Whitty admits major policy shift needed to improve meals
Food minister Lord Whitty has called for a more coherent approach to public sector food procurement to improve the health of the nation.
Schools, hospitals and prisons could all benefit from better quality seasonal food being made available, but for this to happen policies would need to change, Whitty said.
Research showed that the behaviour of children and prisoners and the recovery of patients in hospitals are all influenced by diet.
"We need to change the attitudes of buyers, specifiers and accountants within the public sector," Whitty told a public sector food procurement conference last month. "There is an accounting problem in public sector procurement and we need to address this but [high] quality catering need not cost the earth."
Around 30% of public sector meals provision is contracted out to caterers such as Aramark, Sodexho and Compass. Part of the problem for organisations like the NHS is that food represents just 5% of its spending, with senior procurement managers allocating the same proportion of time to catering.
"We find very little evidence of co-operation or consistency within the public sector," said Paul Willington of 3663, one of three primary suppliers, along with Brakes and Bunzel, to Sodhexo.
The government has been spurred into action following media pressure, including the TV series Jamie's School Dinners. However, without a fundamental policy swing and better funding, any changes are likely to be cosmetic.
Education secretary Ruth Kelly has already announced plans to create a School Meals Trust and from this September will introduce minimum standards on fat, sugar and salt content in school meals. "We intend to introduce tougher nutritional standards from September 2006," she said.
Extensive use of prepared foods in schools is attributed to cuts in in-house catering staff.
"Cost is a key issue," said Sodhexo's purchasing controller Steve Jobson. "We would like to work with local producers, but we have to get the supply chain right."
