The consultancy has collaborated with Bidvest Foodservice, to create the first ever Health & Vitality Foodservice Trends Report; an analysis of key social sustainability issues affecting the hospitality and foodservice sector.
Charles Miers, CEO of Footprint said: “The issues of nutrition, sugar, salt and education across the Industry are more prevalent than ever before but it’s down to us to make the difference.
“The results from this report clearly demonstrate the need for the foodservice and hospitality sector to take responsibility for every forkful in the out of home sector. And, if our findings are used in the right way, we can be at the forefront of combating obesity.”
The report identified four crucial action points for companies to follow to ensure best practice is implemented, and public health is improved.
- Create sustainable menus - the idea is catching on and taking hold. Own it, embed it and lead – it is the only way foodservice should think about food.
- Adopt a nutritional lens - demonising one ingredient/nutrient or trying to boost another can oversimplify things. Adopting a rounded nutritional lens to ingredients, recipes and supply chains is the best way to ensure food is truly healthy.
- Invest in chefs - chefs need better nutritional knowledge so ensure chefs in your supply chain undertake mandatory, high quality nutritional training.
- Take the lead - the Responsibility Deal might have fallen by the wayside, but making out of home food healthier is foodservice’s responsibility, whatever the policy/voluntary framework.
Shirley Duncalf, head of sustainability at Bidvest Foodservice, said: “This Foodservice Report is just the first step and a preview of what’s to come. By working together with Footprint, we will be able to offer the industry invaluable insight into responsible business and create a roadmap against which we can measure the ongoing sustainable progress of food and drink companies.”
The report is being supported by Bidvest Foodservice’s plate2planet initiative as part of its ongoing work to create the Footprint Sustainability Index. Once complete, the full Index will be the Industry’s first ever sustainability benchmark; mapping out current achievements, what needs to be done next and clearly identifying areas of the market that have fallen behind with their efforts to go the extra ‘green’ mile.
The full report is available to download here