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When you stop and think about it, food can make you think so much it gives you a headache!

A school-based web user recently wrote to us in indignation that VSCA had featured an overseas-produced frozen product as our 'Flavour of the Month'.

"Why would you feature an imported product, when a fresh local product is available?"

Pondering on our experiences in many different school canteens, this question raises many related questions for VSCA.

Does the local product meet all the other requirements a canteen may have?

Can the fresh product be obtained within the specific timeframes required by the canteen?

Has the local product been assessed under the Victorian government policy to ensure it meets nutrient criteria for foods of its type?

Does the local product contain ONLY local ingredients - or are some of the ingredients sourced from the same overseas country as the frozen product?

Does the canteen that objects to this imported product sell any other items that are imported, or contain imported ingredients? Check out the drinks and frozen snacks on your menu. For example, some icecreams sold under popular well-known Australian brands are produced overseas and transported to Australia in frozen shipping container loads.

Because the policy says so!

So ... "Why would you feature an imported product, when a fresh local product is available?"

There's a simple answer to that original question.

VSCA registers and assesses products and services under the Victorian government policy for school canteens. In the interests of providing schools with the best possible information, we provide opportunities for VSCA Registered Products & Services to be promoted to Victorian schools. As long as the products or services meet the government Policy, we offer equal opportunities to all - without favour or prejudice. It is up to each individual school to make choices about these products, based on their suitability under the Policy.

The government policy IS concerned with the nutritional quality of foods served to students. For some categories of products, specific criteria apply for certain nutrients (such as energy, sodium and fibre). For others, general guidelines apply.

The government policy is NOT concerned with whether a food is imported or local - as long as it is sourced, prepared and served according to the relevant statutory requirements that apply, for example, to imports, quality standards and labelling.

How long is a piece of string?

There are many other questions we could ask about any food that we serve to our students.

• Is it 'natural'? (And what does that actually mean, anyway? Do you define "naturalness" by the ingredients? By the degree or type of processing involved? Do 'nature-identical' ingredients mean a product is or isn't natural?)
  
  
• Is it 'environmentally friendly'? (How would we measure that? By the packaging? By the way the food is grown or produced? By where it's grown or produced? Does it contain GMO ingredients?)
  
  
• Is it allergy-friendly? (The range of foods that can be allergens for different people is extremely wide - from fruits to grains to nuts to additives.)
  
  
• Is it 'local'? (Is it grown, processed, packaged locally? Are all the ingredients also 'local'? And how local is "local"? Grown in the school vege garden? Grown within 10, 50, 100 or 10,000 km? Perhaps that depends where you live? Not so easy if you are based in central Australia or a remote area!)

It would be difficult - if not impossible - to produce a policy that covered all these different aspects of whether a particular food may be considered a 'good choice'.

And even if it were possible, would we like it or appreciate it or even find it acceptable if the government completely controlled and dictated everything we ate? Don't we like having some choices?

It's not a perfect world.

As consumers, every time we step into a shop or whenever we place an order for our school canteen, we are faced with numerous choices about the foods we purchase. Are they nutritious?

Are they fresh, within use-by dates, safely handled? Are they local? What sort of processing and packaging and transportation systems are we buying into? Will they appeal to our student customers (and their parents)?

When making these decisions, we are also bound by many practical considerations, such as:

• budgets and pricing
• ease and availability of obtaining the foods - local suppliers, delivery days and times, minimum order quantities
• storage and handling requirements, storage space in canteen, shelf life of products
• labour involved in preparing or serving food safety requirements
• the facilities we have in our canteens - paid or volunteer staff, equipment, serving times ...

and so many more constraints.

Schools are all different, and no canteen is identical to another. One shoe does not fit all feet! We each operate under different circumstances: different numbers of students; primary or secondary or combined student ages; different serving times and formats for recess and/or lunch; different food preparation and serving facilities; different operating models (eg. cafeteria style, self service, counter service); different budgets and financial pressures; different value systems in different schools, different staffing models with trained, untrained or volunteer operations.

In light of all this, we must opt for BEST practice. We must make the best choices we can, subject to
* the government policies to which we all must adhere,
* our own circumstances and our priorities, and
* the expectations and priorities of those who rely on us - our own school communities.

VSCA offers you choices

VSCA's Registered Products and Services are suggestions for suitable products and services that you could use in your school canteen, based on the strict criteria of the Victorian government policy.

In our VSCA Buying Guide we provide comprehensive information and contact details, to make it as easy as possible for schools to investigate these products or services and make the best informed choices they can for their school.

This is just one of the ways VSCA works to help school canteens in Victoria. We try to take some of the headaches out of your decision making. We like to think we are saving you from struggling with these complex issues so you can spend your precious time on what really matters ... helping you to make your canteen the best school canteen your school can possibly have. The choice is yours!

