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Sustainable diets & Nutrition

“Manger bio et local en entreprise”: Eating organic and local food in private companies

Private

réseau FRAB AuRa et FL Conseil

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Context

In 2015, 59% of collective catering restaurants said they offered organic products on a regular basis, whereas they were only 4% before 2006. But, as pointed out by Brigitte Alain (EELV) in a report of July 2015, "these 59% are insignificant since it may involve offering an organic product once in a while without necessarily having at least one at each meal ". However, according to an survey carried out in 2016, 76% of French people are in favor of the introduction of organic products in canteens.

“Manger Bio et Local en Entreprise” is a project initiated in the Rhône-Alpes region in 2011 by FL Conseil (a company created in 2003 with the aim of supporting clients in the management of their food catering) and the FRAB AuRA (Regional Federation of Organic Agriculture in Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region). This project aims at supporting the introduction of regional organic products in the menus of company restaurants.

Project

Dans le cadre du projet Manger Bio et Local en Entreprise , le réseau FRAB AuRa et FL Conseil accompagnent les entreprises et leur partenaire de restauration collective dans l’introduction des produits biologiques régionaux par :

How it works:

As part of the “Manger Bio et Local en Entreprise” project, the FRAB AuRa network and FL Conseil support companies and their collective catering partner in the introduction of regional organic products by:

  • Providing them an insight on the principles of organic farming and the link between food, environment and health, in particular by providing information tools,
  • Giving them advices on the supply of regional organic products,
  • Monitoring and analysing the purchase and consumption of organic products in the restaurant.

The “Manger Bio Local en Entreprise” project received the support of institutional partners: the SNRC, the DRAAF (Regional Department of Food, Agriculture and Forest) and the Rhône-Alpes Region, as well as the “Eating well, it is everyone's business” programme launched by the Ministry of Agriculture as part of the PNA (National Food Programme).

Objectives and results:

The aim of the project is to introduce 20% organic products on a regular and increasing basis into the menus of collective catering restaurants.

Launched across the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in 2011, the project has grown rapidly. In 2016 it concerns:

  • 15 companies: Casino, CEA Grenoble, Center Léon Bérard, CER SNCF, ESRF, IFPEN, INTEFP, La Poste, Orange, Salomon-Mavic, Schneider Electric, Seb, Somfy, ST, Thalès.
  • 8 collective catering companies
  • Over 20,000 employees
  • And generates more than € 900,000 worth of local organic products.

In April 2017, the project spread because Orange and the National Federation of Organic Agriculture (Fnab) launched its national deployment. The objective is to serve around 11 million meals per year for an annual budget of 95 million euros.

"The most complicated thing is to adapt our recipes. We realized that to cook organic products, it was necessary to train our teams ”, underlines Dominique Sauvage, national manager of catering at Orange.

For Orange, today, 41 restaurants are engaged in this process of eating organic and local in the company’s canteen. 16 establishments serve 20% organic and local products, 25 others have reached 10%. The objective is to reach 20% in 75 restaurants in the group by 2021.

The Little Extra

According to the French Law (“EgAlim law”, in 2016), the supply of collective catering will have to include, by 2022, 50% of organic products, including 20% of organic products.

The main measures of the Egalim law can be found here.

“Organic Meal Observatory” is a webpage on the FNAB site dedicated to the introduction of organic products in collective catering. Study to find here.

Written by Thomé Orenga, LFC volunteer - March 2020

Last modification : 15 Jun 2020.

réseau FRAB AuRa et FL Conseil

réseau FRAB AuRa et FL Conseil

As part of the Eating organic and local food in private companies , the FRAB AuRa network and FL Conseil support companies and their collective catering partner in the introduction of regional organic products

Contact

Florence Liautaud