Commission’s commitment to building an attractive, competitive, and sustainable agri-food system, as outlined in its Vision for Agriculture and Food.

We strongly welcome the announcement in the Vision for Agriculture and Food that the European Commission will introduce a legal proposal to strengthen the role of public procurement, ensuring that the lowest price is no longer the sole criterion in public tenders. Instead, public procurement should adopt a “best value” approach that rewards quality and sustainability.

This is fully aligned with our longstanding call for a “best value”  approach to public procurement, as outlined in our Best Value Guide – ‘Choosing Best Value in Contracting Food Services’, developed with our social dialogue partners, EFFAT.

The European Sectoral Social Partners in the contract catering sector, FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT, would like to express their support for Enrico Letta’s report on the future of the EU Single Market and, in particular, his views on public procurement.

FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT are pleased to see that the main asks of their joint input to the report have been taken into consideration by Mr Letta. Notably, that ‘reliance on the lowest price award criterion as the default approach in public procurement warrants critical examination’.

You can find the full statement below.

On 30 April, FoodServiceEurope submitted its third annual report to the Code of Conduct for Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices. As one of the founding signatories of the Code in June of 2021, we fulfill each year its reporting obligation. 

The 2024 report udpates the previous one and includes new actions and initiatives that the association and our memberes have taken to work towards the aspirational objectives of the Code.

The report, which will be soon published on the Code of Conduct’s webpage, is available on our dedicated space for the Code on our website. 

Brussels, 18 September 2023 – Today, FoodServiceEurope, the voice of the contract catering sector in Europe, is proud to present its Manifesto for the contract catering sector in the 2024-2029 EU mandate. With the aim of addressing the challenges faced by the catering industry, FoodServiceEurope calls on policymakers to empower the contract catering sector to continue providing nutritious, healthy, and sustainable meals to millions of EU citizens.

FoodServiceEurope has elected Thomas Guether as new President of the association, effective from 1 September 2023. He succeeds Michel Croisé, CEO of Sodexo BENELUX, who steps down after 6 years in the role.

Thomas Guether, a German national, has been with FoodServiceEurope since 2021 when he was elected to the board as Vice President. He is Chief Growth Officer for Compass Group Europe & Middle East heading up New Business Teams, Client Success Management & Retention & Sustainability covering 20 countries of the Group’s 40 countries. He has over 20 years of experience in various leadership roles.

In his new role as President of FoodServiceEurope, Mr Guether will play a key role in helping to promote and empower the European contract catering sector.

Brussels, 19 June 2023 – EFFAT and FoodServiceEurope have united to raise concerns about the potential threats posed by the current public procurement rules in the EU to the social and economic rights of workers and employers in the contract catering sector.

They emphasize that half of public tenders in Europe are awarded solely based on the lowest price, leading to unfair competition and a disregard for social criteria. This approach risks discouraging quality service provisions, harming socially responsible companies, and jeopardizing fair work and pay.

Therefore, EFFAT and FoodServiceEurope advocate for a 'best-value' approach in public procurement, urging the revision of the EU Public Procurement Directive to prioritise quality criteria and promote collective bargaining. They call upon the European Commission to strengthen the bargaining capacity of social partners, enhance consultation with representative social partners in public procurement matters, and increase funding for professionalisation and awareness among public buyers.

Additionally, they propose adjustments to public procurement rules for essential services and labour-intensive industries, such as contract catering, including the exclusion of the lowest price criterion and the requirement for adherence to collective agreements to promote collective bargaining through public procurement.

 For media inquiries or further information, please contact:

Kerstin Howald

Tourism Sector Secretary

EFFAT

Tel +32 (0)2 209 62 64

[email protected]

Alison Ryan

Policy Manager

FoodServiceEurope

Tel +32 492 15 73 88

[email protected]

About EFFAT:

EFFAT is the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions, also representing domestic workers. As a European Trade Union Federation representing 120 national trade unions from 35 European countries, EFFAT defends the interests of more than 22 million workers towards the European Institutions, European employers’ associations and transnational companies.

About FoodServiceEurope:

FoodServiceEurope represents the interests of the European contract catering sector at EU level. As employers of over 600,000 people across Europe and delivering over 6 billion meals every year, we are a key stakeholder in the EU policymaking process.

As one of the founding signatories of the Code in June of 2021, FoodServiceEurope fulfilled again, on 26 April, its obligation to submitt an annual report to the Code of Conduct for Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices.

