The Organic Cuisine label

The Organic Cuisine Label was created to encourage the use of organic produce for preparation of organic food in large-scale kitchens, i.e. in restaurants, work canteens and other institutions such as hospitals or schools. The label provides the customer with easy to recognize, consistent guidance on where they can eat organic food. As the label has three levels, it also promotes increasing the use of organic produce by giving incentives to the establishment to “go for gold”, i.e. serving 90-100 % organic food. The certificate The certification has three levels of certification that represent the proportion of organic produce that is used: • The Organic Cuisine gold label: between 90 to 100 % of all raw materials used are organic. It also requires a written food policy, which has to be visibly displayed to customers. • The Organic Cuisine silver label: between 60 to 90 % of all raw materials used are organic. • The Organic Cuisine bronze label: between 30 to 60 % of all raw materials used are organic. Licensing Restaurants and caterers awarded the Organic Cuisine Label are monitored by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. This is done through annual inspections and audits of purchase records. At least once every three months the restaurant must submit a record to the organic control body of all raw materials and produce purchased. The records must show that the establishment in question has purchased on average the proportion organic produce specified in the Organic Cuisine Label over the three-month period. All receipts should state whether the produce is organic or not and must be made available for inspection. The personnel must also be able to prove how the calculations of the proportion of organic produce were made. The organic label certification is carried out by government inspectors for free, which means that the costs of obtaining the label are fully carried by the Danish taxpayers. The inspection is carried out in conjunction with the legally required hygiene inspections, greatly reducing the inspection costs. Marketing and communication initiatives The concept relies heavily on a website that provides extensive information and guidance for restaurants that wish to become certified. A video tutorial explains in practical terms what to do. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration also offers the possibility of direct advice by mail or phone. The concept is marketed through seminars, newspapers, magazine articles, awareness campaigns and social media. A main marketing channel is peer-to-peer marketing. As the number of labelled restaurants and canteens has increased, this serves to motivate others and accelerates the transition to use organic produce. Some meetings are arranged to make it possible for personnel from larger kitchens to exchange experiences and best practices. These serve the purpose of spreading information on experiences e.g. how to buy organic produce or to prepare food from scratch instead of from processed intermediate products. Kitchens are also provided recipes on how to prepare food from organic produce. Success Factors The success of the labeling scheme is dependent on the use of the already well-known Danish Organic label, which is one of brands with the highest recognition in Denmark. The label is associated with independent government controls, which increases trustworthiness. Trustworthiness means non-corruptibility, good controls at licensing and follow-up after licensing. A key element in the success is governmental support. Novelty For restaurants and catering service providers, it has been difficult to ensure that all raw materials and other ingredients are 100 % organically sourced. This is the reason why in 2009 the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries in Denmark introduced the Organic Cuisine Label in gold, silver and bronze. Before the label was introduced, the establishments could claim to serve organic products, but could not easily provide systematic and reliable proof of it to customers. Today they can advertise their commitment to use organic foods with an official, trusted sign. Sustainability Impacts Using organic labelled products is a convenient way to support the transition of production to more ecologically sound practices and to make an investment in the environment and animal well-being. The Organic Cuisine Label is one way of promoting organic food. In May 2016, there were almost 1 700 issued licenses. The research company YouGov evaluated in December 2015 how well the Danes know different types of organic labels. 47 % of the population knows the Organic Cuisine Label, while the Danish organic label used in retail had recognition of 100 % among the population. Overall, approximately 70 percent of all Organic Cuisine Labels are found in public kitchens. Approximately 50 percent of all labels are registered in the bronze category, 35 percent in the silver category and 15 percent in the gold category, a distribution that seems to be more or less unchanged as the number of labels increases. Danish people are today especially interested in being able to choose Organic Cuisine products in kindergartens, schools and hospitals. Efforts to promote the use of organic food in public kitchens have been shown to have several positive side effects, e.g. a potential for significant reduction in food waste and greater focus on healthier and more sustainable menus with more fruits and vegetables and less meat. Some additional impacts of the adoption of the label and the transition to organic produce have been a higher customer satisfaction because of the higher quality of the food. Additionally, a higher personnel satisfaction has been measured, since the personnel has higher work motivation when using better quality produce and fewer processed foods - despite the fact that in some cases the food can be more cumbersome to produce. In some cases, kitchen employees have also had to learn new methods of cooking and recipes to accommodate organic produce and seasonal thinking. This has increased work satisfaction and professional pride. Challenges and potential for further development One important lesson learned is that manager commitment in large establishments and government commitment is essential for promoting the transition to organic produce. Kitchen personnel can be motivated to use organic produce, but without leadership commitment for making the transition within the given budget, concrete steps may not be taken. The transition to organic produce has been greatly accelerated by government commitment to use 60 % organic produce in government owned establishments, schools, hospitals etc. As the number of establishments with the label increases this serves to accelerate the transition because of peer-to-peer marketing of the concept.