Defra welcomes innovations that increase customer choice around food served in public sector settings. Defra is responsible for the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF) which apply to Government Departments and Agencies, Hospitals the military and prisons. These include rules for varying the types of food included on menus to ensure the nutritional needs of customers are met. However, we do not believe it is helpful to impose blanket menu restrictions on caterers: local canteen managers are better placed to decide what to serve, and when, based on local demand.

There are no current plans to introduce a legal definition of the term ‘vegetarianism’, but the use of this and indeed any term on food, whether retailed from a shop or on a menu for out-of-home sale, must not be misleading to consumers.

The term ‘suitable for vegetarians’ is used voluntarily by the food industry. There is no legal requirement to describe a product as either suitable or unsuitable for vegetarians.

The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable the safe use of food. These rules mean that manufacturers, retailers and caterers should be able to demonstrate that where foods are presented as 'vegetarian' reasonable steps have been taken to avoid cross-contamination with non-vegetarian foods during storage, preparation, cooking or display.

Defra and the FSA will continue to work with businesses and consumers to ensure everyone can make safe and informed choices when purchasing items labelled as ‘vegetarian’.

The terms ‘Vegetarian’ and ‘Vegan’ do not currently have legal definitions in the UK, but the use of these and indeed any term on food, whether retailed from a shop or on a menu for out-of-home sale, must not be misleading to consumers.

The term ‘suitable for Vegetarians’, is used voluntarily by the food industry. There is no legal requirement to describe a product as either suitable or unsuitable for vegetarians.

There are no current plans to produce guidance specifically for food business operators on the definition of vegetarianism.

However, Defra and the FSA will continue to work with businesses and consumers to ensure everyone can make safe and informed choices when purchasing items labelled as vegan or vegetarian.

The terms ‘Vegetarian’ and ‘Vegan’ do not currently have legal definitions in the UK, but the use of these and indeed any term on food, whether retailed from a shop or on a menu for out-of-home sale, must not be misleading to consumers.

In order not to mislead, manufacturers, retailers and caterers should be able to demonstrate that where foods are presented as 'vegetarian' reasonable steps have been taken to avoid cross-contamination with non-vegetarian foods during storage, preparation, cooking or display. Food law provides a robust framework that protects public health and consumer interests and requires food businesses that produce, process, and distribute food to apply food safety controls that ensure food they place on the market is safe and is what it says it is. This includes avoiding cross contamination of foods including ensuring that work areas, surfaces and equipment used for raw and ready-to-eat food are adequately separated.

While it may not be possible to avoid cross-contamination in a busy kitchen, it is incumbent on a food business to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to avoid cross-contamination and where appropriate, to inform customers where there is a risk

Trading standards officers attached to the Local Authority are responsible for checking compliance with the food information requirements.

The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable the safe use of food so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy.

While there are no specific rules covering information on the suitability of food for vegetarians or vegans, the requirement that food information must not mislead consumers applies to such labels as for other voluntary labels.

Food labelling rules are enforced by local authorities. The Food Standards Agency has agreements and protocols in place to support local authorities in their work and gives guidance to explain the regulations and how they can be applied to food businesses. When assessing foodstuffs for non-compliance, Trading Standards officers adhere to an established hierarchy of enforcement actions, ranging from improvements notices to criminal charges resulting in custodial sentences and unlimited fines.

For the National Health Service, social care and other health services, the Care Quality Commission regulates providers on compliance with Regulation 14 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This states that health and social care providers must consider people’s preferences, religious and cultural backgrounds when providing food and drink, and that people must have their nutritional needs assessed as quickly as possible and food be provided to meet the needs identified.

NHS England published updated NHS Food Standards in November 2022. The standards set out that menus should be tailored to meet patient’s dietary requirements and personal preferences. To that end, all hospital sites are expected to prepare and provide menus that meet all necessary types of dietary, religious and cultural needs. Vegetarian and vegan meals and snacks have long been part of this choice, and particularly with the focus on providing lower carbon choices, plant based meals are being provided as an extensive range.

Ethical veganism has previously been found to be a philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010 by an employment tribunal, in an employment context. While this is not binding in other cases, all employers and service providers, including those who administer care homes and hospitals, should have regard to the differing dietary needs of people who they provide meals to, whether these are determined by health considerations, religious or philosophical belief. Providers should also recognise that food is not the only aspect of how ethical vegans conduct their lives and where possible should ensure that these other aspects are catered for.

Care providers should be aware that service users such as care home residents and ward patients may bring claims under the Act, where they consider they have been treated less favourably because of their belief in ethical veganism. In addition, public sector providers are subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty which requires them, in carrying out their functions, to have due regard to the need to achieve the objectives set out under s149 of the Equality Act 2010 to:

(a) eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010; (b) advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it and (c) foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. Specific duties, set out in regulations, ensure transparency, and assist in the performance of this duty.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulate care homes as well as other health and care providers. One of the fundamental standards is on nutritional and hydration needs. Please see the link below.

https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/regulations/regulation-14-meeting-nutritional-hydration-needs

The requirements for the information which must appear on medicines labelling is set out in Part 13 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. The primary purpose of the label is to unambiguously identify the medicine and to convey warnings in relation to safe and effective use of the product. There is no legal requirement for a pharmaceutical manufacturer to state whether a particular medicine contains animal-derived ingredients, as this does not convey warnings on the safety of the medicine.