The 2023 report udpates the previous one and includes new actions and initiatives that the association and our memberes have taken to work towards the aspirational objectives of the Code.

The report, which has been published on the Code of Conduct’s webpage, is also available on our dedicated space for the Code on our website. 

FoodServiceEurope is delighted to welcome our newest member to the association, the Norwegian Federation of Service Industries and Retail Trade (NHOSH). NHOSH is the second largest national association in Norway, with almost 7.400 member companies, and 87.500 full-time employees. In addition to the Food Service and Contract Catering sub-network, the association has sub networks covering facility services and facility management industries, security and guard services, and retail and trade, among others.

NHOSH objective is to promote the common interests of its member companies and provide them with the tools they need to develop in a healthy business environment. Working at the intersection of politics and private enterprise, the organization is dedicated to the fostering of a fair business environment in service of wider society. They maintain a strong media presence in order to provide information for key decision-makers and the general public. 

On the 29^th of April, FoodServiceEurope submitted its first annual report to the Code of Conduct for Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices. The report is part of our obligation as signatories of the Code. The report outlines the efforts that the association and our members have taken to work towards the aspirational objectives of the Code.

FoodServiceEurope was one of the founding signatories of the Code in June of 2021.

The report will be published on the Code of Conduct’s webpage. It is also available on our dedicated space for the Code on our website. 

The EBSA, of whom FoodServiceEurope is a member, published a statement on 14 March on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive proposal. The statement outlines the EBSA's support of initiatives fostering sustainable development and recognises the advantages created by increasingly streamlined reporting obligations that replace dispersed reporting schemes. However, it stresses the need for the proposed directive to provide legal certainty and limit administrative and financial burdens for European businesses, so as to ensure that they are provided with adequate reporting tools to guarantee their full contribution to the objectives of the European Green Deal.

FoodServiceEurope is delighted to annouce that FEDIL Catering has joined the association as a member. FEDIL is a multisectoral business federation giving a voice to Luxembourg’s industry and entrepreneurs. FEDIL Catering is the sector association representing the interest of the contract catering sector in Luxembourg under the umbrella association. FEDIL Catering joined FoodServiceEurope as an observer member in 2021 and has now joined as a full member. We look forward to working with FEDIL Catering.

FoodServiceEurope signs today the Code of Conduct for Responsible Business and Marketing Practices, marking the contract catering sector’s commitment to more sustainable food systems.

FoodServiceEurope is determined to contribute to improving the sector’s performance and the provision of healthy and increasingly sustainable meals to clients and consumers. We thus strongly endorse the aspirational objectives and targets listed in this Code.

We recognise the important role the sector can play in further improving the sustainability of our food systems - notably by leveraging contract catering companies’ direct contact with consumers and improving their internal processes. FoodServiceEurope is thus committed to taking on the responsibilities listed in the Code of Conduct for European Associations, including to actively promoting the Code of Conduct among our membership to help accelerate the journey of our sector in the right direction and to report annually on our activities in this area. 

We are also determined to continue to be an engaged stakeholder going forward and to participate in the continuous dialogue with other food chain/system actors and EU and international policy-makers to discuss progress towards our common aspirations.

In our engagement, we also look to the European Commission for continuous support and leadership in the process going forward, as set out in the Farm to Fork Strategy.

More information available in the official website.

During the General Assembly that took place on 11 June, FoodServiceEurope members unanimously elected a new board member. Thomas Guether, Compass, was elected as Vice-President, following the resignation of Cédric Barthelemy as Vice-President of FoodServiceEurope.

Thomas Guether is the Chief Growth Officer for Compass Group Europe & Middle East, which is Compass' second largest region, covering 25 countries of the Group’s 45 countries and more than 130,000 employees. He has over 18 years of experience in various leadership roles. Before he joined Compass in October 2019 he worked in the BPO industry with a focus of global contact centre & technology outsourcing working for global BPOs including Sitel, Teleperformance and Capita plc.

FoodServiceEurope warmly thanks Cédric Barthelemy for his dedication and valuable contribution for the work of our association and welcomes Thomas Guether to the Board.

FoodServiceEurope, along with 12 other European business associations and trade unions, representing European hospitality, many of its supplier sectors and their workers, have sent a letter to the leaders of EU institutions. The letter calls for the setting up of a hospitality task force across the EU Institutions to discuss the impact that COVID-19 has had on business and jobs and deliver a road map for the recovery of the hospitality sector and its value chain.

