2 minute read
New nutrition standards for staff and visitors
Healthy Eating at Work Awards launched
The HSE has a key role to play in providing supportive work environments for staff to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. A healthy and balanced diet along with exercise helps maintain a healthy body weight and reduce the risk of chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, some cancers and coronary heart disease.
HSE Health & Wellbeing has launched the Nutrition Standards for the provision of food and beverages in healthcare settings. These standards support those employed and contracted by the health service to offer staff and visitors a choice of healthier food. They are a combination of nutrient and food-based standards and they specify the minimum levels to be attained.
By developing these standards, we aim to move from the current “obesogenic” environment, where unhealthy foods are readily available in most places, to one that actively promotes the consumption of healthier food and drink.
Launched by Minister of State Frank Feighan, the Healthy Eating at Work webinar had over 300 participants on the day and you can watch it back on the HSE Health and Wellbeing YouTube channel.
The session included some examples of how healthy eating at work is being implemented in the HSE. Project dietician Geraldine Sexton presented new Nutrition and Healthy Eating training modules now available on HSEland to support staff and catering services, researchers in NUIG spoke about the HSE Calorie Posting Policy and Catering Services in Cork University Hospital produced a short video on how they achieved Gold Standard in the Happy Heart Healthy Eating Awards programme on their first attempt!
The Happy Heart Healthy Eating Awards is a well established programme of the Irish Heart Foundation and, since 2020, we are delighted to partner with Irish Heart to work exclusively with catering facilities in HSE and healthcare settings.
Through this award programme catering facilities are supported to: • adopt healthier cooking practices and healthier options without incurring substantial costs • ensure healthier options are promoted and provided • ensure food and beverages comply with HSE nutrition standards for staff and visitors
Catering facilities get the opportunity to work to achieve the Nutrition Standards through a certification level process - Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Dieticians support the catering team to implement changes to food provision such as portion sizes, increasing fruit and veg, reducing salt fat sugar content and replacing products with healthier versions whilst also keeping customers informed and happy. The award is valid for two years.
We aim to support every healthcare catering facility in the HSE to achieve the highest standard possible and their achievements are recognised in an annual awards ceremony.
