Sodexo schools achieve bronze Food for Life Catering Mark

The contractor says it is one of the first in its industry to achieve the Soil Association's bronze Food for Life Catering Mark for serving fresh and healthy meals everyday to thousands of school children aged 4-11. Colm O'Mahony, divisional director for Sodexo Education, said: "We're delighted that we've achieved the bronze Food for Life Catering Mark. "This is a fantastic recognition of our commitment to sourcing the very best British produce and serving freshly prepared seasonal meals. "Through our 26-year Healthwise campaign and food offers such as 'Club Joules' and 'Be part of it', we are able to create exciting, nutritional and healthy meals for children everyday. "As a provider of more than one million meals a day, many people rely on Sodexo for much of their daily nutritional intake, including parents and guardians of school children. "We are committed to providing freshly prepared, sustainable and healthy menus, with produce from farms that satisfy UK welfare standards." The Catering Mark recognises the work of caterers and restaurants who serve fresh food that is free from controversial additives and better for animal welfare. Caterers with the bronze Catering Mark serve seasonal meals which are freshly prepared and free from undesirable additives including MSG, tartrazine and aspartame. No GM ingredients are used and all eggs are from cage-free hens. Rob Sexton, chief executive of Soil Association Certification, said: "The bronze Catering Mark is an excellent achievement which recognises the vital role that fresh, seasonal meals play in healthy, planet-friendly menus, especially for large-scale catering. "It reassures customers that their meals are free from GM ingredients, trans fats and prepared from scratch."