Given that information focussing only on the calorie or fat content of a meal is of little use to many consumers, the ZHAW model includes various nutrients, the energy content as well as the amount of fruit and vegetables contained in a meal and compares these with the latest recommendations. Healthy nutrients such as unsaturated fats are balanced against those, like fat and sugar, which are regarded as unhealthy when consumed in excess. The result is summarised in a score, given in ‘nutritional balance points’ (NBP), which indicates whether a meal is balanced or not. To assess the ecological sustainability of meals, the ZHAW researchers used the Ecological Scarcity Method, which is well-established in Switzerland. This method covers a wide range of ecological risks, such as resource scarcity and emissions, and weights them according to environmental policy goals. The resulting scores in ‘eco-points’ (EP) are available in detail for a large number of foods and have been adapted for use in the MSI. Overfishing was included as an indicator for the first time.

To allow guests to select their meals quickly and without needing much prior knowledge and to make them more aware of the issue of sustainable eating, the ZHAW researchers simplified the Menu Sustainability Index considerably and created graphics for everyday use: meals can be rated according to ecological and health criteria on scales of one to five. “Many foods do not achieve the same score for both sustainability aspects. Our graphics allow consumers to make their decision based on their personal preferences”, explains Claudia Müller, a nutritionist at the ZHAW School of Life Sciences and Facility Management. For example, a falafel dish may be environmentally friendly but, due to its high fat, salt and energy content, not particularly balanced.

“The focus is not just on guests but also on kitchen managers, since the aim is that in future as many meals as possible achieve good scores from both the nutritional and the environmental point of view”, says Claudia Müller. Kitchen managers can just enter their meal plans into their resource planning system as usual, and the new ZHAW tool, which is connected to their system, automatically aligns and rates the entered ingredients according to the Menu Sustainability Index. “This allows kitchen managers to see at a glance what differences even small changes in ingredients can make – and it increases their self-competence at the same time”, says Müller. Project partner ZFV wants to introduce the instrument in 2018. In future, the aim is to make the Menu Sustainability Index and the accompanying tool available to all Swiss catering companies.