[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":93},["ShallowReactive",2],{"pages-686bc8a014b53cd400bf31f4":3},{"_id":4,"state":5,"name":6,"category":7,"theme":8,"components":9,"keywords":84},"686bc8a014b53cd400bf31f4","active","Healthy and sustainable criteria in public food procurement","discover","european_food_system_dashboard",[10,22,31,38,45,52,59,66],{"type":11,"index":12,"variation":13,"imageURL":14,"title":15,"description":17,"button":19},"header",0,"image_left","https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/8acbb2a1-7483-43c5-a3c4-5f587e5f3010",{"en_GB":16},"Steering public food procurement requirements towards healthy, sustainable and seasonal products to be served in schools, nurseries, prisons, publicly funded canteens etc. ",{"en_GB":18},"- Food system activity: Final consumption\n- Governance level: National/European\n- Cluster: Improve nutrition for better health\n- Origin: Pan-EU\n- Type of policy intervention: Government services",{"label":20,"URL":21},{"en_GB":21},"",{"type":23,"index":24,"variation":25,"imageURL":26,"title":27,"description":29},"image_and_text",1,"image_right","https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/1c0aace6-2325-4a53-96d6-5d50235b85c7",{"en_GB":28},"Intervention Details",{"en_GB":30},"This intervention was proposed during the pan-European food policy summit and is aimed at making public food procurement move towards healthy, sustainable, and seasonal products. This is an intervention that leverages public sector purchasing power to promote better nutrition and support sustainable food systems. It proposes to revise procurement guidelines for institutions such as schools, nurseries, hospitals, prisons, and other publicly funded canteens, requiring that food served meets specific standards related to nutritional quality, environmental impact, seasonality, and origin. An intervention targeting public procurement can be quite impactful, as public procurement represents up to 14% of EU GDP, and food procurement alone accounts for a substantial share of meals served daily across Europe (European Commission, 2018). The rationale behind this intervention lies in its capacity to influence supply chains, reduce food system emissions, and improve population health—especially in settings where food choices are limited, such as schools or care homes. Additionally, aligning procurement with sustainability goals contributes to meeting the EU Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy objectives.",{"type":23,"index":32,"variation":13,"imageURL":33,"title":34,"description":36},2,"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/c32b40e5-d2c2-44bb-a1ed-0e0d2ba39795",{"en_GB":35},"Examples of implementation",{"en_GB":37},"Several EU countries have already integrated healthy and sustainable criteria into their public procurement policies. France’s EGalim Law mandates that 50% of food served in public catering must be sustainable or quality-certified (including 20% organic), with additional preferences for local and seasonal products (Assemblée Plénière, 2018). Similarly, Sweden’s public catering guidelines include nutrition and sustainability criteria, and municipalities like Malmö and Uppsala have implemented best practices in procuring seasonal and climate-smart food for schools and elder care facilities (Sonnino et al., 2016). Italy’s *Green Public Procurement* (GPP) system requires environmental criteria for food purchases, emphasizing organic and local products in schools. Denmark’s Organic Action Plan promotes high organic food use in public kitchens, reaching over 90% organic in some Copenhagen institutions (IFOAM EU, 2015). At the EU level, the *Green Public Procurement* (GPP) toolkit provides voluntary criteria for sustainable food procurement, and the updated 2023 *EU School Scheme* integrates goals on fruit, vegetables, and milk distribution with sustainability principles.",{"type":23,"index":39,"variation":25,"imageURL":40,"title":41,"description":43},3,"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/afec88ea-040b-4549-a51c-f75cc9a63be5",{"en_GB":42},"Key implementation challenges",{"en_GB":44},"The main challenges for making public procurement requirements move towards healthier and more sustainable food at the EU level include the need to professionalize public buyers (European Commission, 2018). \nDespite its potential, steering public food procurement towards healthier and more sustainable outcomes faces several barriers across governance levels. At the local level, procurement officers often lack training or capacity to apply complex sustainability criteria, and face budget constraints that limit sourcing options. Regionally and nationally, fragmented responsibilities between ministries of health, agriculture, and education can result in inconsistent implementation or competing priorities. Administrative complexity in tendering, rigid budgetary rules, and difficulties in accessing small-scale producers also present obstacles. ",{"type":46,"index":47,"variation":48,"imageURL":21,"title":49,"description":50},"title_and_text",4,"title_description",{"en_GB":21},{"en_GB":51},"Moreover, the lack of binding EU-wide procurement requirements means uptake varies significantly across member states. Evaluation and monitoring frameworks are also underdeveloped, making it difficult to measure health and environmental outcomes consistently. Lastly, aligning supply chains—particularly in rural or economically disadvantaged areas—with procurement goals remains challenging without coordinated investment and support (IPES-Food, 2021; JRC, 2020).",{"type":23,"index":53,"variation":13,"imageURL":54,"title":55,"description":57},5,"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/b466ae36-722e-4837-9540-cd11b3d71ab9",{"en_GB":56},"Expert Evaluation",{"en_GB":58},"Experts rated the effectiveness of this policy intervention at an average of 3.94/5.00 (SD = 0.96), indicating a positive assessment and ranking 1st out of the 20 interventions. Survey respondents highlighted the potential of public procurement to provide healthy and sustainable meals regardless of ability to pay, particularly benefiting vulnerable groups such as elderly people and lower-income households. They also emphasized the broad reach of public food procurement and its ability to normalize sustainable and healthy eating habits, including among children. Moreover, survey respondents pointed to the significant purchasing power of public institutions, which, coupled with changing dietary patterns, could increase demand and influence markets towards healthier and more sustainable food. The average feasibility score was 4.21/5.00 (SD = 0.64), reflecting a very positive assessment and ranking 2nd overall. Experts noted that this intervention could build on existing public procurement systems by adding sustainability and nutrition requirements, follow the example of successful frontrunners (e.g. City of Copenhagen), be actionable across multiple governance levels, and face relatively limited political opposition. However, they also warned that what constitutes healthy food may differ across settings, particularly in healthcare contexts. Survey respondents identified synergies with other policy interventions, including “restrictions on advertising of foods HSSF”, “fiscal incentives for healthy foods” and “bans and restrictions on hazardous pesticides”. ",{"type":46,"index":60,"variation":61,"imageURL":21,"title":62,"description":64},6,"title_image_description",{"en_GB":63},"List of References",{"en_GB":65},"•\tAssemblée Plénière (2018). LOI n° 2018-938 du 30 octobre 2018 pour l'équilibre des relations commerciales dans le secteur agricole et alimentaire et une alimentation saine, durable et accessible à tous.\n\n•\tEuropean Commission. (2018, June). *European Semester: Thematic factsheet – Public procurement* (European Semester thematic factsheets). Publications Office of the European Union. [https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2018-06/european-semester_thematic-factsheet_public-procurement_en_0.pdf](https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2018-06/european-semester_thematic-factsheet_public-procurement_en_0.pdf)",{"type":67,"index":68,"variation":69,"title":70,"contact1":72,"contact2":78,"contact3":81},"contacts",7,"title_top",{"en_GB":71},"CONTACT",{"imageURL":73,"name":74,"description":76},"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/771281e8-fca5-4ec7-a45c-0addca312f67",{"en_GB":75},"Jeroen Candel",{"en_GB":77},"Associate professor of food and agricultural policy​",{"imageURL":21,"name":79,"description":80},{"en_GB":21},{"en_GB":21},{"imageURL":21,"name":82,"description":83},{"en_GB":21},{"en_GB":21},[85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92],"retail","markets","national","european","improve nutrition for better health","pan-EU","government services","policy intervention",1776157872505]