Food for Life Catering Mark: Cook-freeze/steam-cook consultation
Background
A core principle of the Catering Mark standards is serving fresh food - at least 75% of dishes on a Catering Mark menu are freshly prepared on site or at a local hub kitchen. Under the current standards, where the lack of infrastructure may mean that there are no available on-site kitchens, meals can be transported hot or chilled within the local authority area or a 20 mile radius of where they are served.
Recognising the poor infrastructure in the hospital sector – such as the lack of kitchens or equipment – the standards allow Catering Mark hospital meals to be prepared and frozen within the local authority area, or a 20 mile radius of the point of eating. At least 75% of these meals still have to be prepared with fresh ingredients, but they can be regenerated from frozen if they are served in a hospital. This is the only situation where Catering Mark meals can be regenerated from frozen.
Why is this consultation taking place?
The Food for Life Catering Mark has grown very quickly – the number of accredited meals almost doubled between August 2011 and August 2012. Following a consultation in summer 2011, the Catering Mark adopted formal Standards at the start of 2012, coming under the governance of the Soil Association Standards Board and elected Council.
Cook-freeze and steam-cook meals are more prevalent in some sectors – including hospitals and community meals. This consultation considers whether Food for Life Catering Mark meals could be served in settings which use these cooking and storage methods. The outcome of this consultation will also provide a rationale for the scope of the Catering Mark Standards.
What will the outcomes be?
The Standards for the Food for Life Catering Mark are maintained and developed by an independent Standards Committee, made up of industry experts. It is overseen by the Soil Association Standards Board and elected Council. When the consultation responses have been collated, the Committee will look at the evidence and decide whether or not to make any changes to the Catering Mark Standards. If there are any proposed changes, these must be ratified by the Soil Association Standards Board and Council. There will be a reasonable implementation period for any changes to the Standards.
The consultation
This consultation is open until 5pm on Monday 18th February 2013. If you have a query about the consultation, please contact Jenny Collins, Standards Project Manager on jcollins@soilassociation.org or 0117 314 5178. You can also respond in writing to: Jenny Collins, Soil Association, South Plaza, Marlborough Street, Bristol BS1 3NX.
Cooking and storage methods
This consultation considers whether or not to broaden the range of cooking and storage methods in the Catering Mark Standards to include cook-freeze and steam-cook meals.
The following case studies explain more about the different circumstances where cook-freeze or steam-cook meals may be used:
Cook-freeze
For the purpose of this consultation, we are considering cook-freeze as the process whereby meals are produced and cooked at a hub kitchen, blast or flash frozen and later regenerated at the location where they are served. Meals can be kept in their frozen state for up to two years, but in practice they are usually used within six months.
Steam-cook
Raw, partially or wholly cooked food is plated or portioned at a central kitchen, chilled or frozen and delivered for on-site steam regeneration. Meals are cooked or regenerated in microwaves or convection ovens in plastic packs, using a special valve so the pack acts like a pressure cooker. The food steam-cooks in its own natural juices.
Cook-chill
Meals are produced and cooked at a hub kitchen, blast chilled or refrigerated and later reheated at the location where they are served. Cook-chill meals are currently permitted under the Catering Mark Standards where no on-site production kitchens are available and meals are delivered within the local authority area or 20 miles of where they were produced.
Fresh ingredients
In some systems, the cook-freeze, cook-chill and steam-cooked element is just one part of the meal offering. Locally sourced fresh fruit and vegetables and fresh bread, prepared from scratch in the regeneration kitchen, could also be added to the dish.
You may also find it useful to refer to the local sourcing map or find out more about the silver and gold Catering Mark standards.
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