Healthier Catering Commitment (HCC)
The Healthier Catering Commitment (HCC) is a voluntary scheme to support food businesses to adopt simple and inexpensive changes which will improve the healthiness of their food offer.
It is delivered locally by a number of London councils, including the London Borough of Havering, with the support of the Mayor of London and the Association of Environmental Health Mangers (Alehm).
The HCC recognises those businesses in Havering that demonstrate a commitment to reducing the level of saturated fat and salt content in their foods, offering some healthy options, for example, lower sugar drinks and snacks, and making smaller portions available on request.
The main principle is that small changes can make a huge difference.
Why do we need the Healthier Catering Commitment?
For one in five of us in the UK, takeaways are no longer a rare treat but have become a staple part of our weekly diets.
Regularly eating foods high in fat, salt and sugar can be detrimental to our health.
In the Great Weight Debate, our residents told us that access to too many cheap unhealthy food and drink options was the biggest barrier to their children maintaining a healthy weight.
Benefits of the HCC to your business
Businesses who achieve the HCC award will be listed below and on the Healthier Catering Commitment London website.
You will also receive a certificate and window sticker to display in your premises and additional promotional materials.
Benefits to businesses signed up to the scheme include:
- increased publicity
- improved reputation
- expansion of your customer base through attracting people who are looking for healthier options
- potential to increase profits
- ability to contribute to the health and wellbeing of residents
Eligibility criteria
The HCC is open to all food businesses that have a Food Hygiene Rating Scheme score of three or above.
It doesn’t matter if you are a takeaway, café or restaurant, or the type of food or cuisine you offer. We welcome applications from everyone.
Food businesses who apply will be asked to fulfil eight criteria as a minimum to qualify for the HCC award.
There are four essential criteria that all businesses have to meet, and an additional three essential criteria that have to be met if you use a deep fat fryer.
However, we encourage all food businesses to be ambitious and sign up to as many commitments as you think are possible.