However, the legislation allows for the inclusion of a statement such as ‘suitable for vegetarians/vegans’ where a company can provide evidence to demonstrate that no products of animal origin have been used in the manufacture of the ingredients or the medicine. Where a company proposes to include such a statement on the labelling or in the patient information leaflet, the Medicines and Healthcare products regulatory Agency will evaluate the evidence to determine the validity. Medicines are developed to treat or prevent particular medical conditions or symptoms and are licensed on the basis of quality, safety and efficacy. Although there are many medicines free from animal derived materials, no animal-free treatment options exist as the active ingredient cannot be made synthetically or animal derived materials are necessary for the formulation or manufacture of the product. As technology advances, we expect that more non-animal materials will become available.

Part 13 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 states that the primary purpose of the label is to unambiguously identify the medicine and to convey key warning statements in relation to safe and effective use of the product. There is no legal requirement for a pharmaceutical manufacturer to state whether a medicine is suitable for vegetarians or vegans. However, the legislation allows for the inclusion of a statement such as ‘suitable for vegetarians/vegans’ where a manufacturer can provide evidence to demonstrate that no products of animal origin have been used in the manufacture of the ingredients or the medicine. Where such a statement on the labelling or in the patient information leaflet is proposed, the Medicines and Healthcare products regulatory Agency will evaluate the evidence supporting this statement to determine its validity.

No estimate has been made of the number of people receiving social care who follow a non-meat diet. Local authorities should facilitate the personalisation of care and support services in line with their duties under the Care Act 2014. This includes encouraging services to enable people to make meaningful choices and to take control over the way their care is planned and delivered, based on their individual needs and what matters most to them. This may include dietary requirements and preferences where appropriate.

We are keen to ensure we have a vibrant and diverse hospitality sector.

As such, we are continuing to work across the entire hospitality sector with the aim of ensuring it is in a strong position to restart as soon as the conditions are right to ease restrictions.

The fundamental principles of our food labelling rules are that information provided to consumers must not mislead and must enable consumers to make informed decisions. While our rules lay out what information must be given to consumers and how it must be provided, there is no legal definition for vegetarian food in our legislation. Nor is there a legal requirement to label food as either vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

Food manufacturers are free to label products as vegetarian voluntarily and so inform consumers who seek such information, providing they do not mislead consumers. Organisations such as the Vegetarian and Vegan Societies provide accreditation services to food producers, allowing food products which fulfil their respective requirements to carry their logos.

Looking forward, we have an opportunity to review food labelling to make sure that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy.

The Requirements for School Food Regulations (2014), which came into force in January 2015, regulates the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day. Beyond this, we believe that headteachers, school governors and caterers are best placed to make decisions about their school food policies, taking into account local circumstances and the needs of their pupils. In doing so, we expect schools to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with particular requirements, for example to reflect dietary and cultural needs. School food policies work best when schools discuss them with parents and pupils, so that parents have the opportunity to raise pupils’ particular dietary needs.

Catering services have increased the number of vegetarian and vegan options across all menus over the past year and there are plans for the range to continue to grow this year. Catering services will continue to support National Vegetarian week and Vegan Month. Some chefs have also attended a two day training course looking at new ideas in plant-based foods to enhance the menus, with further development opportunities planned.

Catering prices are reviewed on an annual basis and amended to reflect one year’s change in the food price index (a subset of the consumer price index) and applied as a standard percentage increase across the whole product range. New prices come into effect in April, at the beginning of each new financial year.

The Finance Committee sets the overall budget direction and targets, and the Administration Committee confirms that the pricing percentages work within the overall budget direction and target once they have been presented to them on an annual basis. The House of Commons Commission is asked for a final decision if agreement cannot be reached with both Committees.

The catering budget set for 2019/20 for food gross profit is to achieve a 62% gross profit margin. This food gross profit covers the cost of food production across all venues on the estate.

Any prices which need to adjust mid-year due to significant market supplier increases (a previous example being the increase in the price of salmon by 40% in 2016/17) will be reported back to Committees separately.

The Government is aware of a proposed amendment by the European Parliament Agriculture Committee that terms used to describe meat products should be reserved exclusively for products made from meat. This proposed amendment has a long way to go through the legislative process.

If the amendment is accepted, Defra will seek views from all UK stakeholders and, while we remain a member of the EU, consult with other EU Member States. Our objective will be, as always, to ensure the regulatory framework protects consumers’ interests while avoiding unnecessary regulatory burdens on food businesses.

Catering services provide a wide choice of dishes to cater for vegans and vegetarians throughout the estate. Menus are changed on a regular basis to provide variety and to reflect seasonality. There has also been an increase in the number of choices for vegans and vegetarians across our venues in recent years.

We gather customer suggestions and feedback through regular surveys and through our customer feedback email address. This assists us with our menu planning and to improve our offers and dishes on our menus where possible.

There are no specific plans to increase the range of food available to vegans and vegetarians. In 2017, all cafeterias supported National Vegetarian Week (15 to 19 May) and World Vegan Month (in November) where we promote and further offer a selection of dishes to our customers. Catering services will continue to promote these in 2018.

Medicines are developed to treat or prevent particular medical conditions or their symptoms and are licensed on the basis of their quality, safety and efficacy. Although there are many medicines that are free from animal derived materials, there are also cases where no animal-free treatment option exists. This may be because the active ingredient cannot be made synthetically, or animal derived materials are necessary for the formulation or manufacture of the product.

The current requirements for medicines labelling are set out in European and national legislation. Unlike food legislation, there is no mechanism for the inclusion within the labelling of a medicine for any information on whether or not the product is suitable for vegetarians or vegans. Patients who wish to identify such products will need to rely on the information that is provided in the accompanying patient information leaflet or directly by their pharmacist.