Food for Life Catering Mark: points calculator for silver and gold

Please note, the Catering Mark Standards currently only apply to food. Points will not be awarded for spend on drinks.

Use the calculator below and the Catering Mark Manual [PDF, 764 KB] to assess whether your menus are at silver or gold.

To achieve gold, you need at least 300 points, including a minimum of:

100 for sourcing ethical and environmentally friendly food
50 for championing local food producers
50 for making healthy eating easier
100 points from any of these categories

To achieve silver, you need at least 150 points, including a minimum of:

40 for sourcing ethical and environmentally friendly food
20 for championing local food producers
20 for making healthy eating easier
70 points from any of these categories

NOTE: If you are a vegetarian, or vegan, setting please contact us directly on 0117 914 2406 or email catering@foodforlife.org to discuss your points allocation.

Hover over More information icon for more information.

Section 1: Sourcing ethical and environmentally friendly food

		Percentage of food ingredient spend	Points
Points are awarded for every % spend on certified organic products. You need a minimum of 5% spend on organic to achieve silver, or 15% to achieve gold, including at least one animal product.	Organic: 5 points for every % (min 15% at gold inc 1 animal product, 5% at silver)		0
You need a minimum of 5% of your total ingredient spend on organic, free range poultry or outdoor reared pork products to achieve gold. This ensures gold menus are truly delivering high standards of animal welfare. Organic pork, chicken and eggs earn points in this category too. If you do not serve pork or poultry products you are exempt from this requirement.	Free range pork and poultry: 4 points for every % (min 5% at gold)		0
Free range eggs are required to achieve gold but do not count towards your points total. You can achieve points for free range eggs at silver.	Free range eggs: 4 points for every %		0
Achieve points for Marine Stewardship Council approved products, or fish from the Marine Conservation Society fish to eat list. More information: http://www.msc.org/about-us http://www.fishonline.org/fish-advice/eat	MSC fish: 4 points for every %		0
Points are awarded for any item certified by the RSPCA’s Freedom food scheme. More information: http://www.rspca.org.uk/freedomfood/producers	Freedom Food: 3 points for every %		0
Points are awarded for all Fairtrade certified items. More information: Fairtrade Catering Products	Fair trade: 3 points for every %		0
Points are awarded for any items certified by the Linking Environment And Farming mark. More information: The LEAF Food Chain	LEAF produce: 2 points for every %		0
Total:			0

Section 2: Championing local food

		Percentage of food ingredient spend	Points
Local items are grown or produced in your region (or country for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Map of Catering Mark regions. This includes bread or other multi-ingredient items if they are made with 50% or more ingredients produced in your region.	From the region/Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland or adjacent county: 3 points for every %		0
Enter your percentage spend on fresh raw ingredients from the UK, this includes meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, fruit and vegetables. You will score 2 points for every percentage of your total ingredient spend on these items above 59%. For example, if 65% of your ingredient spend is on meat, dairy, eggs, fruit and vegetables from the UK, enter 65 into the calculator and you will score 12 points.	From the UK: 2 points for every % above the national average spend of 59% on raw ingredients		0
Total:			0

Section 3: Making healthy eating easy

Points are given for meeting a list of optional steps, some of which are sector-specific.

Choose one of the following options and tick the boxes for the steps which you are meeting:

Menu-cycle based catering services
Restaurants, Cafes, Take aways and events catering

Menu-cycle based catering services

Tick if standard is met

Points

Meat-free day or equivalent (20%) number of non-meat dishes served (as main option) where meat is replaced with vegetables, pulses, wholegrains, quorn or tofu – 20 points per day (up to max 60 points)

	1 day
	2 days
	3 days

Steps taken to reduce meat served and promote non-meat dishes - 20 points

Steps taken to reduce salt levels - 20 points

Actions to cut plate waste - 20 points

Actions to support eating well - 20 points

Actions to promote meal take-up (school catering only) - 20 points

Monitoring against food and nutrient-based standards (early years settings, schools, residential care settings) - 20 points

Vending machines meet ‘healthy vending’ standards (‘standards for school food other than lunches’, School Food Trust) – 10 points

More than 50% of bread on offer is wholemeal or wholegrain - 10 points

Fruit is cheaper than a dessert - 10 points

Total:

Restaurants, Cafes, Take aways and events catering		Tick if standard is met	Points
One of the following steps is required to earn 20 points in this category: Plate waste is regularly reviewed and the amounts of frequently wasted items are changed. Regular customer surveys take place to find out why foods are not eaten Portion sizes are measured to ensure they are suitable for the target audience	Actions to cut plate waste - 20 points		0
At least two of the following steps are required to earn 20 points in this category: Replace some of the meat used in popular dishes with vegetables, potatoes or other starchy roots, pulses or wholegrain cereals. Reduce the total amount of meat and meat products used each week. Actively promoting non-meat dishes.	Steps to serve meat in moderation - 20 points		0
Points are awarded if more than 25% of the total number of main options on the menu are not meat or fish.	At least 25% of main meal options are non-meat based, replaced by healthier plant-based main options - 30 points		0
Main meals accompanied by at least one portion of vegetables or salad - 20 points			0
Special offers, dish of the day and meal deals include at least one portion of vegetables or salad - 20 points			0
More than 50% of bread on offer is wholemeal or wholegrain - 10 points			0
At least four of these steps are required to earn 20 points in this category: All recipes tested to ensure the minimum amount of salt is used without compromising on taste. Vegetables, rice, potatoes and pulses are not routinely salted when cooking. Non-salted flavourings are used. No extra salt is added to any foods prior to service. Access to table salt is restricted. Only low-salt or unsalted savoury snack foods are available.	Steps to minimise salt - 20 points		0
Vending machines meet ‘healthy vending’ standards (‘standards for school food other than lunches’, School Food Trust) - 20 points			0
Fruit not confectionary, cakes, biscuits or savory snacks at till points - 10 points			0
Fruit or fruit-based dessert is cheaper than alternative desserts - 10 points			0
Total:			0

Next steps

You will be asked to demonstrate how you achieved these figures at your inspection.

For more information:

Catering Mark Manual [PDF, 1.4 MB]
Apply now

If you have any queries about using this calculator, please contact us on 0117 914 2406.

Food for Life Catering Mark: points calculator for silver and gold

Section 1: Sourcing ethical and environmentally friendly food

Section 2: Championing local food

Section 3: Making healthy eating easy

Next steps

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