP (Assured ChickenProduction). The AFS commits suppliers tomeeting basic production and food safetystandards and most do little more than obeythe law and Defra codes of practice. Thereare several schemes outside the AFS, some ofwhich support higher sustainability standards,for example organic, biodynamic principles,Integrated Farm Management systems andLEAF (Linking the Environment and Farming)marque. For details of assurance schemesrefer to Defra's guidance document,'Integrating sustainable development intoprocurement of food and catering',http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/pdf/foodprocure.pdf and Sustain's GoodFood on the Public Plate, available onhttp://www.sustainweb.org/publications/downloads/goodfoodpp.pdf (Directory, pp1-4)

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Caroline Walker Trust, Eating well for older people,revised 2004. (Practical and nutritional guidelines forolder people in residential and community care),www.cwt.org.uk

Department for the Environment, Food andRural Affairs (Defra), Public Sector FoodProcurement Initiative (PSFPI):

Introductory leaflet: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/pdf/GF%20Leaflet.pdfCase study information: www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/casestudies/index.htm Frequently asked questions, including details onPSFPI, procurement rules, local sourcing, supplyside, assurance schemes, organic food, fair trade,health and nutrition: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/pdf/psfpi-faqs.pdfToolkit: http://www.defra.gov.uk/FARM/sustain/procurement/toolkit.htm

EurepGAP, The Global Partnership for Safe andSustainable Agriculture. Designed to help producersimprove food quality and safety, biodiversity, moreefficient use of natural resources, minimum use ofpesticides and fertilizers and worker health and safety.See http://www.eurepgap.org/Languages/English/index_html

Europa, EU Interpretive Communication on PublicProcurement and the Environment,http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/publicprocurement/index_en.htm

Hospitable Climates. A free advisory programmeon energy saving, managed on behalf of the CarbonTrust by the Hotel and Catering InternationalManagement Association (HCIMA), dedicated to thehospitality sector. http://www.hospitableclimates.co.uk

Marine Conservation Society, The Good FishGuide, 2003, http://www.fishonline.org

Marine Stewardship Council. Certifies sustainablefisheries. http://www.msc.org

The National Association of Care Catering.Provides a range of publications including TheNational Minimum Standard for Care Catering (CareHomes for Older People), 2005, The Catering CheckList, 2005 and Menu and Planning and Special DietsManual, Spring 2006. Details and order facility onhttp://www.thenacc.org.uk

New Economics Foundation, Public spending forpublic benefit, How the public sector can use itspurchasing power to deliver local economicdevelopment, July 2005, http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/uploads/ddgebi55g5qi3w55qyuj3n5521082005175605.pdf

Office of Government Commerce, ProcurementPolicy Unit. Provides advice and guidance tocontracting authorities about how sustainableobjectives may be incorporated into public contractswithin the EU rules and value for money policy. Seewww.ogc.gov.uk

Oxford Brookes University, Sustainable FoodProcurement for Contract Caterers, October 2005,www.business.brookes.ac.uk/research/ceshi/

Sustain/East Anglia Food Link, Good Food on thePublic Plate: A manual for sustainability in publicsector food and catering, June 2003,http://www.sustainweb.org/publications/downloads/goodfoodpp.pdf

Water UK, Water for Healthy Ageing, Hydration BestPractice Toolkit for Care Homes, October 2005,http://www.water.org.uk/home/water-for-health/older-people

People who might beable to help: Food Links UK, http://www.foodlinks-uk.org/,01225 787921. A network of organisations active insupporting the local food sector and workingtowards fairer, healthier more sustainable local foodsystems.

Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene.Run 'Eating for Health in Care Homes' courses andsell a practical handbook. http://www.riph.org.uk/,020 7291 8361, pmoore@riph.org.uk

Sustain, the alliance for better food andfarming, www.sustainweb.org, 020 7837 1228Sustain has experience of working with severalpublic sector catering, including local educationauthorities and hospitals.

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Useful publications and websites:

References1. Tukker A, Huppes G, Guinee J, Heijungs R, de Koning A, van

Oers L, Suh S, Geerken T, Van Holderbeke M, Jansen B andNielsen P (2005) Environmental impact of products (EIPRO):Analysis of the life cycle environmental impacts related to thetotal final consumption of the EU25, European Science andTechnology Observatory and Institute for ProspectiveTechnological studies, full draft report, April 2005; p92

2. See http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/

3. See http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/casestudies/index.htm for several other case studies.

4. See http://www.sustainweb.org/hospital_index.asp for detailsof Sustain's Hospital Food Project

5. See http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/procurement/casestudies/bs-ecs.htm for details

6. See http://www.defra.gov.uk/FARM/sustain/procurement/casestudies/freshmeat.htm for details

7. Plugging the Leaks, New Economics Foundation,http://www.pluggingtheleaks.org/

8. East Anglia Food Link Food and climate change briefing,http://www.eafl.org.uk/downloads/FoodAndClimateChange.doc

9. See http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/organic/default.htm for allthe information the Government holds on organic farming

10. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,2005, see http://www.msc.org/

11. www.fairtrade.org.uk - the website of the Fair TradeFoundation

12. www.ciwf.co.uk - the website of Compassion in World Farming

13. www.rspca.org.uk - the website of the Royal Society for thePrevention of Cruelty to Animals

14. www.soilassociation.org - the website of the Soil Association

15. Water UK, Water for Healthy Ageing, Hydration Best PracticeToolkit for Care Homes, 2005

16. East Anglia Food Link, Oil and Climate, www.eafl.org.uk

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