Prison cooks serve up ISO Quality Award

Prison caterers in the Northern Ireland Prison Service have become the first in the United Kingdom and Ireland to be awarded ISO 9001:2000 accreditation.

The internationally recognised quality standard recognises business excellence and demonstrates that an organisation is fully committed to delivering a quality service.

Improvements in the delivery of service, communication, planning and the reduction in wastage are just some of the benefits the Prison Catering Service have achieved in obtaining the award.

Last year catering teams served up 1,366,560 meals to prisoners in Northern Ireland. Each establishment provides every prisoner with 3 meals per day and a snack at a daily cost of £2.34. Prisoners pre-select their meals from a multi-choice menu which offers four lunchtime and three tea-time options.

In addition the Prison Catering Service plays a significant role in training staff and prisoners in a range of areas including Food Safety and Hygiene and NVQs in Food Preparation and Cooking, Kitchen Portering and Supervisory Management. All aspects of training including ongoing assessment and internal verification and certification are conducted by ‘in house’ catering staff and management. (MB)