More than 400,000 guests a day eat at catering facilities run by the Studentenwerke. Each guest has individual demands and expectations. The quality guidelines – covering the offer, hygiene, product safety and ecology – represent the biggest possible intersection of these needs.
Studentenwerke make autonomous, independent decisions about the food they offer in their canteens and cafeterias. They take guests' wishes into account as well as the legal requirements for hygiene and product safety.
No canteen or cafeteria is the same. Different guests, kitchen equipment, food serving locations and framework conditions produce different offers.
The quality guidelines bundle different services together and harmonise standards.
Particularly important are a balanced food offer, process and product hygiene, the safety of our products and the protection and maintenance of resources.
In addition to the regular, internal monitoring of production processes, Studentenwerke also check standards via an annual online checklist. These standards have been drawn up jointly by the Studentenwerke in co-operation with the Deutsches Institut für Gemeinschaftsgastronomie (German community catering institute).
An analysis of the checklist is carried out independently by the Department for Ecotrophology at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences.
The quality guidelines
- We are committed to purchasing food in a sustainable manner. We increasingly use meat from animals that have been kept in species-appropriate conditions and fish that has been caught using methods that protect stocks. In addition, we use regional, organic or fair-trade products where possible.
- The safety and traceability of the food we use is our top priority. We monitor this using supplier audits and microbiological analyses. With treat our suppliers fairly.
- When planning meals, we take guests' wishes into account and place a high value on freshness, quality, selection, nutrition physiology and optimising nutrition value. Where possible, we avoid using additives for which declarations are required. We don’t use genetically modified food.
- For ecological reasons, we avoid using disposable items and unnecessary packaging where possible. Waste avoidance is a priority. We recycle as much waste as possible.
- In order to ensure our high standards for hygiene, each Studentenwerk has a hygiene concept that is regularly checked by public and external institutions.
- A quality assurance system is in place in order to guarantee consistently high quality standards in all production steps as well as in all goods. The system is developed further on an on-going basis.
- Our employees are crucial for the success of our institutions, which is why we support them in a targeted fashion and offer them opportunities for further training. We train people in different professions.
- We use the resources available to us in a careful and economic manner.
- Our guests' opinions are important. We regularly conduct satisfaction and guest surveys and give feedback. The results are integrated into our work.
- These guidelines are regularly checked by authorised, external organisations.