Checklist for a vegan lunch menu in public catering

Introduction and objective

According to the Nationale Verzehrsstudie II (National Nutrition Survey II), in 2005/2006 vegans made up 0.1% of the population in Germany [1], whereas the Vegetarierbund Deutschland e. V. (VEBU; German Vegetarian Union) estimated that there are approximately 900,000 vegans, corresponding to 1.1% of inhabitants, based on a 2014 study by YouGov [2]. Considering the time period between these two studies, this could suggest an increase, but other aspects (e.g. a different representative nature of the figures due to different survey methods and numbers of participants, and perhaps a slightly different definition of ‘vegan’ etc.) could also explain the higher percentage in the more recent study.

Both ecological [3] and health-related reasons, such as a frequently proven reduced risk of non-communicable diseases, e.g. hypertension and cardiovascular disorders [4–9], support an increase of more plant-based dishes.

These could even be arguments for non-vegetarians and non-vegans to choose a vegan meal for lunch more often.While ovo-lacto vegetarian meals are now mostly common in public catering and gastronomy, the complete elimination of animal products like cheese, butter, cream and eggs poses a huge challenge for cooks lacking appropriate experience. Furthermore, as with every diet vegans have to ensure that their meals are nutritionally balanced. Public catering, e.g. company and university canteens, can and should contribute by offering tasty, healthy vegan dishes. These meals should also consider essential nutrients to ensure that guests can purchase a healthy vegan lunch on work days.

Summary

Currently the DGE-Qualitätsstandards für die Betriebsverpflegung (quality stan- dards for company catering by the German Nutrition Society [DGE]) provide only recommendations for a nutritionally balanced lunch menu for a mixed diet including animal products. There are not (yet) any stipulations for a vegan menu comprising plant-based food items only. In this context, derivations were performed based on the Gießener vegetarische Lebensmittelpyramide (Gießen vegetarian food pyramid) for a 5-day vegan lunch offer in public catering, using the Drittelansatz of the DGE (the ‘one-third principle’, which states that a third of nutrient amounts should be provided by lunch) modelled on the checklist by the DGE quality standard. Further, an analysis of the nutritional value of an existing vegan meal plan from the university canteen Mensa am Park in Leipzig, operated by the Studentenwerk Leipzig (student services organization), was performed before and after the menu was optimized. The aim was to verify the derived recommendations. As an outcome, this paper presents a checklist for a vegan lunch menu for one week (5 days), including amounts and examples of food groups. This checklist can be used as a working basis for persons planning recipes and meal plans, buying food supplies and cooking vegan meals, and for everyone working in catering and kitchen management in order to fulfil the nutritional needs of vegan customers and consumers.

Keywords: public catering, company catering, vegan diet, DGE quality standard, Gießen vegetarian food pyramid

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Checklist for a vegan menu for one week (= 5 lunches) in company catering