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ALL fish served in all UK Government departments and their agencies must come from sustainable sources, through the new Government Buying Standards announced this week.
This includes establishments from Whitehall offices to prisons and Army barracks to Royal Navy warships, but does not yet include local authorities or hospital boards.
The standards for all food procured by Government departments and their agencies will come into force for all new catering contracts from September this year and require that all food should be produced to UK or equivalent production standards where this does not increase overall costs;more food must be produced to higher environmental standards; that at least 50 per cent of tea and coffee must be fairly traded;that fresh produce should be seasonal; and food waste must be minimised. The central government spends about £16-million a year on fish.
Food Minister Jim Paice said:“This is the delivery of a Government promise to ensure that we do not use taxpayers’ money to undermine our own farmers’ high standards of production. By doing so, we’re practising what we preach and challenging the rest of the public sector to follow.”
The new standards, developed by Defra and the Department of Health, mean that all food bought by Government departments must meet British or equivalent standards of production, wherever this can be achieved without increasing overall costs. For example, in future, all pork and pork products procured by Government should be produced to the same high welfare standards that UK pig producers have to meet.
The standards also include elements on healthy eating and include:
* purchasing healthier ingredients and foods lower in salt, saturated fat and added sugars;
* promoting best practice in cooking and serving food to help consumers choose the healthier option; and
* providing higher level criteria for Departments who wish to go further on portion size, calorie labelling and menu analysis.
Anne Milton, Minister for Public Health, said: “The standards show that Government is leading by example – by making sure there are healthier choices for people and that people have the right information at hand so they can choose healthier food more easily.”
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