Total quantity or scope of tender
The Welsh Government are seeking to identify and support projects to develop innovative solutions which can significantly improve the nutritional composition of food and drink available to children whilst driving down cost. Solutions may focus on reducing levels of salt, sugar, saturated fat and/or calories, or increasing the levels of vitamins and minerals provided in food and drink. There are Government guidelines on sugar and salt reduction which solutions should consider. Sugar reduction: Achieving 20% - A technical report outlining progress to date, guidelines for industry, 2015 baselines levels in key foods and next steps click here; and the 2017 Salt reduction targets click here.
Projects must identify and state the typical composition and cost of the food or drink product(s) they are focusing on and what percentage improvements they intend to make. Any improvements to the identified food or drink product(s) must be over and above any current products available on the market. Applicants are encouraged to refer to the current average nutritional value of food types in the UK to ensure there is a significant improvement in composition of the proposed solution click here. We are interested in food and drink solutions which can be applied either in or out of the school environment for example projects may wish to target packed lunches, meals provided by schools or meals consumed in the home.
Projects must also ensure that:
- Calorific content is not increased.
- Any reduction in sugar should not be accompanied by an increase in saturated fat, fat or salt content or vice versa.
- Food and Drink remains appealing to children in terms of taste, texture and presentation (including the marketing of the solution).
- The cost of nutritious food and drink is reduced.
- Raw materials/ingredients are sourced from a Welsh supplier and are sustainably sourced.
- Solutions work with current catering systems (although there may be opportunities to develop new equipment/products which can be cooked in alternative ways).
- Food and drink solutions aimed at schools meet the Welsh nutrition standards for schools.
The competition is open to single companies or organisations from the private, public and third sectors, including charities. The competition will run in two phases:
- Phase 1 is intended to show the technical feasibility of the proposed concept. Development contracts will be for a duration of 3 months and up to 6 contracts valued up to £50,000 (inc. VAT) per project;
- Phase 2 contracts are intended to develop and evaluate prototypes or demonstration units from the more promising technologies in Phase 1, and it is anticipated that up to 2 projects will run for 12 months and funding will be up to £350,000 (inc. VAT) per selected project. Only those projects that have completed Phase 1 successfully will be eligible to apply for Phase 2.
Developments will be 100% funded and suppliers for each project will be selected by an open competition process and retain the intellectual property rights (IPR) generated from the project.
OUT OF SCOPE
Proposals which will be considered out of scope will include:
• Diet systems or regimes.
• Analytical techniques.
• Solutions requiring substantial regulatory approval (applicants should check with the SBRI team to check if their solution would be eligible for funding).
• Food products requiring clinical trials to validate health claims (as opposed to nutritional claims).
• Development of raw ingredients (crops, livestock breading programmes).
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