Click here for more information about VSCA and its aims

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© VSCA 18 April 2012

Food can make you think so much it gives you a headache!

We recently heard a canteen manager talking about how stressful her job is.

"It's unbelievable!

Kids play around in the toilets instead of returning to class. I have to go in and send them back to their classrooms.

Litter blows across the quandrangle and nobody picks it up except me.

I'm constantly having to redirect visitors out of the carpark which is reserved for staff.

There's just so much to do and not enough hours in the day. However long I stay after work, I never seem to get all the work done."

It's a big job

We at VSCA are the first to acknowledge that a canteen manager's role involves some big responsibilities:

* Managing the profitability of a small foodservice business.
* Ensuring the food safety standards are maintained.
* Serving food that is fresh and wholesome.
* Making sure the necessary stock is on hand.
* Managing a team of volunteers.
* Looking after children with allergies.

All this requires a complex set of skills and eyes in the back of your head.

We believe that canteen workers should be applauded for the amazing job they do - that's why we run the annual VSCA Canteen of the Year Awards to celebrate their achievements. Click here to see some of last year's winners.

We also advocate for fair pay and conditions that reflect the responsible and complex nature of the work - see our article on Rates of Pay for Canteen Workers.

Am I biting off more than I can chew?

A canteen manager wrote to us recently in great concern about a private company that collected money online on behalf of her school canteen, and had an outstanding debt to her school for monies not paid over.

VSCA replied:

It is important that your school administration handles this matter - they are the ones who have the authority to do so and need to take responsibility, rather than you.

It is good to remember that you are an employee and have done your best. At no time have you been negligent or irresponsible, and you need to take care that you do not take on responsibilities that are not yours to carry.

If you are not sure about this, you may need to check your job description to see exactly what your duties are! It's important you get your head quite clear about the limits of your responsibilities and what you take on as part of your job.

It would seem to be the role of the finance officer or business manager, whose job involves responsibilities around keeping the school's accounts accurately, accounting for money coming in and out of the school, balancing accounts, etc, to take responsibility for money that is missing and any action that needs to be taken to recover it. It would also be part of their job to follow school protocol around engaging creditors/debtors, and the school's responsibility to put such a protocol in place.

The canteen manager's job does not include those responsibilities and does not provide access to the related resources, information and training that the business manager has. If you are not sure about all of this - just look at your rate of pay, and the rates of pay of the business manager and/or principal - that should give you a good indication of the limits of your responsibility!

Remember Atlas?

When was the last time you checked your job description - and noticed exactly what you ARE, and are NOT, responsible for?

Is it your job to worry about the litter on the playground? The kids in the toilets? The cars in the carpark? The state of creditors or debtors on school accounts?

Just think of Atlas - the Greek god who had to hold the whole world on his shoulders. Are you adding extra items to your pile of worries, until it becomes as heavy as the whole world?

Are you making your own job - the work you ARE responsible for - more difficult, by allowing yourself to be distracted and diverted by other things?

You owe it to yourself - to your employer - and to your customers, to focus your time and energy on the job which IS yours to do.

Pile it on!

Do you ever find that other people want to add extra responsibilities onto your job too? For example, is your canteen ever blamed for the litter in the school yard? Is it fair to blame the canteen or the canteen manager? Did you put the litter there?

Let's think about this for a moment and try to analyse what is happening. Yes, litter in the school yard is a problem. Why is it occurring? Are there adequate rubbish bins? Are the bins secure? Are the bins easily accessible and in the right places for traffic flow? Are the children taught why littering is a problem? Are students proud of their school environment? Is everyone made aware of what happens to rubbish we drop? Are there rewards for a clean and tidy school ground?

Will banning items from sale in the canteen solve these problems? Are there other measures which need to be put in place - such as cleanup programs - and do these fall within the scope of the canteen, or of the school administration?

When we think like this, we can see this is a much bigger issue that is far outside the canteen manager's area of responsibility!

You owe it to yourself - to your employer - and to your customers, to focus your time and energy on the job that IS yours to do.

You deserve it.

Give yourself a break. LET GO of everything which is not yours.

Like to gain more skills to manage your job and your workload? Come to "The Power of People: striving, reviving and thriving" VSCA's annual seminar and expo day on 8 May 2012 at Caulfield Racecourse. Keynote speaker Dr Judy Esmond will inspire you with her strategies for dealing with tricky people and difficult situations like these! You will never forget attending a Judy Esmond presentation. A must-not-miss opportunity! Click here to download an invitation Click here for online bookings

Please tell VSCA what you think!

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© VSCA 22 March 2012

Is this you?

98% fat-free

Have you noticed products in the supermarket or in your school canteen that have statements on them like "98% fat free"?

