Council bags school catering award

Aberdeenshire Council has achieved a Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark for serving fresh and healthy meals in its 154 primary and special schools.

The mark brings together a range of topics including health, climate change and animal welfare.

It recognises restaurants and caterers that serve fresh food which is free from controversial additives and better for animal welfare.

The school catering service provides around 12,000 healthy and nutritious meals each day to primary and special schools across Aberdeenshire.

Catering Services Manager Allan Doig praised the council catering team. He said: “This award recognises the hard work of all the staff in the catering service in schools across Aberdeenshire.

“We’re delighted to have achieved the Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark in recognition of our commitment to serving freshly prepared, seasonal meals that are free from controversial additives.”

The Food for Life Catering Mark offers a guarantee that fresh food you can trust is always on the menu, providing reassurance that the food served meets high standards of traceability, freshness and provenance.

Chief Executive of Soil Association Certification Rob Sexton said: “The Bronze Catering Mark is an excellent achievement which recognises the vital role that fresh, seasonal meals play in healthy, planet-friendly menus, especially for large-scale catering.

“It reassures customers that their meals are free from GM ingredients, trans fats and prepared from scratch.”