WORK PLAN FOR FOOD SERVICEWORKING GROUP

October 2016-December 2017

1.Overview of working group

1.1 Aim

The Healthy Food Partnership (HFP) will aim to improve the nutrition of all Australians by supporting food reformulation, making healthier food choices easier and more accessible and by raising awareness of better food choices and portion sizes.

1.2 Background

On 26 August 2016 the HFP Executive Committee agreed to establish the FOOD SERVICE Working Group. The Executive Committee agreed that settings for action could include restaurants, cafes, sporting venues, pubs and clubs, etc.

Activities will be tailored to be relevant to various settings (e.g. small/large, rural/remote, etc.). Scope of activities may include:

  • Menu labelling (look to broaden the reach of menu board labelling to businesses not impacted by current legislation).
  • Healthier options, including placement and promotion of these.
  • Reformulation – understand what has already been done within the food service sector, learn from experiences, and encourage further reformulation.
  • Adopting the learnings about portion size.

1.3 Principles

The FOOD SERVICE Working Group has agreed to the following key principles to guide its work:

  1. Recommendations to improve the foods offered, promoted, purchased and consumed out of home should be based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADGs).
  2. Voluntary recommendations should aim to:
  • ensure healthier choices are the easy choices; and
  • ensure consumers are informed at point of purchase.
  1. Recommended activities should be transparent and sustainable in their implementation, monitoring and evaluation of impact and reach;
  2. Approaches should be pragmatic, adopting the 80:20 approach to achieve the greatest gains;
  3. Collaboration and early engagement should be a priority;
  4. Goals should be achievable within the set time frame yet aspirational;
  5. The food services sector is diverse and successful engagement will require a range of approaches. As some businesses are more advanced than others, pledges of action to meet the general aim/theme/goal should be presented as what they will stop doing, start doing and continue to do.

1.4 Objectives

The objective of the FOOD SERVICE Working Group is to:

  • Consider evidence-based and sustainable initiatives for food industry to implement.
  • Increase positive core foods and nutrients in the food service supply e.g. vegetables, wholegrains etc.
  • Support the reduction of risk-associated nutrients (added sugars/salt/saturated and trans fatty acids).Consider appropriate portion sizes of foods served in the food service sector, relevant to an 8700KJ Adult Average Daily Energy Intake
  • Consider and promote easy access and use of information useful to consumers to assist in making healthier food choices.
  • Consider appropriate placement of healthier foods/ beverages to assist in making healthy food choices the easy choices. Encourage greater availability of lower energy food and beverages
  • Recommendations will include specific guidance on healthier food and beverage options for children.

1.5 Scope

Key activities of the FOOD SERVICE Working Group will be to define the food service sector and develop a suite of pledges/commitments/activities for companies and businesses to implement. These pledges will aim to achieve the objectives identified in Section 1.4 with the aim of improving the health of Australians.

The working group has defined the scope of this work as including:

  1. Quick service restaurants and fast casual dining
  2. Ready to eat convenience foods (e.g. supermarket and convenience store settings)
  3. Independent fast food outlets/takeaway stores and sandwich bars
  4. Distributors and corporate caterers
  5. Dining out (including restaurants, cafes, pubs, clubs and function centres)
  6. Event/leisure (including event, leisure, travel and accommodation)
  7. Institutional corporate and education (including workplaces and schools)
  8. Institutional other (such as defence or correctional facilities)

This will include the development of a series of pledges to which individual companies and businesses can sign up to deliver [For the information of HFP Executive Committee, an outline of potential pledges is listed at Appendix A1]. In developing pledges, the working group will:

  1. Consider international activities within the food services sector including successes and learnings.
  2. Promote the ADGs.
  3. Identify and prioritise the issues and challenges that need to be addressed within this sector.
  4. Ensure activities are complementary to work being undertaken in the other HFP working groups.
  5. Determine expected outcomes and how to achieve these, including barriers and enablers.
  6. Develop a framework / system to support the pledges, including reporting, verification and transparency.

1.6 Timeframe

Key deliverables and activities are outlined in Section 3 of this Work Plan.

2.Governance and reporting

Members of the FOOD SERVICEWorking Group have been selected on the basis of their individual skills, expertise and experience, rather than as representatives of a particular group or organisation.

The FOOD SERVICEWorking Group will report to the HFP Executive Committee through the Chair(s).

