Soil Association Food for Life Catering Mark to launch new standards

26 January 2012

 The Soil Association is launching new standards for the Food for Life Catering Mark, which will replace the current criteria from Monday 30 January. The new points-based system for silver and gold awards is designed to offer more flexibility for individual caterers, allowing them to emphasise their strengths and priorities, while maintaining the same rigorous principles and high standards.

The new standards have been designed to better recognise caterers' different motivations and encourage them to tell their own stories. For example, some gold Catering Mark holders will serve almost exclusively organic menus while others will be allowed to prioritise local sourcing or healthy eating. However, all caterers who achieve the silver and gold Catering Mark standards will continue to show a strong commitment to serving healthy, local, free-range and organic food.

Changes to bronze standards
The standards for the bronze Catering Mark remain fixed, with five additions to increase the scheme’s focus on health and food education. The bronze standards provide a guarantee that all accredited menus offer meals which are freshly prepared, seasonal, free from trans fats and controversial additives. From 30 January, the following additional standards will be required to achieve the bronze Catering Mark:

• Free drinking water is prominently available.
• No fish from the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) ‘fish to avoid’ list is served.
• Information about food provenance is on display.
• All suppliers have been verified to ensure they apply appropriate food safety standards.
• Caterers in schools, early years and residential care settings can demonstrate their compliance with national standards or guidelines on nutrition.

Changes to silver and gold standards
The silver and gold criteria are switching to a points system, which will reward every percentage of ingredient spend on ethical, environmentally-friendly, local and healthy food. The Soil Association has created a Points Calculator where caterers can find out if their menus meet the silver or gold standards.