Herts Responsible Food Award - Guidance for businesses

1. GOOD PRACTICE AND LOCAL ECONOMY
2. HEALTHIER EATING
2.1. Deep fat frying
2.2. Oils and fats
2.3. Salt
2.4. Sugar
2.5. Portion sizes
2.6. Fruit, vegetables and fibre
2.7. Inclusivity, promotion and marketing
2.8. Breastfeeding
3. SUSTAINABILITY
3.1. Environmental monitoring and energy
3.2. Recycling
3.3. Food waste
3.4. Carbon emissions and food miles
3.5. Procurement
Support with your application

1. GOOD PRACTICE AND LOCAL ECONOMY

WHY GOOD PRACTICE AND LOCAL ECONOMY MATTERS
It is in businesses best interests to ensure high standards are upheld, to protect their own reputation and mutually benefit themselves and the local community.

CATEGORY 1. AWARD ACTIONS AND WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEM

1.1. Core action
Do you pay your staff the National Minimum Wage (to those who are school leaving age)/the National Living Wage (for those aged 21 or over), following guidance from Hertfordshire Better Business for All?

You can view the guidance here: Hertfordshire Better Business for All.

Pay staff the National Minimum/Living Wage
It is a criminal offence for employers not to pay someone the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage or to fake someone’s payment records. The National Living/Minimum Wage changes on 1 April every year.

See the current National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage Rates.

Underpaying staff can come from simple mistakes, such as:

employees having to make payments in relation to their employment e.g., adhering to a dress code
asking workers to come in earlier than their contracted hours to ‘open up’.

1.2. Bonus action
Have all employees involved in handling food completed a minimum of Level 2 Food Hygiene Training?
1.3. Bonus action
Do you provide/fund any additional training for staff beyond the minimum requirements for their role? e.g.,

YOU CAN: Provide staff training
Food hygiene training gives your staff the knowledge and skills they need to maintain high standards and produce high quality products, improving your reputation.

To support awarded businesses, we have funded a limited number of Level 2 Food Hygiene Training | NCASS course for staff. Once your Hertfordshire Responsible Food Award application is successful, we will contact you with further information.

Examples of other relevant course topics include:

- Advanced culinary skills courses
- Healthy eating and nutrition courses
- Customer service courses
- Leadership and management courses
- Advanced health and safety training
- Marketing and sales training
- Sustainability courses.

You can see some examples of these courses in the table below:

List of catering courses
Provider	Course	Cost
The British Nutrition Foundation	Catering for Health Online	£100
The British Nutrition Foundation	An introduction to healthy eating and nutrition	£100
The Food Standards Agency	Food Standards Agency food allergy online training	Free
High Speed Training	Nutrition & Healthy Eating Course \| Online Certification	£30
The Nationwide Caterers Association	Sustainability in Catering	£100

This list is not exhaustive and other courses are available to help your business achieve action 1.3 from a variety of providers including:

2. HEALTHIER EATING

2.1. Deep fat frying

WHY BETTER DEEP FAT FRYING PRACTICES AND THE USE OF CERTAIN OILS/FATS MATTER
Oils and fats are energy dense and contribute towards excess weight if eaten in large amounts. Not all fats are the same, some increase levels of 'bad' cholesterol in the body, which may increase risk of heart disease, whereas others make your body produce 'good' cholesterol, which can reduce risk of heart disease. Therefore, the amount and type of fat are both important when preparing food for customers.

Find more information on different fats nutrition (nhs.uk).

2.1. & 2.2. AWARD ACTIONS AND WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEM

2.11. Core action
When deep frying, do you follow guidance from the Food Standards Agency?

YOU CAN: Adopt good frying practices
Businesses have a legal reason to adopt good frying practices relating to Acrylamide. European Food Safety Legislation requires businesses to understand the potential risks of acrylamide, take steps to reduce it and be able to prove they have done so.

2.2. Oils and fats

2.21. Core action
Are polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats or oils used when cooking/frying food that are appropriate for the intended task?

YOU CAN: Choose healthier oils
Other healthier catering schemes have found swapping to a healthier oil, typically to rapeseed oil, has been the easiest change to make.

