Spreading the word

Butter and spreads play a vital role in the foodservice sector but caterers have to weigh up the pros and cons of cost, health and choice. Sheila Eggleston reports.

Reducing saturated fat is a big part of the Food Standards Agency's agenda to make people healthier and cut obesity levels. It aims to reduce the nation's intake of saturated fat to no more than 11% of energy intake for everyone over five years old.

But, as the saying goes, a little of what you fancy does you good, and that's certainly what the butter lobbyists recommend, with the emphasis on 'little'.

Everything in moderation is becoming the food philosophy to better eating, says Pritchitts, part of the Lakeland Dairies group. "Butter has never been more popular. Sales continue to be buoyant but it is important that cost sector caterers give customers the spreads they want," says head of marketing Simon Muschamp.

"People are looking closer at the labels and increasingly being put off by preservatives and additives they see in low fat spreads. As a result there has been a growth in the popularity of natural products such as butter.

"For the cost sector, the biggest challenge is portion control and wastage, which will ultimately have an impact on budgets. We recommend using individual portions as this will give full control of customer usage as well as provide a convenient and, most importantly, a hygienic solution."

Its range includes Lakeland Irish creamery butter for front and back of house, which comes in 7g and 10g individual portions wrapped in foil for freshness and ideal for caterers needing to adhere to a strict budget, less wastage and portion control. It is also available in a 250g pack in both salted and unsalted variants that would suit back of house.

Individual portion packs are being used in promotions leading up to the Christmas period. For example, butter and spreads appear in 3663's Safari loyalty programme. This includes buy two 200x10g portions of Flora Original sunflower spread and get 2kg of duck and port pâté free, and buy three Délifrance petit pain white (70x55g) or petit pain farmhouse (70x60g) and get 200 Country Life butter portions free.

Lactalis McLelland's lactic butter under the Président brand is available unsalted and slightly salted. For front of house, it offers 8g unsalted portions in foil and for back of house, a number of variants are available ranging from 250g blocks to 250g and 500g rounds.

Warren MacFarlane, out of home marketing manager, says the cost sector is under more pressure than ever  to meet nutritional standards in the food it offers, particularly in schools. "There are numerous conflicting arguments when it comes to the health benefits of certain food and the same issue surrounds the decision of whether it's better to use butter or margarine.

"Regardless of the negative claims surrounding butter, a small amount of saturated fat is still essential to a balanced diet. Fat helps the body absorb certain nutrients, is a source of energy and can provide essential fatty acids that the body can't make itself. We should all be conscious of the amount of fat we are consuming and NHS guidelines advise that the average man should eat no more than 30g of saturated fat a day with women restricted to 20g of saturated fat a day.

"Like anything, butter should be consumed sensibly and as part of a balanced diet.

"Statistics show that in countries where butter consumption has reduced over recent decades in favour of vegetable oil spreads, rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease have still increased."

On the other side of the coin, better for you spreads and lighter products are in growth. Arla Foods, owner of the Anchor and Lurpak brands, is capitalising on the trend for healthier dairy spreads with the addition of Lurpak spreadable lighter with olive oil to its range. Made with 15% olive oil, the company says it builds on the brand's 'Good Food Deserves' campaign launched at the end of last year.

Spreads like these appeal to operators in sectors such as healthcare. For example, in March ISS Facility Services Healthcare replaced all its butter back of house with Flora Original. This meant that 42 healthcare catering sites would use 6x2kg units of the spread in all recipes that contained butter.

Andy Jones, service development director for ISS Healthcare, says it wanted to reduce the consumption of saturated fat by 615kg over the next 12 months.

"We chose Flora Original because it contains 78% less saturated fat than butter and is an easy way to reduce the amount of saturated fat in meal portions without compromising on taste. Our customers, chefs and patients can be assured that Flora works just as well as butter in cooking, not just on taste grounds but for aroma and quality of ingredients as well."

Clare Logan, brand manager for Flora at Unilever Food Solutions (UFS), says: "At a time when more consumers than ever before are demanding healthy options when dining out, it is vital to prove to customers that you're responding to their needs by using spreads that are high in good fats as your ingredient in meals and accompaniment to dishes.

"Not only will this stand you in good stead with customers now, but will also prepare you for the introduction of the next phase of the Government's Responsibility Deal, which requires all existing signatories to include calorie counts on all food and drink from September 1."

According to the British Hospitality Association's report issued in May entitled: Health Works – A look inside eating out, consumers are eating less saturated fat now compared to 10 years ago, she says, further emphasising how important healthy alternatives are when it comes to making choices eating out.

"With one 10g portion of butter containing 78% more saturated fat than the same amount of Flora Original spread, Flora can be positioned as a healthier choice than butter. Flora is also high in good fat due to a blend of seed oils naturally containing omega 6 and heart healthy omega 3."