Trade associations in the hospitality sector, including FoodServiceEurope, have published a joint statement calling for the immediate setting up of a hospitality task force across EU Institutions to discuss the impact that COVID-19 has had on business and deliver a road map for the recovery of the hospitality sector and its value chain.

The hospitality sector has been among the hardest hit of the COVID-19 crisis, with businesses being forced to shut down at short notice as part of the collective fight against the virus. A clear roadmap is needed for the reopening of the sector, with clarity on the conditions required to safely do so. 

FoodServiceEuroope, EFCI, Eurocmmerce, HOTREC and World Employment Confederation-Europe launch today a joint statement in support of diverse and adaptable forms of work as essential to Europe’s recovery. Diverse forms of work foster employment, economic resilience and work-life balance in Europe and it is key policy makers acknowledge their role in a rapidly changing society.

FoodServiceEurope, HOTREC and FoodDrinkEurope have published a paper calling on the EU to introduce temporary reduced VAT rates in the hospitality sector in order to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. The position paper highlights the benefits of temporarily reduced VAT rates for the hospitality and contract catering sectors and outlines why this measures is necessary to support sector in these challenging times. 

FoodServiceEurope took part today in the very interesting discussions with representatives from the Commission, the legal profession, contracting authorities and service providers, about public procurement in the EU and the way forward. Key conclusions from these discussions are outlined in the document below.

We urge the Commission to consider these elements when taking public procurement policies forward and considering the potential introduction of mandatory procurement criteria. It is fundamental to ensure tenders provide the flexibility to apply a case-by-case approach that is framed by sector specific guidance. The sectorial Best Value Guides (such as the one for contract catering services here)  are a concrete contribution to such an objective that should be used.

On 8 October, EBSA will host an online seminar on Public Procurement in the EU. The event aims at presenting the main issues regarding the application of the 2014 Public Procurement Package before EU decisions makers and other stakeholders. In addition to a presentation of the European, Spanish and German chapters of “The Government Procurement Review”, buyers and experts from different business services organisations will also present success stories in the use and design of public procurement. The detailed program of the Webinar can be found here. For registration please write to [email protected].

FoodServiceEurope presents its Call to Action: For the Strategic Deployment of Contract Catering in the Aftermath of COVID-19. This paper outlines the essential role that the contract catering industry can play in Europe's economic recovery.  It calls on the EU to take concrete actions in three key areas to enable the industry to operate as effectively as possible. These actions include the strategic deployment of public procurement, taxation that reflects social utility and a holistic approach to sustainable food systems. 

The European Business Service Alliance, of which FoodServiceEurope is a member, calls on the Commission to recognise and enable business services' essential role in Europe's economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, in a statement published on 14 July 2020. EBSA members outline five key actions that the Commission must take to leverage business services and ensure that they are at the heart of Europe's recovery. 

The European Business Services Alliance,of which FoodServiceEurope is a member, supports good contracting practices in the COVID-19 crisis and calls on the European Commission to urgently provide guidance to Member States. In addition, the EBSA urges public and private buyers to award business services contracts also on the basis of quality criteria and not only on price.

The EBSA recognises the immense efforts of European Institutions and Member States to help citizens, workers and businesses in this unprecedented crisis, and trusts that they will continue in a sense of solidarity, with targeted support to those sectors that are most affected by the situation. The EBSA and our members are ready to fulfil our role and support the EU, businesses and citizens in these challenging times.

The hospitality-tourism sector is one of the major players in the EU economy. EFFAT, FoodDrinkEurope, FoodServiceEurope and HOTREC, have come together as European social partners to call on the EU for an exit strategy from the COVID-19 crisis and a recovery plan that allows hotels, restaurants, bars, cafés and canteens to survive and to help protect millions of jobs across Europe.

The European Business Services Alliance,of which FoodServiceEurope is a member, supports this Roadmap to lifting the containment measures. Based on several economic support packages andtheuseful recommendations on how to gradually lift containmentmeasures, the EBSA calls on the European Commission to continue supporting with targeted measures the most affected sectors and their ecosystems, under recognition of the essential role that business services play for their economic recovery.

