FoodServiceEurope’s goal is to provide constructive and intelligent solutions to the key socio-economic challenges that concern our industry. Through this we aim to drive sustainable growth for the contract catering sector and for Europe as a whole.
Objectives:
- To provide valuable insight on EU policy initiatives and legislation and inform policymakers on the perspective of the European contract catering sector.
Contract catering is directly affected by many aspects of EU legislation. FoodServiceEurope promotes its members’ interests in areas including food hygiene and safety, public procurement and concessions, information to consumers and sustainability policy. By delivering over 6 billion meals annually, the industry provides an essential service to public and private organisations and society as a whole.
FoodServiceEurope aims to provide decision makers with a better understanding of the contract catering industry and the far-reaching role it plays, leading to better-informed EU policies.
- To provide an EU-level forum for contract caterers
FoodServiceEurope provides a platform to pool expertise and experience and exchange best practice across Europe on key topics of common interest.
- To cooperate with other EU stakeholders on areas of joint interest
FoodServiceEurope collaborates with other organisations at EU level on areas of joint interest. By partnering with other stakeholders, FoodServiceEurope is in a better position to achieve its mission and ensure that the interests of the contract catering sector are taken into account at EU level.
FoodServiceEurope brings together contract catering organisations in Europe and speaks on behalf of a significant share of the market.
Membership is made up of contract catering associations from various EU Member States with the objective of combining resources to contribute effectively to sound policymaking at EU level.
FoodServiceEurope is reinforced by Associate Members, which represent Europe’s leading contract catering companies. Associate Members meet twice annually in the Food Service Roundtable to provide direct input to EU policy proposals that affect the sector.
General Assembly
The positions of FoodServiceEurope are defined by the General Assembly, which meets twice a year and holds the decision making power within the organisation. The General Assembly appoints Board members, approves internal accounts and procedures, determines policy priorities and establishes working groups on areas of strategic importance.
Board
FoodServiceEurope’s Board is composed of a President and at least three Vice-Presidents.
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| Thomas Guether |
| President |
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Thomas Guether is Chief Growth Officer for Compass Group Europe &...
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Thomas Guether 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. 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.
Thomas Guether was elected to the board on 11 June 2021 and become president on 1 September 2023.
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| Stefan Lundin |
| Vice President |
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Stefan Lundin is head of the Industry Law Department at the Swedish...
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Stefan Lundin is head of the Industry Law Department at the Swedish industry and employer’s organization Visita, where he´s been working since 2003.
At Visita he handles different legal issues concerning – among others – contract catering companies, at national as well as EU-level.
Stefan has been attending FoodServiceEurope´s General Assemblies since 2016. He has a degree of Master of Laws (LL. M.) from the Stockholm University. He was elected to the board on 17 November 2023.
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| Caroline Soladié |
| Vice President |
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Caroline Soladié is Managing Director for Sodexo, leading a scope...
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Caroline Soladié is Managing Director for Sodexo, leading a scope of 6 countries in Continental Europe.
Caroline has a 25 year long career with Sodexo, in various senior leadership positions , mainly in strategic and finance functions, both in France and in Spain. Before being appointed managing director in Continental Europe, Caroline was CFO for Corporate Services activities globally.
Caroline is graduated from HEC, based in Paris, and speaks French, English and Spanish. She was elected to the board on 17 November 2023.
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Secretariat
FoodServiceEurope’s Brussels-based secretariat manages the organisation’s daily activities on behalf of the Board and serves as the main contact point with the EU institutions. It is represented by the Secretary General, Rocco Renaldi, who was appointed by the Board in November 2011.
In 2012 FoodServiceEurope established the Food Service Roundtable to bring together CEOs and senior business managers of Europe’s leading contract catering companies. As Associate Members, these companies come together to discuss policy issues of mutual interest and provide direct input to EU policy proposals.
Members
Trivalor
Sodexo
Compass Group
Elior
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.
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EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste
FoodServiceEurope 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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European Business Services Alliance
FoodServiceEurope 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.
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EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health
FoodServiceEurope 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’).
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Advisory Group on the Food Chain and Animal and Plant Health
FoodServiceEurope 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.
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