Have you noticed these labels applied to items that would not be considered nutritious, like jellies, jubes and some other confectionery?

Where else have you noticed them? Breakfast cereals? Muesli bars?

Have you noticed that these labels are appearing on products that always have had very little fat and were never high fat foods?

What do these claims mean? Do you find these claims confusing?

Does it make you think these products might be more nutritious or "healthier" or better for us and our children?

Who makes the rules on food claims?

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is Australia's food regulator.

Currently, FSANZ is considering whether consumers can be misled by manufacturer's claims regarding the fat-free or percentage fat-free status of a product.

Concerns have been expressed regarding the use of fat-free and % fat-free claims, particularly where products with these claims are high in sugar or energy content.

It is thought that some consumers may be misled by the ‘fat-free’ or 'percentage fat-free' claim and may believe these products are ‘healthier’. This may arise from consumers believing that products carrying such claims are inherently ‘healthier’ due to the low fat content, but that they may not recognise that some products, the fat content may not be the main 'health' issue. These products may be high in sugar, and thereby contribute to increased energy intake, regardless of the fat-free claim.

Have your say.

FSANZ is seeking feedback on the latest version of a draft "nutrition and health claims" standard.

As a consumer, do you feel you are currently, or likely to be in the future, confused or misled by fat-free and % fat-free claims?

Are additional regulatory measures warranted?

Do we need stricter laws to control claims like these on products?

Should claims like these be banned?

For more information, to view the consultation paper, or to make a submission click here or go to www.foodstandards.gov.au - click on Media Centre, then click on Call for submissions on draft nutrition, health and related claims standard (17 February 2012)

NB. Submissions on this matter to FSANZ close on 16 March 2012 ...

... but you can tell VSCA what you think anytime!

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© VSCA 2 March 2012

"The illiterate of the 21st century
will not be those who cannot read and write,
but those who cannot
learn, unlearn and relearn."

~ Alvin Toffler (American writer and futurist, born 1928)

© VSCA 28 February 2012

Is fresh always best?

Over the past decades, we have become used to many foods being available in a frozen form. Some foods freeze very well and are ideal for foodservices. These usually are foods that will be heated or further prepared before serving.

But what about bread? Bread seems to be one food that we still expect to be baked and delivered fresh daily.

Supermarkets, bakeries and hot bread shops offer freshly baked bread. The smell of fresh bread baking makes our saliva and gastric juices flow and stimulates our appetite.

If you purchase a freshly made sandwich or a roll, do you expect your bread to be "fresh"? Can you tell the difference if your bread is "freshly baked" or if it has been frozen and thawed?

What is the best option for students purchasing lunches from their school canteen? Do you think they should be served "freshly baked" or frozen bread and rolls?

Frozen foods are very convenient.

They can save you time and money in your foodservice.

Frozen foods have a much longer shelf life than fresh foods.

You can buy in and store frozen items in bulk quantities to save money and time.

You can prepare and use just what you need from your freezer so there is little wastage.

You can access products all year round that may otherwise only be available seasonally.

Frozen items are usually ready to use. This saves labour, time and expense in preparation - no washing or peeling or chopping needed!

Frozen items are usually of standard quality which helps with portion control and costing for foodservice use. You know the items always will be of consistent quality and size.

Many frozen foods are just as nutritious as their fresh equivalents.

Of course, for food safety it goes without saying that frozen goods must be delivered and stored at the correct temperature.

Take a look at vegetables:

Once they are picked, vegetables start to deteriorate and lose some of their goodness. For best nutrition, fresh vegetables need to reach the market, be purchased and then prepared and eaten within a few days of harvesting. As well, they need to be stored properly at each stage of the journey.

Frozen vegetables are especially handy. The vegetables are picked at peak season and snap frozen a very short time after harvesting. This means there is virtually no loss of nutrients.

There is very little nutritional difference between fresh and frozen vegetables.

Frozen vegetables are especially handy for school canteens. Frozen corn cobs or cobettes make great snack or lunch menu items. Frozen peas or corn kernels are great additions to recipes such as fried rice, soups, pasta. Frozen chopped vegetable mixes can be very handy for soups and stir fries.

Frozen berries are also very handy and useful year round for pies, smoothies, yoghurt toppings etc.

Are you fresh or frozen?

Of course, surplus fresh bread and rolls too can be frozen for emergencies, late lunches or for use in cooked bread-based items like jaffles, hot rolls, garlic bread, toasties, mousetraps etc. But do they replace fresh bread?

Do you use frozen vegetables or frozen fruits in your canteen? What do you use? How do you use them?

But bread and rolls? Supplied frozen to your school?

What do you think?

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© VSCA 17 February 2012

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