Exploratory study of consumption of pork products in institutional catering in France[Etude exploratoire de la consommation des produits du porc en restauration collective en France]

As an area in which changes in food practices are observed, institutional catering concentrates some societal expectations for healthy, safe, and sustainable food that is accessible to all, as expressed in the French law EGalim. In a context of defending local integration, it represents a potential driver of growth for the pork sector. However, standard consumption-monitoring systems do not cover this composite market. An exploratory study was carried out to understand institutional catering practices and which pork products are consumed within the education, medico-social and work segments in France. It led to cross-referencing of volume data from market stakeholders or extracted from integrated management software. In 2018, consumption of pork products in institutional catering in France was estimated as 102 000 t, which was 6% of the pork available for consumption, with a breakdown between cured cold cuts (61%) and meat (39%). Cooked cured meat (38%) dominated in cold cuts. Pork meat was represented by loins (50%), followed by shoulders (30%) and bellies (15%), with an increasing percentage of fine cuts (sautés, minced) and cuts intended for low-temperature cooking. Products under and official sign of identification of quality and origin (SIQO) or products under Certificate of Conformity Product represented less than 5% of the volume of the institutional catering market. These results provide benchmarks for the pork products consumed, highlight factors that influence variability in supply and suggest strategies to use in the framework of the EGalim law.