This may be more expensive, but case studies find it produces crispier chips with no aftertaste while also improving indoor air quality. Vegetable oils may break down faster than less healthy oils when heated to higher temperatures, however sticking to good frying practices helps to extend the time it can be used for. If using these oils for prolonged frying at high temperatures, it is also best to choose a ‘high oleic’ version as these are more stable at these temperatures.

2.22. Core action
Do you consider where and how Trans Fatty Acids can be reduced or eliminated from the menu? e.g., only purchasing products that are free from Trans Fatty Acids, which are typically labelled as partially hydrogenated fats on packaging.

YOU CAN: Avoid using trans fats
Trans fats are typically found in ultra-processed foods high in saturated fat including margarine, packaged snacks, premade baked foods, premade dough and fried foods.

Reading food labels can make sure products don’t contain excessive amounts of saturated fats or any trans fats.

Check food labels to identify ‘trans fats’, ‘partially hydrogenated fats’ or ‘solid’ vegetable oils and avoid purchasing these products. Read more about food labelling (nutrition.org.uk).

2.23. Bonus action
Do you offer customers the option of having an unsaturated, lower fat or homemade versions of condiments, dressings or spreads? E.g., light mayonnaise, low fat salad dressing, homemade dressings, etc.
2.24. Bonus action
Do you have skimmed milk and at least two non-dairy milk alternatives available to customers?
2.25. Bonus action
Do you provide thick cut chips or potato wedges as an alternative to French fries/thin chips?
2.26. Bonus action
Do you limit the quantity of red meat and processed meat on your menu?Examples of red meat include beef, goat, lamb, mutton, pork, veal and venison.Processed meats have typically already been smoked, salted, cured or had preservatives added to them examples include; bacon, hot dogs, sausages, cured sandwich meats, beef jerky, chicken nuggets, etc.
2.27. Bonus action
Do you choose to grill, steam or oven cook any menu items, which may typically be fried? E.g., choose cooking methods which don't add additional oils/fats to the final product.

YOU CAN: Reduce fat content
Simple tweaks can reduce fat content of your food offering without disrupting ‘usual’ service, such as:

Using lower fat milk as standard and lower fat condiments.
Use lower fat dairy products where possible e.g., use low fat cheese, single cream or yoghurt instead of double cream, stronger cheese in smaller amounts
Trim excess fat from meat products.
Review your menu to see if anything could be cooked differently to avoid adding extra fat/oil to food e.g., aim to grill products (rather than fry or deep fat fry) where possible.
Swapping oil-based spice mixes for dry mixes.
Skim dishes or drain excess oil to remove it from the final product
Use non-stick pans and appropriate equipment to avoid the need for excess oil.

2.3. Salt

WHY REDUCING SALT INTAKE MATTERS
Excessive salt consumption is linked to high blood pressure which increases risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Read more about salt nutrition (nhs.uk).

2.3. AWARD ACTIONS AND WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEM

2.31. Core action
Do you serve chips and other potato products unsalted? E.g., the customer would add any extra salt on top of the product themselves.
2.32. Bonus action
If additional salt is available to customers to add themselves is this stored away from individual tables? E.g., available at a separate location, preferably using salt sachets or reduced hole salt shakers.
2.33. Bonus action
Are lower salt versions of condiments, including those which are homemade, available to customers? E.g., low salt tomato ketchup, salad dressings, reduced salt soy sauce, etc.
2.34. Bonus action
Are lower salt alternatives used in cooking? E.g., reduced salt soy, gravy and stock, reduced salt baked beans, tinned fish in spring water etc.

YOU CAN: Reduce salt content of foods
Salt is important for the taste of many foods, however focusing on trying to add only as much as is necessary and exploring ways it can be replaced will have no negative effects on taste. Doing so reduces the amount of salt you purchase and saves your business money.

