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8058 Foodhouse internal 30/1/09 2:43 pm Page 3 © 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. 3 8058 Foodhouse internal 30/1/09 2:43 pm Page 4 © 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 4 8058 Foodhouse internal 30/1/09 2:43 pm Page 5 © Healthy Eating Policy and Statement 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, 5 8058 Foodhouse internal 30/1/09 2:43 pm Page 6 © Healthy Eating Policy and Statement 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 6 8058 Foodhouse internal 30/1/09 2:43 pm Page 7 © 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. 6 8058 Foodhouse internal 30/1/09 2:43 pm Page 8 © Healthy Eating Policy and Statement 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. 6