The healthyliving award continues to go from strength to strength!  With more than 800 businesses now registered, more and more people are enjoying easy access to healthier food.  Caterers the length and breadth of Scotland are signing up, and over the last month we have presented more than 140 awards to successful businesses.

You can read more about our most recent award holders in this edition, while a continually updated list is available to browse on our website, www.healthylivingaward.co.uk 

Businesses south of the border have also recognised the benefits of using the healthyliving award to promote healthier options to their customers.  With awards being achieved across UK locations by caterers at Royal Bank of Scotland, Scottish Power and The Workshop, Scotland is clearly leading the way!

What’s cooking?

Quality counts for the
healthyliving award

In order for our national award to retain its credibility, it is essential for the healthyliving award team to put effort into maintaining the high standards that the accreditation represents.  One way of ensuring this is by having a robust quality assurance system* in place.

With the number of awards growing daily, the issue of quality assurance is especially important. 

Our system enables the healthyliving award team and others to be confident that successful establishments continue to meet their obligations throughout the two-year duration of their award.

The healthyliving award quality assurance system sees award-holders being randomly selected to receive an unannounced visit by one of our assessors.  This allows us to see what happens on a day-to-day basis, from the customers’ point of view.

Whilst independent of the original assessment, the unannounced visit follows a similar format.  The assessor will be looking at the food on offer, the labelling and promotion of healthier options on the menu, and staff knowledge.

The visit will only be announced in advance if essential, in the case of a secure site for example.  Even then, as little advance warning as possible will be given.  The aim of this process is not to remove awards but to ensure conditions are upheld in order to maintain overall credibility of the award. It is important that, if visited, you give the assessor access to any information they might need.

We are delighted to say that the vast majority of establishments visited so far have maintained the award standards, or have needed only minor improvements.  Only two businesses have been found to require substantial improvements, and they have since gone on to implement the required changes.  So keep up the good work!

*For more details about the quality assurance procedures please refer to your Terms of Award and Schedule of Regulations.

The taste of sweet success!

Sam Ng, owner of
Sam’s Chinese Cuisine.

April 2008 saw a number of award ceremonies take place across the UK: the BAFTAs, National Book Awards and, most prestigiously of all, the latest healthyliving awards!

The first presentation ceremonies, which took place at Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh on 22nd April, recognised the achievements of 80 establishments, while a further 60 received their awards at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow a week later.

Ranging from a modern city hotel and spa to a group of rugby club mums who wanted to provide healthy and nutritious food for their children after games, the variety of establishments to achieve the award was incredibly diverse. 

These ceremonies also saw a number of firsts, including:

  • Streetlife Fare – the first mobile van to achieve the healthyliving award (see Sowing the Seeds for more details).
  • Sam’s Chinese Cuisine in Aberdeen – the first Chinese restaurant to achieve the healthyliving award.
  • NLV Pharos and NLV Pole Star – the first ships to gain the healthyliving award.

Congratulations to all recipients of the healthyliving award.  We look forward to welcoming new award winners at our next award ceremonies later this year.

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issue six:
May 2008
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The healthyliving awardNHS Health Scotland - Scotland's health improvement agencyHealthier Scotland - Scottish GovernmentHealthier Scotland - Scottish Government