Below are some easy changes you can make to lower salt content:

Reduce salt content gradually over a longer period (customers will be less likely to notice).
Review food labels online and avoid buying products with higher quantities. Levels of salt below 1.5g per 100g (or 0.6g sodium) would be considered low salt.
Choose different forms of seasoning e.g., herbs and spices. See some examples of alternatives to salt (British Heart Foundation).
Swap to lower salt versions of products where possible.
Prepare food from scratch where possible.
Avoid adding salt if salty ingredients have already been used. See examples of salty ingredients at: NHS Food Facts - Salt.
Avoid adding salt to boiling water when cooking.
Review your menu to see where small reductions in salt could be made.

YOU CAN: Adopt nudge strategies
Small nudge strategies can be effective without being costly, these include:

Changing to 5-hole or fewer saltshakers, or use sachets.
Store saltshakers or sachets away from individual tables.
Only providing additional salt upon request. Let the customer add extra salt on top of food themselves.

2.4. Sugar

WHY REDUCING SUGAR INTAKE MATTERS
Sugar can increase the risk of tooth decay, heart disease and obesity. Sugars also influence how your body processes fats, especially when eaten alongside fatty foods, such as a non-diet soft drink with a meal. Read more about how sugar affects our health (nhs.uk).

2.4. AWARD ACTIONS AND WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEM

2.41. Core action
Are the majority (at least 90%) of your soft drinks reduced sugar/diet drinks (less than 5g of sugar per 100ml) or water?
2.42. Core action
Are diet soft drinks (0g or very low sugar) and water displayed more prominently than non-diet drinks? E.g., at eye level in fridges, with higher sugar drinks located lower down.
2.43. Bonus action
If snacks are available at till points, are lower sugar snacks available? E.g., fruit, dried fruit, unsalted nuts or seeds, plain popcorn, oat biscuits.

YOU CAN: Reduce high sugar drinks
Most of the sugar consumed out of home comes from drinks. Small changes to marketing can push people to purchasing lower sugar/diet products and boost your profits by encouraging individuals to purchase drinks. Some examples of how to do this include:

Display water and diet drinks in larger quantities.
Display water and diet drinks at eye level/ more visibly than non-diet drinks e.g., at the front of counters.
Price diet drinks and water lower than non-diet drinks (water should be the cheapest item on the menu).
Include bottled water in ‘meal deal’ offers.
Include diet drink options in advertising e.g., on A-boards or menus promoting deals.
Experiment with reducing sugar in homemade confectionary items. Reduce quantities gradually to make the change less obvious to customers.
Try adding more fruit or vegetables to dessert and confectionary items.

These changes may further save your business money due to the government sugar levy and further taxes proposed for high sugar beverages and products in the future.

Further information on how your business can adapt to reduce the sugar content of your meals visit Get Sugar Smart: A Guide for Caterers.

2.44. Bonus action
Is free drinking/tap water always available to customers?

YOU CAN: Provide free tap and drinking water
Providing free water refills can be easily introduced and will help draw people into your business. This can be done by:

Provide a small countertop dispenser which you can fill yourself
Invest in a larger dispenser which cools water for you
Sign up for free to Refill Hertfordshire.

2.45. Bonus action
If you offer desserts, do you offer any lower sugar options?

2.5. Portion sizes

WHY PORTION SIZES MATTER
Eating or drinking more calories than we need can lead to excess weight. Larger portions usually have more calories and can increase the risk of obesity and preventable disease. Meals eaten out contain around 200 more calories than those eaten at home. Find out what your daily intake of calories should be (nhs.uk).

2.5. AWARD ACTIONS AND WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEM

2.51. Core action
Are smaller portions of healthier main meals and side dishes available for children as standard?
2.52. Bonus action
Do you offer any smaller or 'lighter' meal options for adults? E.g., choice of small meal/product, mini desserts, half portions of cake, a smaller portion with a side salad.

YOU CAN: Reduce portion sizes
Reducing portion sizes will make food orders go further and reduce food wasted, which can help to save your business money. Offering smaller portions as an option on menus, especially for children, may also help increase profits as people would be willing to pay less for the smaller options who may otherwise have not bought anything.

