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Food Standards Agency

Sunday 5 July 2009

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Healthier catering and special diets resources

You might find some of the following links and publications useful.

FSA websites and leaflets

The Food Standards Agency websites provide a wealth of information about diet, nutrition and healthy eating:
www.food.gov.uk and (External) www.eatwell.gov.uk and (External) www.salt.gov.uk

The Food Standards Agency's eatwell website provides practical nutrition advice for people at all ages and stages. There is advice aimed specifically at men, women, children, pregnant women and older people.
(External) www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages

Food Standards Agency leaflets
Here is a selection of Agency leaflets that you might find useful. Click on the title to download the publication.


Stock code
Description
FSA/0008/0604
The Balance of Good Health leaflet
FSA/0009/0201
The Balance of Good Health A3 poster
FSA/0996/0406
Eatwell - Your guide to healthy eating
FSA/0931/0904
Salt - Facts for a healthy heart (produced with the British Heart Foundation)
FSA/0365/0506
Labelling claims
FSA/0363/0404
Labels

These leaflets are available free of charge from:
Food Standards Agency Publications
orderline: 0845 606 0667
minicom: 0845 606 0678
fax: 020 8867 3225
email: foodstandards@ecgroup.uk.com

or by writing to:
Food Standards Agency
PO Box 369
Hayes
Middlesex UB3 1UT

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Schools and hospital catering

Guidance on the compulsory national nutrition standards for nursery, primary and secondary schools set by Government are available at: (External) www.dfes.gov.uk/schoollunches

NHS Estates, a Department of Health agency, has produced guidelines available at: (External) the Better Hospital Food website

Guidance on school catering in Scotland

Scotland has their own guidance on compulsory nutritional requirements for catering in schools set by the Scottish Government. The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008 were passed by the Parliament on 25 June 2008, and came into force on the 4 August 2008. The following link will provide further information on the Act: (External) http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Schools/HLivi/foodnutrition .

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Catering for Health

This is a guide for teaching healthier catering practices, developed jointly by the Food Standards Agency and Department of Health, and published by The Stationery Office ISBN 0112430678, £5.00.
Available from:
tel: 0870 600 5522
fax: 0870 600 5533
email: book.orders@tso.co.uk
(External) http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp?

A Scottish version of Catering for Health is available free for applicants in Scotland from the link below.
Catering for Health - FSA Scotland booklet

Please quote ISBN 0 907667 37 6 for a Welsh version of Catering for Health available free from:
tel: 029 2067 8999
fax: 029 2067 8919
email: wales@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

or by writing to:
Food Standards Agency Wales
11th floor, Southgate House
Wood Street
Cardiff CF10 1EW

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Minority ethnic groups

People from minority ethnic groups also have different dietary requirements. You might find it helpful to check the table below:


Religious group
Food and drinks that might be avoided
Muslim
Pork, non-halal meat and chicken, shellfish, alcohol
Hindu
Beef, sometimes lamb and chicken, oily fish, sometimes white fish, eggs, alcohol
Sikh
Beef, sometimes all meat and fish, alcohol
Buddhist
Chicken, lamb, pork, beef, shellfish (sometimes all fish), alcohol
Rastafarian
Animal products (except milk), foods that are not Ital (Ital food is organic, not tinned or processed), added salt, alcohol, tea, coffee
Jewish
Pork, any meat that has not been koshered, fish without scales and fins, shellfish. Meat and milk products served at the same meal or cooked together

You will find more information on special diets in the publication: Catering for Health (see above).

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Food allergies

If you want to cater for people with food allergies or intolerances, you might find it useful to read the (External) food intolerance section of the Food Standards Agency's eatwell website.

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Children and older people

Children under 5
Eating well for under-5s in child care . This publication is produced by the Caroline Walker Trust. Gives practical ideas and also has a menu planning program called CHOMP. Available to purchase at (External) www.cwt.org.uk/publicationsh.html

Looked after young people
Eating well for looked after children and young people . Practical nutrition guidance developed by the Caroline Walker Trust is available to purchase at: (External) www.cwt.org.uk/publicationsa

Older people
To help you plan healthy menus for older people in residential care, the Caroline Walker Trust has developed practical nutrition guidelines Eating well for older people , Eating well for older people with dementia and a computer program called Catering for older people in residential accommodation . These are all available to purchase at: (External) www.cwt.org.uk/publications

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More useful links

Starting up: your first steps to running a catering business . This booklet is for people setting up a restaurant, caf
or other catering business, whether you are taking over a business that already exists or starting a new one. Provides advice on a host of topics including registering premises, food hygiene, health and safety, VAT and record keeping.

To order a copy, call: 0845 606 0667 or you can download it in a choice of languages from here: Starting up: your first steps to running a catering business

For information about food labelling:
(External) www.eatwell.gov.uk/foodlabels

The British Nutrition Foundation website:
(External) www.nutrition.org.uk

The British Dietetic Association:
(External) www.bda.uk.com

The British Hospitality Association website:
(External) www.bha-online.org.uk

People 1st
Head Office (Covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
Second Floor
Armstrong House, 38 Market Square
Uxbridge
Middlesex UB8 1LH
tel: 0870 060 2550
fax: 0870 060 2551
email: ifo@people1st.co.uk

People 1st for Scotland
28 Castle Street
Edinburgh EH2 2HT
tel: 0131 624 4040
fax: 0131 624 4041
email: lorraine.birrell@people1st.co.uk

(External) Breakfast club resources from ContinYou.
Several resources can be downloaded from this site designed to support the development of breakfast clubs including a 'How to Guide'.

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Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Many of the links above are applicable to the whole of the UK. You might find some of the links in the sections below useful if you want information specific to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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Related links

Catering for Health Read the FSA Scotland booklet

Find out more

Resources for Northern Ireland

You might find the following links useful.

Resources for Scotland

You might find the following links useful.

Resources for Wales

You might find the following links useful.

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