Download Healthy Eating Policy and Statement

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Healthy Eating Policy and Statement
Healthy Eating Policy
Purpose
● To ensure that our consumers have the
opportunity to choose healthy meals and snacks.
● To encourage a healthy lifestyle through the
association of healthy food with exercise and the
promotion of health-enhancing habits.
● To promote a positive outlook on life and an
awareness of the consequences of healthy and
unhealthy choices.
OCS has recognised that it is the responsibility of the
Caterer to provide their clients with healthy and
nutritious food. By "healthy" and "nutritious" food, we
understand balanced, planned and creative
menus, making use of fresh seasonal produce from
approved suppliers, which cater to a variety of
cultures, tastes and dietary needs.
The watch-points of boring, colourless and dull are key
to the standards of catering and the quality OCS has
to offer in all aspects of food service to our clients.
For the last 20 or 30 years, nutritionists, dieticians and
doctors have provided the same diet information
and recommended the same basic food and
health principles to guide everyone towards
healthier eating. Research into health and diet
continues to confirm what we already know - ignore
fad diets and follow key pointers to reduce the risk
of illness and manage weight: Based on this OCS
embrace the key findings:
● We encourage consumers to eat five portions of
fruit and vegetables every day.
● Foods are grilled instead of frying where possible
and steamed instead of boiling.
● We reduce the amount of fat and sugar in our
menus.
● Our menus are high in starchy foods (pasta, rice
and potatoes).
In addition in every OCS site, the menu choice
always includes a least one hot vegetarian option,
freshly prepared and cooked vegetables, a salad
bar with a wide variety of fresh and imaginative
salad bowl (with or without dressing), low fat items,
yoghurts, fresh fruit, mineral water, a choice of
brown breads and low fat spreads. Calorie counts
can be supplied on request and special diets are
catered for. Menus are monitored and customer
feed-back is recorded to ensure that all the needs
of our clients are being met.
OCS Statement on Healthy Eating
OCS Catering have put together some statements on
healthy eating and it’s affect on working performance
from the key scientific information available, which is
the backbone of the menus we provide our clients.
However, every menu is specifically tailored to the
individual needs of our clients and the consumers.
Summary of key scientific information
● Missing breakfast impairs mental functioning
during the morning.
● A post-lunch dip in performance occurs around
1 hour after lunch and continues for at least 1
hour. People report feeling sleepy, less energetic
and less alert during this time. Meal size and the
type of food eaten at lunch intake seem to
influence the effect - those consuming a large
meal, and in particular, a carbohydrate heavy
meal, function more poorly than those who eat
a smaller, more balanced meal, which better
matches their nutritional requirements.
● The composition of a meal (e.g. the
carbohydrate, protein and fat content) has an
impact on performance and mood.
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Healthy Eating Policy and Statement
● An afternoon snack may improve mental
performance.
● Even mild dehydration can have a negative
effect on mental performance.
● In moderate amounts (for most people this is
around 2-4 cups/day) caffeine can boost
performance and sustain attention during the
morning, and during the post lunch dip,
however, excessive intake can impair
performance.
● Eating low GI foods may help to sustain energy
levels and prevent feelings of energy highs and
dips, which can affect performance and may
cause them to snack on unhealthy foods.
● A long term unhealthy diet, including too many
fatty foods, too much salt and not enough fruit
and vegetables, can increase the risk of a range
of conditions, including heart disease, stroke,
some cancers, high blood pressure, obesity and
diabetes mellitus.
● Employing a healthy eating policy, educating
people on healthy eating and encouraging
healthy eating behaviour can improve people’s
well being and long term health.
It is now well established that some aspects of short
term food intake, for example consuming different
types of meals at different times during the day, can
have a significant effect on functions such as
learning, memory, information processing and mood.
Breakfast
The importance of eating breakfast is supported by
studies investigating the effects of eating breakfast
on mental ability and academic achievement in
school-aged children but the results have
implications for adults too. Breakfast typically
follows the longest period of fasting during the 24
hour daily cycle, therefore skipping breakfast will
lead to reductions in energy and nutrient levels
throughout the morning. Studies have shown that
eating breakfast can improve performance on
cognitive tasks.
Another study reported that individuals who did
not eat breakfast did more poorly on memory tests
than those who consumed a morning meal.
They also found that not eating breakfast
impaired performance on recall and recognition
memory tasks.