Small changes to support this can include:

Using smaller size serving scoops for consistency
Reducing carton/container/plate size. Case studies find customers are more satisfied with a fuller looking but smaller container.
Ensure portion sizes for sides such as chips are consistent and appropriate. Find information on standard chip shop portions (nfff.co.uk).
Experiment with ‘lunch deals’, offering smaller portions of standard meals but with an additional side salad.
Make small reductions to the portion sizes of energy dense, high fat/sugar/salt items on your menu. Even small changes to these items make significant differences.

2.6. Fruit, vegetables and fibre

WHY INCREASED FRUIT, VEG AND FIBRE INTAKE MATTERS
Fibre is found in fruit and vegetables, which are typically low in calories and a source of vitamins and minerals needed for overall health. Fibre can reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, improve sensitivity to insulin (related to diabetes risk) and improve gut health. Find out what counts as you 5-a-day and how to get more fibre in your diet.

2.6. AWARD ACTIONS AND WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEM

2.61. Core action
Is the option of a portion of salad, vegetables or fruit available with all meals?
2.62. Bonus action
Do you make sure lots of vegetables and/or fruit are included in dishes throughout your menu? E.g., including more salad items within sandwiches/paninis/wraps/baguettes, items coming with side salads/vegetables as standard, incorporating vegetables within sauces, having fruit based desserts.
2.63. Bonus action
Are wholegrain varieties of starchy products available for customers and incorporated, where possible, within main meals? E.g., wholemeal bread, pittas, wraps, rotis, wholewheat pasta, brown or wild rice.

YOU CAN: Adopt new marketing tactics
Marketing tactics such as charging separately for sides such as chips but offering salad items or rice free of charge, will direct people to eating more vegetables. This may also increase profits as customers may choose to pay extra for these less healthy sides.

YOU CAN: Review your menus
Looking where you can add more vegetables into meals as a substitute for more expensive ingredients, such as meat, can save money and improve taste.

Including more vegetarian and vegan items on your menu also increases your profitability as these styles of eating are becoming more popular, particularly in younger adults who are the most likely to eat out.

When adding vegetarian and/or vegan items to your menus make sure that vegetarian foods are symbolised by a V symbol and vegan items by the VE symbol.

YOU CAN: Increase fibre across your menu
There are a number of different ways to increase fibre across your menu, including:

serve fries and potato products with the skins on
use a mix of white and brown rice
ensure wholegrain bread options are available for sandwiches
include vegetables within rice dishes which may otherwise be plain.

2.7. Inclusivity, promotion and marketing

WHY INCLUSIVITY AND PROMOTING HEALTHIER OPTIONS MATTER
The community food environment has a big impact on the health of the local population, with even very small changes having large impacts on the choices of individuals. Children and young people are particularly influenced by advertising and marketing strategies. These can be used to encourage healthier eating and increase profits through nudging customers towards healthier items.

Profits will also be increased by improving the inclusivity of your menu as this widens your customer base by making the business more accessible.

2.7. AWARD ACTIONS AND WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEM

2.71. Core action
Is healthier eating promoted by staff?

YOU CAN: Encourage healthier choices
Customers trust in your business and the food you provide. This means staff promoting healthier options will likely have a big impact on choice.

To help staff be confident in doing this you should consider providing additional training where possible. Some examples are shown in Section 1. Good Practice and Local Economy.

As a business you can help promote healthier choices such as by:

Using leaflets or posters to promote healthier options or healthier eating in general
Use signage to promote sustainable achievements e.g., ‘This item was produced from a local Hertfordshire farm’
Pricing healthier options similarly or lower than less healthy options
Including healthier options in ‘meal deals’ and other promotions.

Staff should also receive some basic instructions to help their promotion including:

Avoid asking customers if they would like ‘more’ or to upgrade to a ‘large’
Avoid offering further extras other than salad options
Be aware of healthier eating principles and be able to speak to customers about healthier options.

2.72. Core action
Does your menu offer a choice of vegetarian and/or vegan main meals that are clearly labelled on the menu?
2.73. Bonus action
Is your menu inclusive for people with dietary and/or cultural needs?

YOU CAN: Review your menu
To improve inclusivity, you should review your current menu to see if it is suitable for different allergies, religious considerations, or specific diets. You can find more information to help with this on Nutrition.org and Menuzen.

