Contract up for review as local produce snubbed.
By Rob Edwards, Environment Editor

In first minister Alex Salmond's well-publicised bid to eat only Scottish food last week, he would have been well advised to steer clear of the Scottish government's own canteens.

An investigation by the Sunday Herald has discovered as much as 80% of the vegetables and half the meat served to nearly 6000 civil servants in Edinburgh and Glasgow is imported from outside of Scotland.

The revelation, condemned as "appalling" by food campaigners, has prompted drastic action by ministers. The contract for supplying meals and snacks to the Scottish government and its guests is now to be put out to tender to help support local food producers.

The government's catering contract is currently with the £10 billion French food giant Sodexo, which supplies the restaurants and hospitality services for 4850 staff at four buildings in Edinburgh, including Victoria Quay and St Andrews House, and 940 staff at three buildings in Glasgow.

But much of the food Sodexo serves does not come from Scotland. During the winter, only 20% of the company's vegetables were Scottish-sourced. Another 40% comes from elsewhere in the UK and the rest was imported from overseas.

Sodexo said only 52% of its meat was Scottish, with 33% originating elsewhere in the UK and 15% from overseas. All pork and chicken it provided were from Scottish sources, it said, which suggests the imports must be mostly beef and lamb.

According to Sodexo, sources of fresh fish varied depending on the weather, but it estimated 85% came from Scotland. It couldn't say what the situation was for frozen fish.

The company also didn't provide figures for fruit, although it said its milk, cream, fresh baked goods and sandwiches all originated in Scotland.

Block cheddar cheese, however, was purchased from Staffordshire.

Hugh Raven, director of the Soil Association in Scotland, blasted the high level of imported food used in government canteens. "It sets a very bad example," he said.

"The idea ministers and civil servants can't be served with Scottish vegetables is simply wrong."

However, Raven praised ministers for taking action on the government's catering contract. "Ministers really do seem to be backing their rhetoric with real government expenditure."

Green MSP Robin Harper said: "These figures show how ministers prescribe one thing but eat another. They must build a preference for healthy local food into public procurement."

The Scottish government will re-tender its catering contract this year because ministers believe they need to "lead by example" on food policy.

European procurement rules do not permit geographical discrimination, so preference in granting contracts can't be given to those sourcing food from Scotland. But the government can insist on fresh products from high-quality sources, and adopt menus reliant on seasonally available ingredients.

Sodexo stressed the needs of its customers were of paramount importance. The sourcing of vegetables from Scotland would increase to 60% in the summer, it said.

"We make every effort to offer clients the opportunity to purchase local products where possible. However, there are a variety of factors that do not always make this possible, such as seasonality, cost to the client or availability of the product," said a company spokesperson.

"We will continue to work closely with the Scottish government to ensure their requirements are met. We have worked with a number of Scottish suppliers for many years and, through this network, we are able to offer a high proportion of Scottish products."