Environment & Health

Traffic-light labelling – CO₂e and water usage as well as KlimaTeller

Choosing sustainability

We want to be even more sustainable. For that reason, we've become partners in the project "KlimaTeller in der Mensa" (climate dish in the canteen) and thus state both the CO₂e and water footprint of the dishes on our menus.

This is carried out by means of traffic-light labelling, which will show customers at one glance how climate-friendly and water-friendly the chosen meal is.

Dishes whose CO₂e emissions are especially low additionally receive the label: KlimaTeller (https://www.klimateller.de/klimateller-in-der-mensa)

This is to contribute to you not only enjoying a nice meal but also to be able to make deliberate environmental decisions.

The project is carried out in cooperation with NAHhaft (https://www.nahhaft.de/). Their contractor for establishing the data is Eaternity (https://eaternity.org/). You'll find further information on Eaternity's web pages on how the carbon and water footprint is calculated:  https://eaternity.org/foodprint/environmental-footprints#water

The project is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action as part of the national climate protection initiative.

More detailed information can be found here: Traffic-Light Labelling – CO₂e and Water Footprint as well as KlimaTeller.

And this is how our traffic-light system works in cooperation with

Regional products have become an important issue and there’s a good reason for it. Due to short delivery routes, which spare the environment, local products are also especially fresh and contain lots of important vitamins. Besides, by using local products you can economically support producers and manufacturers from the area.

As far as possible, we obtain our food supplies from within Bavaria. Short delivery routes are especially important for us with seasonal fruit and vegetables; for years, we have therefore obtained our asparagus from Schrobenhausen.

Because of the fact that we want to guarantee our canteen guests a large variety, availability as well as moderate prices, it is unfortunately not yet possible for us to obtain our food supplies exclusively from Bavaria or even the Munich region. One of the reasons is that suppliers do not have the amounts required for mass catering. We are nonetheless constantly working on increasing the percentage of regional and local food. We can, however, celebrate a first success; our sausages are obtained exclusively from regional suppliers.

Enjoy food from Bavaria! The Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern’s canteens now offer EU certified specialties, which guarantees the origin of the food – that is, original Bavarian food with history and tradition. There are two different Weltgenusserbe labels; the yellow/blue and the yellow/red one. Products with the g.U. label (“geschützte Ursprungsbzeichnung”; Eng: PDO, protected designation of origin) must be produced, processed and prepared in the stated region. Also, all of the ingredients must come from this region. Specialties with the g.g.A. label (“geschützte geografische Angabe”; Eng: PGI, protected geographical indication) are traditionally prepared and processed within the specific region. So, if it says “Schrobenhausener Spargel” on the canteen’s menu, then the asparagus was traditionally looked after and harvested in the Schrobenhausen area. The specialties are part of the “WeltGenussErbe Bayern.”. Further information:

www.weltgenusserbe.bayern/?lang=en

Chicken

As the first German Studierendenwerk, the Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern has decided to make a further step towards supporting animal welfare. After talks with the Albert Schweitzer Stiftung, the Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern is joining the “Europäische Masthuhn-Initiative” (Eng: European broiler initiative). 

This union of 30 renowned animal welfare organisations aims to significantly improve the way broiler chickens are kept. It aims to implement important aspects regarding animal welfare beyond legal requirements, such as lower stocking density in chicken farming, reducing over-breeding as well as meeting minimum standards for light and occupation material. The Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern will meet the demands of the “Europäische Masthuhn-Initiative” by, at the latest, 2026.

Eggs

All our gastronomic services solely use eggs from alternative farming methods. In 2011, the Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern was thus awarded “Das Goldene Ei” (Eng: the golden egg), an animal welfare award for food. It is awarded by the “Albert Schweitzer Stiftung für unsere Mitwelt” in cooperation with the international animal welfare organisation Compassion in World Farming. Since July 2011, we exclusively use organic eggs (Kontrollstelle: DE-ÖKO-006).

Fish is extremely healthy and rich in proteins and nutrients, which is why we like having it on our menus. We mainly use fish from sustainable fishing sources.

Many of us consume products such as coffee, tea or cocoa on a daily basis. These products, however, unfortunately cannot be grown in Germany. Because of the fact that some of them are exclusively grown in developing countries, we want to make sure that the people there can live from the money they earn and have good working conditions. We therefore opt for fair trade products provided there are no regional alternatives. Therefore, all our gastronomic services solely offer fair trade coffee, tea and hot cocoa. Furthermore, also various different juices and soft drinks.