The Covid-19 pandemic is causing unprecedented challenges for European societies. The EU and Member State governments have taken extraordinary but necessary measures in recent days to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect human life. These measures have included school and university closures, closures of bars, restaurants and other public spaces, instructing non-critical businesses to allow workers to work from home where possible, and in some cases forcing non-essential factories to suspend production.

FoodServiceEurope supports whatever measures are necessary to combat the spread of the virus. However, these measures are putting a huge strain on the contract catering industry.

The closures of schools, universities, restaurants, offices and other facilities in which contract catering companies operate is causing a huge loss of business for our sector, putting employment and the viability of companies at risk. In Italy for example, 41% of the 97,000 workers in the contract catering industry work in schools and universities.

Contract caterers who are continuing to provide vital services to those working in essential sectors, such as hospitals and care homes, are experiencing difficulties in sourcing sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) for their employees.

The European Union has introduced a number of economic measures to support Member States and companies during this crisis, including the relaxation of State Aid rules. The EU has adopted a Temporary Framework, similar to the one created in 2008 during the financial crisis, to offer advice to Members States on how to effectively use five different types of State Aid to stabilise their economies and protect the Single Market.  These include direct grants, state guarantees, subsidised public loans, safeguards for banks and short-term export credit insurance.

The EU has also called on Member States to take all necessary measures to protect the most affected sectors, such as providing wage support, suspending corporate tax and suspending VAT. Many Member States have already introduced comprehensive economic measures to support their economies and affected sectors during the crisis.

FoodServiceEurope welcomes the measures taken by the EU and encourages Member States to take full advantage of all the  support measuresbeing made available by the EU. Some companies may be experiencing a total loss of business (especially caterers in schools and universities) and concrete financial supports are crucial to prevent them from collapsing. FoodServiceEurope also encourages its members to engage with the authorities in their Member State to ensure that they are availing themselves of all measures which have been put in place to support businesses.

Finally, FoodServiceEurope echoes the need to ensure that sufficient PPE is made available to all those working in the contract catering sector, in particular those working in hospitals. They are providing a vital service to those working on the front lines, and it is crucial that their health is protected so they can continue to provide this essential service

The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste adopted during its plenary meeting on 12 December key recommendations for food waste prevention at each stage of the food supply chain: primary production; processing and manufacturing; retail and other distribution of food; hospitality and other food services; and households.

The Hungarian version of our new EFFAT-FoodServiceEurope Guide “Choosing best value in contracting food services – A guide for private and public client organisations”, was officially launched in Budapest on 31 October. The high-level event counted with the presence of Rétvári Bence, State Secretary of the Hungarian Ministry for Human Resources, which helped ensure a very good media coverage. The agenda included also other relevant speakers, notably from the authority in charge of supervising school meals, a legal expert in public procurement and the Hungarian social partners for the catering sector, VISZ and VIMOSZ. The event was very successful, counting with around 80 participants from local public authorities, catering companies, etc.

Cristina Freitas da Costa participated on behalf of FoodServiceEurope Secretariat and, together with Kerstin Howald from EFFAT, welcomed the very active involvement of VISZ and VIMOSZ in the European sectoral social dialogue and particularly in the elaboration of the updated Guide. The Hungarian version of the Guide, is now available in the dedicated Website.

FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT, EU social partners for the contract catering sector, launched our updated Best Value Guide. This is the outcome of an EU funded project. The guide is expected to support client organizations in the procurement of food services based on quality as much as price, thereby promoting the values enshrined in the EU public procurement strategy of prompting quality services that fully respect workers’ rights among other quality considerations.

The event was successful with fruitful discussions with representatives from the EU institutions and insights from workers and employers.

The Guide and related tool is available online via a dedicated Website. Nine different language versions will soon be available.

In a joint statement published today European employers call on policy-makers and social partners to work together to improve skills matching across the EU.

FoodServiceEurope is concerned by the worrying trend of growing skills mismatches and labour force shortages in a majority of EU countries and fully endorses the call for action and concrete solutions proposed in the attached statement.

Launch of the updated guide for private and public client organisations

18 September 2019 – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.  

Grand Auditorium, International Trade Union House - Boulevard du Roi Albert II, No. 5 / 2

FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT, EU social partners for the contract catering sector, are launching our updated Best Value Guide. This is the outcome of an EU funded project and the guide is expected to support client organizations in the procurement of food services based on quality as much as price, thereby promoting the values enshrined in the EU public procurement strategy of prompting quality services that fully respect workers’ rights among other quality considerations.

