Choice and flexibility in vending

Health and wellbeing has undoubtedly had a huge impact on the vending sector. The type and variety of products people want from vending machines has never been greater and it is important that the food industry is able to deliver these products and adapt to changing consumer preferences.
    
The focus on ‘healthy vending’ began with schools and is now spreading to other public sector establishments. The new vending guidelines for NHS hospitals in Wales are a prime example of how health and wellbeing policies are having a dramatic impact on what can be obtained in vending machines and, worryingly, also show how consumer choice is being restricted as a result.

Welsh guidelines
The new Welsh hospital vending guidelines in fact severely restrict the types of products that can be vended to staff, visitors and patients. In reality they are so restrictive they have effectively become a ‘no vending’ policy for Welsh NHS hospitals. The restrictions cover a wide variety of food and drink products, including packs of organic rice cakes, cheese and tomato sandwiches, drinking yoghurts, lighter versions of crisps and snack products, and would mean that even drinks such as hot sweet tea – possibly much enjoyed by a nurse after a very long, tiring shift - would no longer be available through the hospital vending facilities.
    
Arguably, the regulations will have the biggest impact on hospital staff who work long hours and often want to buy food and drink products at times when canteens are shut. It seems ludicrous that someone working a 12-hour shift is not allowed to enjoy their break period by relaxing with a cup of hot, sweet tea and a Fairtrade fruity cereal bar bought from a vending machine.
    
There is on average, five times more staff than patients in hospitals, and where vending provides a much needed 24/7 food offering where hospital canteens can’t, the introduction of such guidelines is extremely concerning. However, staff are not the only people to suffer. Hospital caterers will also be impacted – with some predicting they will suffer from hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost revenue this year.

Value & choice
Vending machines offer a valuable service that complements the main catering provision by providing choice and flexibility. And these machines are used to provide a wide range of products including snacks (from confectionery to cereal bars to dried fruit), sandwiches and soft drinks (from water to fizzy drinks to juices).
    
Another area for concern is that these guidelines are based on the Food Standards Agency’s nutrient profiling model, which was actually developed for the sole purpose of supporting Ofcom’s rules on TV advertising to children. The Food Standards Agency itself advised Welsh Ministers against the use of the tool in relation to vending in hospitals – but its advice was rejected. What’s more, Welsh Ministers also applied guidance specifically developed for school food on top of this nutrient profile model. Surely it doesn’t make sense to take policy tools designed for children and apply them to adults, who should be allowed to make their own decisions about the food and drink products they want to consume.
    
To challenge the vending guidelines for Welsh Hospitals a coalition of leading business organisations has been set up: The Vending Choice Coalition (VCC), which comprises the Automatic Vending Association; British Soft Drinks Association; British Cheese Board, British Sandwich Association; CBI Wales, Dairy UK; Food and Drink Federation; National Farmers’ Union Cymru; and the Snack, Nut and Crisp Manufacturers Association.
    
Our coalition is in full support of the Welsh Assembly Government’s objective of improving hospital food and nutrition and we appreciate it is important to look at hospital catering overall, but the hospital environment is unique in terms of the diversity of food and drink needs – for patients, staff and visitors – and we believe these guidelines fail to recognise this challenge.
    
As a coalition we want to stop a ‘healthy vending’ policy from becoming a ‘no vending policy’. We are calling on Welsh Ministers to review their ‘no vending’ guidelines and agree to work with industry to develop a more realistic approach – before there’s another consumer backlash against excessive nanny state interventions.