Fit at Work Food Quality

The Commission services are preparing the new contract for catering in the Commission’s Brussels restaurants, canteens and cafeterias that will take effect at the start of 2021. The new contract is an important opportunity to make improvements for Commission staff and should also address the widespread concern over climate change and the destruction of the natural world on which we all depend.

The Commission’s latest climate Communication states “Climate change can only be tackled if people actively engage, as consumers and as citizens”. It calls for action to “foster and support consumer choices reducing climate impact”. The Commission’s nutritionists, as part of the fit@work programme, also recommend eating a varied diet containing a greater proportion of plant-based foods. we ask the European Commission to set the example and to ensure that its canteens and cafeterias provide a wider choice of climate-friendly, fully plant-based foods and dishes for their staff.

It is a fact that the catering services of the Commission are currently the worst of all the other European institutions. TAO-AFI and staff clamor for change.

For the past few years, catering in the canteens of the Commission in Brussels has been entrusted to three companies: Ciano, UniJolly and Eurest. The decision to divide the management of canteens and restaurants into three lots has been justified by DG HR as essential for improving quality through competition. TAO-AFI wanted to give the floor to staff with a survey, which ran from 31 January to 10February 2017.

TAO-AFI, The Association of independent officials, following our staff consultation at the beginning of this year which showed massive support for a marked improvement in the quality of the food served in the Commission’s canteens in Brussels, has achieved a first success: the Commission has decided to include good quality food in the next “FIT at WORK” programme.