Confirmed speakers include:

Sigried Caspar, European Commission, Team Leader Sectoral Social Dialogue, DG EMPL

Anna Lupi, European Commission, Public Procurement Strategy, DG GROW

Carole Micmacher, European Commission, Head of Unit Catering, Office for Infrastructure and Logistics of the OIB

Tanja Struve, Head of Brussels office, German County Association (Deutscher Landkreistag),

Isabel Caño, Vice-President European Economic and Social Committee

Registration by e-mail to [email protected] by 11 September 2019.

Michel Croisé, President of FoodServiceEurope, shared the  importance of ensuring fair competition with public authorities and the need to ensure open competition based on quality in public procurement  during the panel discussion of the European Business Services Alliance that took place in Brussels.

The EBSA breakfast event was the occasion to present our common priorities for the next legislature, which are shared by FoodServiceEurope and other member organizations representing B2B services. See our joint manifesto below.

The European Business Services Alliance, of which FoodServiceEurope is a member, will launch its priorities for the next EU legislature in a breakfast event in Brussels on 21 February (8:30-10:00). 

Mr. Hubert Gambs, Director for Modernisation of the Single Market in DG GROW will be giving the Key Note speech.

Location: Press Club - Rue Froissart 95

Register by e-mal to [email protected]

We are looking forward to seeing you!

Invitation

In view of ongoing Trilogue negotiations, FoodServiceEurope urges negotiators to consider the specificities of the contact catering sector and its unique position in the food supply chain. The contract catering industry supports the fostering of fair contractual relations amongst all actors in the supply chain as essential to provide high-quality, safe, and affordable food to consumers. However, initiatives at EU level must remain balanced and proportionate to achieve the overall objective of the proposal, that is, to strengthen the position of farmers in the food supply chain. We thus call EU institutions to incorporate the following elements in the final text:

• Where the buyer is operating a social food service, operators in the food supply chain should retain the possibility to agree on longer payment terms. An amendment to this effect needs to be introduced in the legislative text and a proposal is included in the attached.

• FoodServiceEurope strongly supports the explicit inclusion of public authorities within the text of the Directive, as intended in the AGRI report. However, a more general reference to public authorities being covered is needed to avoid misunderstandings.

• We very much welcome the clearer definition of perishable agricultural and food products being put forward by both the European Parliament and the Council and we urge negotiators to maintain such amendments and ensure the definition is unambiguous and clear.

 Additional details are provided  in the attached position paper.

During the General Assembly that took place in Madrid on 15 June, Jean-François Camarty and Cédric Barthélemy were unanimously elected Vice Presidents of FoodServiceEurope. Mr Barthélemy and Mr Camarty succeed Jonas Siljhammar and Cyril Capliez who were members of FoodServiceEurope’s Board since 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Jean-François Camarty is Director of Public Affairs Elior Group since 2015. He has a long experience working with the company, where Mr. Camarty has had different functions since 1998, notably as CEO Concession catering. Previously Mr Camarty was Finance Manager with Accor, having also worked at the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits and in P&G.

Cédric Barthélemy is General Counsel with Compass Group France since 2015. He has over 15 years of experience as a company lawyer, having previously worked as senior legal counsel at Marionnaud France and Disneyland Paris. Between 2000 and 2003, Mr Barthélemy was a lawyer with Hogan Lovells law firm.

FoodServiceEurope warmly thanks Jonas Siljhammar and Cyril Capliez for their dedication and valuable contribution for the work of our association and welcomes the new members of our Board.

Today, FoodServiceEurope has submitted to the European Commission its position on the proposal for a Directive on unfair trading practices in the food supply chain, in the context of the feedback period introduced by the better regulation agenda.

FoodServiceEurope believes that fostering fair contractual relations amongst all actors in the supply chain is essential to provide high-quality, safe, and affordable food to consumers. Therefore, the contract catering sector supports balanced initiatives to strengthen the position of farmers and SMEs in the food supply chain. However, any initiative at EU level has to be justified and proportionate in order to achieve this stated objective.