3.Key deliverables and activities

3.1 Key deliverables

Key deliverables for the FOOD SERVICE Working Group are to:

  • Develop strategies to:
  1. encourage appropriate portion size in food service sectors
  2. ensure and promote whole food consumption of wholegrains fresh fruit and vegetable availability and consumption
  3. increase the visibility, availability and promotion of no added or low/reduced sugar products
  4. reduce added sugar, salt, saturated fatty acid and trans fatty acid content across food and beverage products/offerings
  5. reduce energy content of food offerings in food service settings
  6. consider strategies for meaningful menu labelling, providing increased transparency for consumers, in as many businesses as possible.
  7. Develop, consult about, promote and implement a pledge scheme which helps action these strategies.
  8. Make recommendations for monitoring the effectiveness of strategies and pledges identified.

3.2 Key activities

Key activity / Indicative timeframe / Relevant deliverable
Analyse current national and international food health initiatives in the food service sector and consider applicability to Australia. / December 2016 / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Develop strategies to increase whole food consumption e.g. vegetable and wholegrains in food service settings / Incorporated in pledges / 2
Consider strategies for portion control of foods served in all food service settings in consultation with the portion size working group / August 2017 – Some incorporated in pledges (ongoing with portion size working group) / 1, 5
Develop a set of commitments applicable across the food service industry, which aim to improve the health of Australians. Consideration will be given to activities to stop; start; and continue / February 2017-March 2018 / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Consult the Community of Interest on the developed commitments / October 2017 / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Identify ways to potentially enhance or strengthen POS energy labelling / Kj menu board labelling across Australia / March 2018 / 5
Consult more broadly with industry stakeholders on developed commitments - roundtable / Feb-March2018 / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Investigate mechanisms for educating chefs and cooks on the ADGs and develop relevant materials / TBC / 2, 4, 5
Provide recommendations for monitoring actions identified in the food service sector, including baseline indicators / TBC / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

4.Consultation and key linkages

4.1 Consultation

Consultation will initially be through the Community of Interest.

Broader consultation will be undertaken as required with stakeholders including those who will be involved in actioning the work plan of this working group.

4.2 Key linkages

  • PORTION SIZE Working Group – ensuring consistency in messages regarding portion size.
  • REFORMULATION Working Group – identifying areas which may be relevant for reformulation work. Some pledges could encompass reformulation targets.
  • IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION Working Group – ensuring the activities identified can be measured and developing a baseline.
  • COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION Working Group – communicating with key stakeholders and consumers actions being undertaken in this area.
  • COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION Working Group – Tools / logo to help food service outlets communicate that they are making improvements as part of the HFP.
  • International initiatives such as UK and US e.g. Culinary Institute of America (Healthy Menus, R& D collaborative), UK Responsibility deal, Public Health England and World Health Organization.
  • United Nations – Decade of Action (mindful eating / cultural aspects of how / when we eat)
  • Community of interest to gather data and information and to road test strategies identified.
  • Relevant stakeholders who may be impacted by the activities proposed.
  • Reporting – Evaluation and monitoring – guidelines to go with the pledges as well as how we are going to monitor companies and how they are tracking with their pledge commitments.

5.Financial implications

The FOOD SERVICE Working Group recognises the value in establishing a firm baseline for work undertaken and a survey may be beneficial to ensure appropriate data is obtained to measure success in this area.

A key activity identified is consultation with relevant stakeholders/businesses. Given the diverse nature of food business this will require funding in the 2016/17 budget.

The working group also recognises the value of communication activities with stakeholders and consumers which will have financial implications.

Indicative costs for activities that will require funding in 2016/17 include:

  1. Formative research
  • Analysis of current national and international food service sector health initiatives ($15,000)
  • Survey and consultation with in scope Australian food services on past/current initiatives, issues, challenges, expectations, draft pledges ($80,000)
  • Consumer research on expectations, attitudes and beliefs ($60,000)
  1. Implementation - develop a system to support the pledges including consultation with stakeholders/businesses, resources, tools and guidance materials ($80,000??)
  2. Evaluation – develop a monitoring and evaluation plan ($50,000)

All procurement must comply with Commonwealth Procurement Rules and will be conducted by the Department of Health in consultation with the FOOD SERVICEWorking Group.

6.Appendices

A.1 Australian Dietary Guidelines

1