The “Menu Sustainability Index”

  • 14.11.2016
  • English Articles
  • Claudia Müller
  • Matthias Stucki
  • Patrizia Zehnder
  • Jona Ebker
  • Marie Wohlleben
  • Beatrice Baumer

Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: December 16, 2015 | Revision accepted: June 13, 2016

Assessment of the environmental and health impact of foods offered in commercial catering

Introduction

Our eating habits have a direct influence on our health and, furthermore, our choice of food has a considerable impact on the environment. It has been estimated that 28 % of the environmental burden in Switzerland is related to food consumption [1]. It is therefore important and meaningful to support a balanced and environmentally friendly nutrition both to promote health and protect the environment.

If this is to be achieved, an appropriate range of foods and meals must be available and these must be properly evaluated and labelled. Since out-of-house consumption is increasingly gaining in importance, raising awareness of sustainable nutrition in this catering sector can reach a broad segment of the population and hence is particularly relevant. Apart from the health and ecological aspects of sustainable nutrition that have already been addressed, there are also social, economic and cultural aspects that need to be considered [2].

At the moment, there are few available guides in Swiss commercial catering establishments to help consumers to select sustainable nutrition. Although some large caterers offer a range of meals in accordance with current nutritional recommendations or environmentally friendly dishes [3], there is no comprehensive evaluation or labelling of the dishes. Moreover, most catering facility managers do not possess the necessary knowledge or suitable tools to compile a range of sustainable dishes or to optimise their current selection. This paper presents such a tool, the so-called “Menu Sustainability Index” (MSI), which is currently under development at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

Summary

Diet-related diseases are becoming increasingly common and the food that is consumed places a considerable burden on the environment. In view of the need to assure a sustainable development in society, it is important to support and promote the consumption of healthy and environmentally friendly foods. The “Menu Sustainability Index” (MSI) is a scientifically based and user friendly tool that has been developed for use in Swiss commercial catering establishments to evaluate and optimise the available foods from both a health and environmental perspective. As in the approach of food reformulation, this is intended to create an environment for consumers facilitating balanced and environmentally friendly nutrition. The MSI also enables kitchen managers and catering staff to enhance their knowledge of healthy and environmentally friendly dietary choices. The MSI tool is currently available as a prototype, which is being further developed as part of a research project.

Keywords: Menu Sustainability Index, environment, health, commercial catering, communal catering, sustainability, sustainable nutrition



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