Lunch
Studies have shown that the mental functioning can
fall after lunch and individuals experience
reductions in alertness and efficiency shortly after
lunch relative to the morning or late afternoon
hours. For example, errors made by shift workers,
falling asleep while driving and lapses of attention
by locomotive engineers reach a maximum at
approximately 2pm. Further studies have revealed
that consumption of a mid-day meal is followed by
feelings of lethargy and poorer performance of
mental tasks. This decline is sometimes referred to as
the ‘post-lunch dip’ and usually lasts for up to 90
minutes after the meal has been eaten.
The degree to which lunch moderates subsequent
mental performance and mood is influenced by a
number of factors, most importantly meal size. For
example, people who consume a large meal have
been shown to make more errors on attention tasks
than those who consume a smaller, lighter meal.
Tasks that require sustained attention appear to be
the most sensitive.
Lunch does not only affect mental performance,
but also mood, as feelings of anxiety decrease after
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eating a lunchtime meal. People also report feeling
feeble, dreamy and bored, and less energetic,
alert, quick-witted and friendly after lunch,
particularly after a large, heavy meal.
Nutrient composition of a meal
The nutrient composition of the meal is important
with respect to efficiency and mood. Cognitive
performance and mood is affected by the
carbohydrate and protein content of a meal.
A high carbohydrate meal causes individuals to feel
sleepier than when they eat a high protein meal,
carbohydrate-rich meals can cause feeling of
lethargy compared with protein-rich meal.
Sleepiness is reported to increase and subjective
energy levels declined over the course of the
afternoon following a carbohydrate-rich meal.
The fat content of the lunch also influences
subsequent cognitive efficiency and mood.
People rated themselves as more drowsy, uncertain
and muddled, and less cheerful when they had
consumed either a high fat-high carbohydrate
meal than when they had consumed a more
balanced meal.
Snacks
Afternoon snacks may have positive effects on
cognitive performance. The effect of consuming
either a healthy energy-rich snack or a no-energy
snack (a diet caffeine-containing drink) on tests of
attention, memory, maths, speed reading and
comprehension were investigated in male and
female college students. Both male and female
subjects responded significantly faster on the
attention task and remembered more digits in the
memory task when they had consumed a highenergy snack than when they had the no-energy
snack. People often perceive that a diet caffeinecontaining drink will give them an energy boost in
the afternoon, this can be considered a ‘false’
energy and will not improve concentration.
Furthermore, an excessive intake of caffeine may
have a deleterious effect.
Mild dehydration
Mild dehydration has been linked to headaches
and loss of mental alertness. Low levels of
dehydration can also have an effect on cognitive
performance. A study showed that ability to do
arithmetic was impaired if a person is between 1-2%
dehydrated – a level not enough even to cause
feelings of thirst. Rehydration can be achieved using
water in all its forms including plain water, juices,
smoothies and hot drinks.
Caffeine
Caffeine is present in tea, coffee and a number of
carbonated drinks, particularly cola. In moderate
amounts, caffeine consumption increases
wakefulness, friendliness and increased speed and
alertness in performing tasks, particularly those that
require focused attention. However excessive
consumption can cause unpleasant side effects
such as restlessness and anxiety. Studies show that
caffeine can have beneficial performance effect,
including sustaining attention during the morning
and the post-lunch dip. After this, however, the
effect of the caffeine is lost and an excessive intake
in the form of fizzy drinks does not boost energy
levels and could cause negative effects on mood
and performance. Individuals differ enormously in
their sensitivity to caffeine. For most people 2-4 cups
of coffee a day is a moderate consumption,
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whereas 10 cups would be excessive. Caffeine is a
mild diuretic, i.e. it encourages the body to excrete
more water. However, the body does acclimatise to
the amount of caffeine normally consumed, so that
regular consumption of moderate amounts of
coffee will not cause dehydration.
High carbohydrate foods
Some people claim to feel adversely affected when
they eat foods that are high in carbohydrate
(sugar). Some foods do cause blood sugar levels to
rise sharply such as sugar and white bread and they
are said to have a high glycaemic index (GI).
Snacking between meals on high GI foods like
biscuits, confectionery and sugary drinks may cause
initial feelings of an energy high followed by feelings
of tiredness or fatigue. Therefore, foods with a low
glycaemic index (e.g. wholegrain cereals) can help
to sustain energy levels and keep people feeling
fuller for longer.
Health implications of a long term unhealthy diet
The impact of diet on health is powerful and a
responsible company can play an important role in
helping their employees to follow a healthy
balanced diet. There are no specific laws regarding
the nutritional content of food provided by caterers
(as there are for food safety) but with the growing
link between the effect of people’s diets on their
health, it seems sensible for those who offer food to
be aware of the principles of healthy eating.
An unhealthy diet, including too many fatty foods,
too much salt and not enough fruit and vegetables,
can increase the risk of a range of conditions,
including heart disease, stroke, some cancers, high
blood pressure, obesity and diabetes mellitus.