The Commission’s proposal for a Directive to address unfair trading practices in the food supply chain does not sufficiently consider the specificities of the contract catering sector and its unique position in the food supply chain. In particular:

(i) The prohibition for buyers to agree with their suppliers on payment terms of more than 30 days for perishable products would be disproportionately burdensome for contract catering operators, who do not enjoy equivalent protection in respect of their clients. Clients, especially public-sector entities, often operate on much longer payment terms and rarely on 30 days. This means operators in the contract catering sector would be unfairly squeezed between their buyers, often public authorities outsourcing catering services, and their suppliers. Operators in the food supply chain should thus be able to retain the possibility to agree on longer payment terms, adapting contracts to the concrete realities of the market.

(ii) In addition, for the proposal to reflect the legislator’s intent, the definition of “perishable food products” should be limited to fresh food products and food products with a short shelf-life.

(iii) The proposal does not expressly cover public authorities that buy food products to provide services equivalent to those performed by private sector contract catering operators. This would potentially create an additional distortion to competition in the market. This needs to be addressed, either through the unambiguous inclusion of public authorities within the scope of the Directive or through the exclusion of contract catering services overall from the entire scope of the proposal.

(iv) If contract catering companies are to be covered by the scope of the directive when they act as buyers, this should also be the case when they are suppliers in order for the directive to cover the food supply chain in its entirety. We thus call to extend the scope of the proposal to cover also the provision of food services in business-to-business relations.

During the General Assembly that took place in Brussels on 23 November 2017, Michel Croisé was unanimously elected President of FoodServiceEurope. Mr Croisé succeeds Zsolt Párkai who was member of FoodServiceEurope’s Board since 2013 and President since 2015.

Michel Croisé is CEO of Sodexo BENELUX. He started his career in the company in 1992. With an academic background on physiotherapy, prior to his collaboration in Sodexo Michel Croisé has also been the CEO of Belgian Health Promotion S.A. between 1986 and 1990. He is currently the President of UBC, FoodServiceEurope’s Belgian member.

FoodServiceEurope warmly thanks Zsolt Párkai for his dedication and valuable contribution for the work of our association and welcomes Michel Croisé as new President of FoodServiceEurope.

In the context of our social policy engagement, FoodServiceEurope has recently endorsed BusinessEurope’s position paper on the European Pillar of Social Rights. While FoodServiceEurope also recognises and supports the need for increased convergence of the EU/EMU, we too believe the sole focus on ‘social rights’ is not the right approach at EU level. For the full position paper by BusinessEurope please follow this link.

Today, FoodServiceEurope took part in the Seminar of the European Employers’ Network, where these views were again presented by BusinessEurope to Michel Servoz, the European Commission Director-General of DG EMPL. This was also an occasion to further discuss among participants the state of play and future of the European Social Dialogue taking into account both cross-industry and sector specific interests in light of key developments in social policy at EU level.

FoodServiceEurope is the employer organization for the contract catering industry within the framework of the European sectoral Social Dialogue and very much welcomes this debate.

FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT (European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions), have jointly committed to improve the quality and attractiveness of apprenticeships schemes in the contract catering sector.

Based on the conviction that a better use of apprenticeships can go a long way in attracting young talent and improving the image of our sector, EFFAT and FoodServiceEurope have committed in particular to:

• Include apprenticeships in the areas of cooperation between FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT and especially in their annual action plans.
• Promote active discussions and exchanges of experiences among and between their members.
• Present the benefits of apprenticeships schemes at their General Assemblies, encouraging their national organizations to join the Alliance for Apprenticeships and sharing their experience to their own members.
• Present apprenticeships as a good opportunity for the food catering sector to have a qualified, young and dynamic workforce amongst their members, through their websites, their newsletters, their meetings and social media communications.
• Encourage company members to provide high quality apprenticeship and traineeship positions.

The pledge has been adopted during the plenary meeting of the Social Dialogue Committee in the European Contract Catering sector that took place in Brussels on 12 September 2017.

Moving forward, EFFAT and FoodServiceEurope will take actions to mobilize their members and gather best practice examples on the enhanced quality and attractiveness of apprenticeships schemes to be shared at the Social Dialogue Plenary meeting in 2018. 

Today, FoodServiceEurope released its ‘Model EU School Food Standard’ which provides food and nutrient based standards for food served in schools, as well as recommendations for a healthier school environment. The Standard was developed as guidance for contract catering operators and all actors involved in the provision of food in schools in the EU.

The Standard was adopted in the context of FoodServiceEurope’s participation to the European Commission’s EU Platform for Diet, Physical Activity and Health, a forum where stakeholders adopt commitments that contribute to tackling childhood obesity within the EU.