Purchase

We order large quantities that make it possible to reduce packaging waste as much as possible, while, at the same time, making sure that no food goes to waste. We consider all aspects of waste, i.e. we avoid unnecessary packaging and organize it in the most environmentally-friendly way already when obtaining our supplies.

Preparation

Handling raw products with care so that there is as little waste as possible when preparing our food is a matter of course for us and our employees. And even this “waste” is used, for example, for juice or fruit salads. Furthermore, we produce in batches, preferring to redeliver if necessary than having to throw out food.

Availability

Apart from reducing waste when preparing the food, it is also important to us to calculate the required amount as exactly as possible in order to avoid waste. Therefore, please do not hold it against us should a dish run out or not be available in large quantities throughout the opening hours. We are happy to say that our self-service system and paying according to weight have indeed led to less food waste.

Unsold Meals

We also consider it legitimate to offer perfect not sold dishes the following day if they were not at the counter the day before.

Actual Waste

Both production and food waste of our guests are used for generating energy.

Reusable Cups

Since the 2023/24 Winter Semester, we've no longer been offering coffee and other hot beverages in disposable cups. More information on the Stuwerk's Reuse Concept can be found here.

StuBowl and StuCup – To Go

Would you like to enjoy your food to go or take your hot beverage around campus? Then our reusable environmentally-friendly bowls and cups are ideal for you.

In addition to the StuBowl, also the StuCup has now been available since November 2024.

StuBowl and StuCup features:

• require little energy in production
• reusable
• dishwasher-proof
• suitable for the microwave (without lid)
• light

The StuBowl can be purchased for 10 euros at the infopoints or cash desks. A StuCup can be bought for 7.50 euros (incl. lid), also at the infopoints as well as in our StuCafés.

Every Cup Counts – Cup Sharing 

And now a nice and hot beverage from the machine – but no cup with you? To prevent this from happening, we introduced the project Cup Sharing in November 2024. You can pick out cups and mugs which you no longer need and hand them in at the participating StuCafés – and if you don't have one with you, just take one from the cup pool and sit it back once you've finished your tea or coffee.

Join in and hand in cups! 

More information can be found here.
 

Wooden cutlery

Our completely biodegradable cutlery is mainly made from scrap wood and sawdust. The wood comes from sustainable forestry and is regionally sourced.

In accordance with EU Regulation 1169/2011 (Provision of food information to consumers), unpacked food is to be labelled if it contains the ingredients stated in the regulation which can cause allergies or intolerances in some people.

Where can you find the labelling?

The various information can be found as abbreviations for each meal on the menu on the specific stand-up counter displays – after the word “enthält” (Eng: contains) as well as in our online menus.

Allergens and other labelling could change due to short-notice changes in the recipes or contents of the menu which, in this case, cannot be seen in the online menu. For this reason, please always pay attention to the labelling on the stand-up counter displays.

Where can you find information on allergens in the StuBistros^Mensa, StuCafés and StuLounges?

We put up stand-up counter displays for the various meals.

For any other unpacked food (e.g. cake, “Semmel” or sausages) you can have a look at our “Was-ist-drin?-Liste” (Eng: What’s in it? list) at the counters. This list contains information on allergens, types of meat, gelatin, garlic, alcohol and other additives that require labelling.

Any allergens that may be present in packaged food (e.g. sandwiches, dairy products or sweets) are listed in the list of ingredients on the packaging or the sticker.

What about traces of allergens?

Due to technical and organisational reasons and despite working very carefully, it’s not possible to entirely prevent traces of allergens being present, because meals cannot be prepared separately.

Is there any lactose-free or gluten-free food on the menus?

According to the Commission Regulation (EC) 41/2009, “gluten-free” food is allowed to contain at the most 20 mg gluten per kg.

Unfortunately, there is no gluten-free food on our menus because it is not possible to prepare it separately in our kitchens. Should traces of gluten not be a problem for you, pay attention to the abbreviation “Gl” which stands for the ingredient gluten in the recipe. Check for food that is not marked “Gl” on the stand-up counter displays.

Guests with lactose intolerance can also orient themselves by the labelling of ingredients: If food is not labelled “Mi”, it does not contain milk/dairy products including lactose. However, this food is not explicitly marked as “lactose-free”.