Frequent consumption of foods high in sugar
increases risk of tooth decay.
Heart disease and stroke and related illnesses cost
the NHS an estimated £3.8 billion a year and cancer
treatment £1.3 billion. There are also financial
implications for companies providing free or
subsidised health insurance for employees.
tasks and mood are dependant on a number of
factors. Time of day and composition of the meal
are the most significant of these factors. Missing
breakfast can have detrimental consequences on
behaviour, and a large carbohydrate, fat heavy
lunch actually can cause decrements in cognitive
performance. A late afternoon snack may boost
energy levels and performance in the afternoon.
While caffeine may offer a useful boost to mental
alertness during the morning and the post lunch dip,
maintaining hydration through the regular
consumption of water and other non caffeinecontaining drinks is crucial in maintaining ability to
concentrate and perform well at work.
Educating and encouraging employees to eat
healthily at work can improve their well-being and
long term health, which in turn may help to reduce
the financial burden caused by missed work hours
due to diet-related ill health and also increase
productivity.
Conclusions
Clearly food has an impact on psychological
functioning and the specific ways in which
consumption of meals alters performance of mental
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Healthy Eating Policy and Statement
Central to the OCS Foodhouse offer are our guiding
principles or values, which have been created
specifically for our clients in multi cultural
environments.
The basis of Foodhouse is to always to offer a multicultural based menu, tailored specifically to the
individual needs of the onsite consumers at each
contract. The menus need to change dependant
upon the location of the building or depot and the
demographics of the employees there.
We want as many people as possible to use and
enjoy our facilities and to this end we need to
address some key concerns.
● International and regional variations.
● Religious beliefs and festivals.
● Dietary requirements of customers.
Our guiding ‘Values’ are the cornerstone of the
food service offering! It is these values that drive the
menu planning and sourcing, thus we are always
able to provide a catering solution which meets the
diverse needs.
The catering provision for Multi cultural populations
need to understand and comply with the various
religious restrictions that apply to food and
consumption.
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The importance of understanding both Dietary
and Religious cultures
International
Eastern European – In general the Eastern
Europeans eat hearty soups and stews, pickled
vegetables stuffed meats and sticky pastries.
A classic popular example currently is the Polish
Pierogi, which is dough, filled with cheese potatoes
onions, cabbage and meat. These are grilled and
served with a sour cream.
Asian – Typically this is broad ranging from Oriental
styles including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai,
Indonesian and many Indian dishes. Most of these
include rice, and noodles as a base and involve a
verity of infused flavours and ingredients.
African – In general African food consists of stews
however many varieties of dumplings are made
and served as an accompaniment. These
accompaniments we will often serve as hand held
snack in the restaurant.
Caribbean – Common foods like seafood, chicken,
spiced with as jerk and coconut callaloo, plantain
and sweet potatoes, okra, rice and peas. Chicken is
the most popular economical meat in the
Caribbean it is often marinated with ginger, lime
and chillies before grilling. Probably because of the
preponderance of sugar cane in the islands deserts
are an important part of a Caribbean meal and will
feature on our menu.
Religious
Jewish – In general there are three main groups:
a) Those who will eat almost anything except pork
and shellfish.
b) Those who would normally eat only plain fruit,
vegetables & grilled or poached fish.
c) Those who follow the traditional kosher life style.
Islam – In general, Muslims will not eat pork or
consume alcohol, they will also not eat between
sunrise and sunset during the festival of Ramadan.
Hindu – In general
Halal - The word 'Halal' literally means permissible and in translation it is usually used as lawful. It is well
known in the meat trade that Muslims consume
Halal meat. However, at times questions are asked,
what is Halal? In Arabic it simply means permissible
or allowed. We only use accredited supplier who
can certify the Halal standard
Dietary
Vegetarian – In general Vegetarians will not eat
meat, but may eat fish. They will usually eat
vegetarian cheese, eggs, butter and milk products.
Vegans – Will not eat any animal produce or protein
including fish, butter, cheese & milk.
Hindu’s will not eat beef or veal.
Diabetics – Will have to eat at regular intervals, but
will eat most food items. We stock a range of diet
and sugar free soft drinks that are suitable for
diabetic customers.
Gluten Free – People with a wheat intolerance or
Celiac, are not allowed to eat any cereal or grain
products. We can with notice provide Gluten Free
bread, pasta and other specialist products.
Lactose Free – Intolerance to milk and milk related
products.
Allergies – A growing number of people suffer from
allergies to certain food items, e.g. nuts, fungi and
shellfish etc.
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