The Model takes into account mandatory regulations or voluntary guidance on food served in primary and secondary schools at national or local level. It is not meant to replace existing guidelines, but to provide a European reference standard and supplement existing guidance wherever useful.

While many factors are linked to increasing levels of childhood obesity in Europe, FoodServiceEurope recognizes the importance of promoting healthier environments in schools and is committed to supporting EU Member States in their endeavours, as laid down in the EU Action Plan on Childhood Obesity 2014-2020.

“As food provider in schools, hospitals, care homes and other similar settings, the contract catering sector plays an important social and economic role. This entails a responsibility to provide the best nutritional quality possible. The Model School Food Policy that we are launching today will be used to promote the highest standards across Europe. We call on EU Member States to match this ambition with a commitment to promoting quality through public tendering, by awarding contracts on criteria beyond best price. This will be fundamental to improving nutrition in schools among other settings,” said Rocco Renaldi, FoodServiceEurope Secretary-General.

Moving forward, FoodServiceEurope commits to engaging with relevant partners for the dissemination of the School Food Standard in the contract catering sector. It will carry out follow-up actions for implementation at national level through its national associations and member companies.

During the General Assembly that took place in Vienna on 19 May 2017, Carlo Scarsciotti was unanimously elected Vice-President of FoodServiceEurope. Mr Scarsciotti succeeds Alastair Storey who was member of FoodServiceEurope’s Board since 2011.

Carlo Scarsciotti is the Chairman of Angem – Italian National Association of Food and Support Services companies - and Director of Oricon – Foodservice and Nutrition Observatory - since July 2013. Until May 2013 he was Chairman of Compass Group Italy, for which he served as Chief Executive Officer from October 2005 to May 2012.

He has been involved in the food service business for about 20 years.  Before Compass he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ligabue Catering for 12 years.

Throughout his career he had also other numerous technical, commercial and management experiences. He has a degree in nuclear engineering and MBA Bocconi University Milan.

FoodServiceEurope warmly thanks Alastair Storey for his dedication and valuable contribution for the work of our association and welcomes Carlo Scarsciotti as new member of the FoodServiceEurope Board.

FoodServiceEurope’s compilation of good practices to reduce food waste in the contract catering sector has been published on the European Commission’s website.

FoodServiceEurope acknowledges its responsibility for the food waste that occurs at its level of the food chain, and supports efforts to prevent and reduce food waste. In order to prevent food waste, European contract catering companies are taking important steps to improve stock control and are rolling out consumer awareness programmes across Europe. To tackle unavoidable food waste they are investing in turning food waste into green energy and are exploring food donation options where feasible.

The FoodServiceEurope compilation of best practices provides a range of initiatives and case studies on food waste reduction that have been launched by FoodServiceEurope Members at national, regional and local level. It also provides examples of their active engagement in facilitating the exchange and spreading good practices.

The DG Health and Food Safety of the European Commission has compiled an online database of industry initiatives on food waste reduction in order to encourage best-practice sharing. The European Commission has also updated its website to explain recent regulatory developments and has added a new section on existing Guidelines for Food Donation in EU Member States (BE, FI, FR, DE, IT, PT), which could be helpful for contract caterers who wish to donate surplus food.

EFFAT and FoodServiceEurope, the Social Partners in the European contract catering sector, have updated their Agreement on Corporate Social Responsibility and a new text has been signed during the annual Plenary Meeting. With this new agreement the social partners have renewed their commitments in this area.

The initial Agreement on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Contract Catering Sector was signed on 31 January 2007 between EFFAT and FoodServiceEurope (then FERCO). The joint work of the EU social partners has since been based on this Agreement, which reflects the acknowledgment by both parties that contract catering companies are not only responsible for their products and services, but also for the conditions under which these are produced. The agreement therefore sets voluntary minimum standards in a number of suggested areas, such as continuous training, health and safety, food safety and hygiene, working conditions, awarding of contracts in public procurement among many others.

The new Agreement reinforces the Social Partners’ previous commitment and is intended to bring the text up to date taking into account EU developments in this area. While the main purpose of the revision was to update our longstanding agreement, the new text also expands the areas of joint cooperation between the Social Partners to include now as well environmental protection and sustainability considerations. The Social Partners will now also be working to exchange best practices in ensuring that measures taken in contract catering enterprises to improve the environmental protection also take into account the improvement of the working environment where feasible.

