Healthy Options Award

The Healthy Options Award has been developed to reward caterers who make it easier for their customers to make healthy choices when eating out.

There are three levels of Healthy Option Awards:

Bronze
Silver
Gold

The Award aims to encourage food businesses to provide healthier options to customers, through the use of healthier catering practices, increasing fruit, vegetables and starchy carbohydrates, as well as decreasing fat, especially saturated fat, sugar and salt.

It also recognises provision of healthy options for children, rewards staff training, promotion and marketing of healthier options.

Benefits of the Award

Businesses gain public acknowledgement for achieving the award that could enhance their image as a responsible business which puts its customers first.
The award can provide a competitive advantage which can give the business something different over their competitors, which can help in a tendering process.
It could increase customer satisfaction.
With Welsh Government proposals designed to support people’s long-term health and wellbeing, the award can contribute to the Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales strategy as part of a multi-component approach.
As the demand for healthier choices continues to grow - many food manufacturers and retailers who have introduced healthier options are seeing a growth in sales.
The award demonstrates top level commitment to the health and wellbeing of staff
Nutritional knowledge of staff can be developed especially where training is under taken and cascaded to the catering team. The Community Food and Nutrition Skills level 1 course which is an accredited course with Agored Cymru and is the recognised nutritional training by dieticians via the Nutrition skills for life programme is available run by Commercial Services, Shared Regulatory Services.
The award has been shown to motivate staff and provides recognition of their efforts

How to apply for Healthy Options Award

The award is open to all types of catering premises that cater for the general public. The premises must be broadly compliant with food hygiene legislation i.e. score a rating of 3, 4 or 5 under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.

The award is assessed and managed by Bridgend, Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Shared Regulatory Services.

To achieve an award your business will be assessed against certain criteria that are based on principles of a healthy balanced diet, such as keeping fat, sugar and salt to a minimum, making fruit and vegetables widely available and basing main meals on starchy carbohydrates. You will also be assessed on having appropriate marketing and promotion of the healthier options.

If you are interested in achieving a Healthy Option Award, and are broadly compliant with food hygiene legislation i.e. has a score rating of 3, 4 or 5 under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme please please contact us:

Allyson Jones, Commercial Services, Shared Regulatory Services,

Tel: 07794047791 or Email alljones@cardiff.gov.uk

You can also contact Allyson if you are interested in applying for The Community Food and Nutrition Skills Level 1.