DE COOKIES

Ecology and sustainability

In our canteens, cafés and cafeterias in Konstanz, Weingarten, Ravensburg and Friedrichshafen thousands of students and university employees eat lunch, drink coffee or occasionally provide themselves with snacks and drinks.

Precisely because we process a large amount of food every day, we attach great importance to sustainability. This already starts with grocery shopping. For example, we pay attention to regionality, fair trade and organic farming. We also work as energy-saving and resource-saving as possible during processing and production.

Pure coffee enjoyment: fair trade, organically grown

Star icon in menu

For meat products, we attach particular importance to animal welfare. We therefore source our products primarily from the region and from producers who meet various animal husbandry criteria. The following products are marked in our menu with the star for better animal husbandry:

Turkey meat: We buy our products from two farms in the Linzgau (Klosterhof Ostrach/Gut Neuhof). Compared to conventional animal husbandry, the animals have more space, access to the conservatory and seating areas. Parts of the feed come from regional production, moreover, antibiotics are used only when needed. The transport routes for slaughter are very short.

Beef: Our beef comes from producers who produce to the strict specifications of the Bioland label. The animals receive regional food and there are stricter housing requirements for the breeders (including access to the outside, more space in the barn).

Pork: We source our pork from our suppliers Otto Müller (Konstanz) and Buchmann (Grünkraut-Gullen). Both have diverse criteria for animal welfare, including rearing in open stables with access to the outside area, bedding on the beds, more space and employment materials. The feed comes partly from own cultivation. As a protein component, rapeseed is sometimes fed in order to reduce the proportion of soya.

Food: animal welfare, organic products and regional purchasing

DGE-Certificate STUDY&FIT

The catering in our Mensa Ravensburg has been awarded the STUDY&FIT certificate by the German Nutrition Society (DGE). This is marked with the STUDY&FIT logo.

The certification is based on the "DGE Quality Standard for Company Catering".

What does this mean for you as a student or employee?

Successfully passing the STUDY&FIT certification ensures that the food in our canteen is prepared according to the latest findings of nutritional science. Overall, the three quality areas "food", "food planning & production" and "living environment" are checked.

Here are some examples of the quality area "food" in the lunchtime catering. The data refer to five days of catering:

every day there is an alternating supply of table potatoes, parboiled rice, pasta, bread, rolls and other cereal products - including wholemeal products at least once a week
there are vegetables, pulses or salad every day - of which raw vegetables at least twice a week
at least twice a week fresh or frozen fruit without added sugar
milk and dairy products at least twice a week
maximum twice a week meat - of which at least once a week lean muscle meat such as roast turkey, chicken escalope, beef goulash, roast pork
sea fish at least once a week
daily drinking or mineral water

The quality area "food" in the snack bar is also checked. Certain foods or groups of foods are offered daily:

Whole grain products
vegetables, raw vegetables or salad
Fruit, fresh or frozen with no added sugar
Milk or dairy products
Drinking or mineral water

In the quality area "food planning & production", attention is paid to low-fat and nutrient-preserving preparation, among other things. Fried and/or breaded products are offered a maximum of twice a week, sugar and iodised salt are used sparingly, fresh or frozen herbs are preferred for seasoning. A seasonal range of foods, the consideration of culture-specific and regional eating habits as well as religious aspects are also important.

Checking criteria have also been laid down for the "Lifeworld" quality area: these include providing our table guests with comprehensive information about the range of food on offer as part of "STUDY&FIT".

Annual audits/checks ensure long-term quality.

European broiler chicken initiative: Seezeit is on board

Animal welfare is a topic that Seezeit has been dealing with intensively for several years.

We obtain fresh chicken meat exclusively from the region. Our university catering is always in direct contact with the suppliers and also knows the fattening farms. We are in close exchange with our suppliers in order to successively raise the standards for better animal husbandry. The current criteria that apply to chicken fattening can be found under the "Food" tab.

For convenience products and cold cuts made from poultry meat, we also want to break new ground in the future. We want to reduce the proportion of these products and offer regional (fresh) products from responsible fattening wherever possible. At the same time, we believe we have a responsibility to commit ourselves to meeting certain requirements for convenience products. That's why we participate in the European broiler initiative.

What exactly does this mean?

The initiative

Around 30 European NGOs, including the Albert Schweitzer Foundation for Our Environment, ProVeg International and Greenpeace, have joined forces to define minimum requirements for European chicken fattening.

The problem

Today, animals are bred to gain weight extremely quickly. Whereas in 1957, for example, a chicken gained 0.9 kg in 56 days, since 2005 it has gained 4.2 kg in the same time! In addition, there is the type of husbandry: up to 26 animals live on one square meter, there is often no natural light and no employment opportunities for the animals. Diseases and injuries are programmed, bone deformations, foot pad and skin inflammations as well as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases are the consequence of such a husbandry, as well as the use of antibiotics.

The goal

The goal of the broiler chicken initiative is to define minimum requirements for chicken fattening and to alleviate the problems mentioned above. The companies supporting the initiative commit to implementing below-mentioned criteria for all chicken meat products by 2026 at the latest.

Specifically, this means:

Space: max. 20 animals per square meter
Limitation of overbreeding
at least 50 lux of daylight
2 meters of perches per 1,000 birds
Picking possibilities

Furthermore applies:

Animal welfare law: Compliance with European animal welfare law irrespective of the country of production
no caging, as it is still practiced in some European countries
Stunning before slaughter: by means of gases where stunning is hardly perceived or two-stage CO2 stunning or electrical stunning
Third party controls and annual reporting

For more information, visit www.masthuhn-initiative.de

Reusable instead of disposable - takeaway food and beverages

Quantity planning and recycling

Energy supply

Contact

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