As part of our joint cooperation at EU level and to ensure the good implementation of our agreement, EFFAT and FoodServiceEurope will continue to regularly collect and share examples of good CSR practices developed by contract catering enterprises across Europe

FoodServiceEurope presented on 24 April its response to the Commission’s Public Consultation on the VAT legislation on public bodies and tax exemptions in the public interest. In our response we highlighted that all the shortcomings of the current regime identified by the Commission are relevant to the contract catering sector and outlined how our industry sees the reform of the VAT regime going forward. Acknowledging that the full taxation model is not perceived as a realistic option for Member States, FoodServiceEurope supports tackling the problems identified through selective amendments to the current provisions. These should necessarily include a revision of both Articles 13 and 132-134 of the VAT Directive.

Today’s final adoption by the Council of the new Public Procurement Package paves the way for implementation by the EU Member States within two years. In this context, the EU Social Partners in the contract catering sector, EFFAT (European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions) and FoodServiceEurope, call on Member States to seize the opportunities that were lost at EU level.

On the eve of the plenary vote for the revision of the Public Procurement Directive, the EU Social Partners in the contract catering sector, FoodServiceEurope and EFFAT, call on Members of the European Parliament to include their sector under the full scope of the Directive and to ensure that the new rules effectively guarantee socially responsible tenders.

During the General Assembly that took place in Brussels on 26 November 2013, Zsolt Párkai was unanimously elected Vice-President of FoodServiceEurope. Mr Parkai succeeds Michel Franceschi who was member of FoodServiceEurope’s Board since 2008.

Zsolt Párkai is Sodexo Europe’s CEO for Emerging Markets (On-Site Services). With a degree in Civil Engineering from the Technical University of Budapest and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, Mr Parkai joined Sodexo in 1997 where he has held various managing positions. In his current role, he is in charge of the following countries: Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey.

FoodServiceEurope warmly thanks Michel Franceschi for his dedication and valuable contribution for the work of our association and welcomes Zsolt Párkai as new member of the FoodServiceEurope Board.

FERCO (the Fédération Européenne de la Restauration Collective Concédée) re-launched as FoodServiceEurope on 5 March at the European Parliament.

In an event hosted by MEP Toine Manders and attended by the Irish Presidency of the EU and the European Commission, FERCO President Norbert Hummel unveiled the new name and logo of the organisation.

FERCO was established in 1990 to discuss and address the key issues affecting the contract catering sector. With its new name, logo and website, FoodServiceEurope will continue fulfilling its mission to tackle the predominant socio-economic facing Europe and to drive sustainable growth for the catering industry and for Europe as a whole.

FoodServiceEurope, formerly the European Federation of Contract Catering Organisations (FERCO), held its third Food Service Roundtable to discuss the on-going public procurement reform with decision makers from the three EU institutions. The event, hosted by IMCO coordinator Toine Manders MEP (ALDE), took place in the European Parliament and brought together senior business managers of Europe’s leading contract catering companies Compass, Elior, ISS, Sodexo and Trivalor and national contract catering associations.

Following the European Parliament’s decision to enter into Trilogue negotiations, the contract catering industry proposes 4 key actions to ensure the quality and value of food services provided through public procurement. “It is a crucial moment for public procurement. We have to take this opportunity to ensure the best value for money in public procurement and the best possible conditions for the provision of high quality services,” said Rocco Renaldi, FoodServiceEurope Secretary General.

“If we are serious about promoting nutrition, health and sustainability we have to recognise the key role of public procurement. The contract catering sector stands ready to play its part, but it needs a strong and ambitious EU legal framework to enable operators to compete on quality for the provision of the six billion meals it serves to Europeans every year, in hospitals, schools and care homes among other settings,” Mr. Renaldi underlined.

The EU social partners in the contract catering sector, EFFAT (European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions) and FERCO (European Federation of Contract Catering Organisations) have launched a basic online training tool for first level workers handling food in the contract catering sector across Europe, after joint initiatives for a more socially responsible awarding of contracts in the contract catering sector.

Aware that food safety is an important issue for EU consumers and that food hygiene is a key skill in the contract catering sector, EFFAT and FERCO have decided to jointly carry out the project “Food Hygiene Training for All” to create an online training tool for the industry.

This EU wide training tool is accessible online free of charge. It seeks to provide a qualification for workers in the contract catering sector, aiming to offer an innovative food hygiene training opportunity to first level food handlers.