FoodServiceEurope provides on-going contributions to the EU policymaking process and is in continuous dialogue with decision-makers on the perspective of the European contract catering sector on policy and regulatory developments.
In addition to cooperating on a bilateral and multilateral basis with stakeholders on issues of joint interest, FoodServiceEurope is engaged in the following activities:
Social Dialogue
FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT (European Federation representing the workers in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism sectors) are social partners for the contract catering industry within the framework of the European sectoral Social Dialogue.
As social partners we aim to design and implement effective annual action plans for the benefit of employers and employees. Areas of cooperation include the training of workers, food hygiene and safety, public procurement and corporate responsibility.
Training: FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT have committed to continuously improve employment practices and training programmes.
Food hygiene and safety: In 2009 FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT launched the European Guide to Good Practice for Food Hygiene in the Contract Catering Sector.The Guide provides guidelines and standards on food hygiene to assist contract caterers to comply with their legal obligations.
In addition, a new online training tool Food Hygiene Training for All was launched by FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT in 2011 to provide a qualification for food handlers in the contract catering sector. Food Hygiene for All addresses the lack of resources available to SMEs, which are often unable to invest in specific in-house food hygiene training, and contributes to the professional development of workers in those small and medium sized contract catering companies.
Public procurement: In 2019, FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT have launched an updated Guide to Choosing Best Value in Contracting Food Services. This Guide updates a prior version adopted in 2005, bringing it up to speed with developments of the EU legal framework. The Guide aims to assist public and private purchasers of contract catering services to identify and to avoid unusually low offers in their tendering procedures and select those that offer the best price/quality ratio for the purchaser and the final consumer.
Corporate responsibility:On 31 January 2007, FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT signed an Agreement on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Contract Catering sector. This agreement aims to set voluntary minimum standards in a number of areas for integrating CSR, such as continuous training, opportunities and non-discrimination, working conditions and choice of suppliers. The Agreement has recently been updated and a new text was signed during the annual Plenary Meeting of 6 October 2014. With the new Agreement on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Contract Catering sector the social partners have renewed their commitments in this area.
CloseFoodServiceEurope has been an active member of the EU Platform since its establishment in 2005. The EU Platform is a European-level forum for relevant industry stakeholders and NGOs willing to commit to tackling current trends in diet and physical activity.
Prior FoodServiceEurope commitments, that ran for ten years, focused on encouraging our members to take action at national level in promoting healthier lifestyles, implementing national nutritional recommendations and improving the availability of nutritional information for the end consumer.
In 2015, FoodServiceEurope committed to help meet the goals of the EU Action Plan on Childhood Obesity through the development of a Model EU School Food Standard as guidance for schools, their cooks, caterers and parents in the EU, setting a framework for action by companies and national associations. With this commitment, FoodServiceEurope has stepped up its engagement in the EU Platform setting a clear action plan towards a concrete goal that ultimately aims to help improve children’s diets across the EU.
For more information about our commitment click here (under ‘Fight against obesity’).
CloseFoodServiceEurope is an original member of the Advisory Group which was established by the European Commission in 2004. The Advisory Group serves as a consultative body to the Commission on its work programme on food and feed safety matters with the objective of ensuring that EU policy takes into account the views and needs of the food value chain.
CloseFoodServiceEurope is a founding member of the European Business Services Alliance (EBSA) that brings together the European associations within the business services sector. EBSA aims to gain recognition for the important role business services play for the European economy and to support the developments of a true internal market for business services in the EU.
CloseFoodServiceEurope is a member of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste launched by the European Commission in 2016. This Platform bring together public entities and private actors in the food value chain and it aims to support all actors in defining measures needed to prevent food waste; sharing best practice; and evaluating progress made over time.
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