2.8. Breastfeeding

WHY BREASTFEEDING MATTERS
Breastfeeding benefits the health of both babies and their mothers, including by reducing risk of heart disease, obesity, infection risk in babies and breast and ovarian cancer risk in breastfeeding mothers. Allowing breastfeeding on a business’ premises gives mothers more opportunity to breastfeed their baby whilst out and about.

Read more about the benefits of breastfeeding (nhs.uk).

2.8. AWARD ACTION AND WAYS TO ACHIEVE IT

2.81. Bonus action
Is your business signed up to the Hertfordshire Breastfeeding Friendly Scheme?

YOU CAN: Promote breastfeeding
Businesses can sign up to the Hertfordshire Breastfeeding Friendly scheme.

Advertising that your venue welcomes breastfeeding on its premises can encourage mothers to breastfeed their baby whilst out and about. Displaying a breastfeeding friendly window sticker may also help to bring more customers to your business.

3. SUSTAINABILITY

3.1. Environmental monitoring and energy

WHY ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ENERGY USE MATTERS
Monitoring your business’ energy usage helps you understand where you can take environmental action. Using this information to then reduce energy usage can provide benefits for businesses including cost savings, improved employee health and business reputation.

3.1. AWARD ACTIONS AND WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEM

3.11. Core action
Do you have signs and processes in place to ensure staff turn off all unnecessary equipment when not in use?
3.12. Bonus action
Does your business collect data on monthly usage of energy and water, and use this data to reduce consumption? E.g., by taking regular meter readings for energy and water to monitor change in use over time.
3.13. Bonus action
Have you taken measures to improve the energy efficiency of the building and the appliances you use? If you are renting this would include engaging with your landlord to encourage changes.

YOU CAN: Monitor energy usage
The first step will be to decide what you want to monitor (energy and water usage are good places to start). Each month, take note of meter readings and then you can start to look for trends in how much water and energy you have used. If you have a smart meter, you can use this to identify where you can make changes to reduce usage and save money.

Many of the changes to help reduce usage are very simple and include:

Switching off appliances and lights when not in use
Looking to procure electrical appliances with a favourable A-G energy rating.
Procuring energy efficient light bulbs.

For further information on the A-G rating system visit energylabel.org.uk.

SME Climate Hub provides free resources and tools to help you to understand the impact your business has on climate change.

To go even further you may wish to explore making sustainable changes to the building used such as:

Sustainable power sources
Automatic energy monitoring systems
Water saving toilets/urinals
Better insulation.

3.2. Recycling

WHY RECYCLING MORE MATTERS
New Simpler Recycling Legislation means that from March 2025 all businesses and non-domestic properties with 10 or more full-time equivalent employees are required to separate:

Glass,
cardboard,
paper,
plastic,
metals and
food.

Food waste must be presented separately from other recyclables. Paper and card must also be separated from other recyclables.

Businesses with less than 10 employees will have until March 2027 to introduce this change.

Please see the tables below and contact your local District and Borough Waste management service to ask about introducing a commercial waste collection.

In addition to legislation, The UK produces around 200 million tonnes of waste every year. Recycling helps keep this waste out of landfill sites which emit methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

For further information about recycling and reducing waste visit Keep Britain Tidy.

3.2. AWARD ACTIONS AND WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEM

3.21. Core action
Does your business recycle basic items, in line with the Simpler Recycling Legislation?

YOU CAN: Improve recycling practices
To increase recycling on your premises, it needs to be easy for staff and customers to separate materials to avoid contaminating the waste. Contaminated waste cannot be recycled so you should create an area with space for separate bins.

These bins should also have some additional labelling to make sure it is clear which items can go in which bin. If all your food packaging and utensils etc can be recycled this will reduce the chances of contamination as everything can go in one mixed recycling bin. Find advice on disposing commercial waste.

Most district and borough councils in Hertfordshire offer business waste collection services for a fee. We've listed some provider information and the types of waste they do/don't collect:

Broxbourne

Provider: BEST Environmental
Contact: Request quote via provider website