Catering and diets in the Criminal Sanctions Agency (1/004/2022)

Regulation 1/004/2022 issued by the Criminal Sanctions Agency,
26 April 2022

Legal basis: Chapter 7, section 8 of the Imprisonment Act and chapter 3, section 10 of the Remand Imprisonment Act

In force: 28 April 2022 until further notice

Repeals: Record no. 6/004/2019, 4 December 2019

For: Criminal Sanctions Agency

Arrangement of catering in the Criminal Sanctions Agency

Provisions on the arrangement of catering for prisoners are laid down in chapter 7, section 5 of the Imprisonment Act and chapter 3, section 4 of the Remand Imprisonment Act. The food services for prisoners must be arranged so that the prisoners receive healthy, diverse and adequate nutrition.

The Criminal Sanctions Agency signed an agreement on the provision of catering services with Leijona Catering on 29 March 2018. The working group on developing catering in the Criminal Sanctions Agency is responsible for the coordination and development of catering in the Criminal Sanctions Agency.

On weekdays, the prisons serve prisoners four meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and an evening snack. On days that are not actual workdays, the prison serves prisoners breakfast, a combined lunch/dinner and an evening snack. Prisoners’ mealtimes are arranged so that, at the daytime, the meals are served at regular intervals and the time between the evening snack and the breakfast does not exceed 12 hours.

Exceptions to the basic diet can be made if it is justified due to a prisoner’s health or religious or some other well-founded conviction. If a prison does not provide prisoners with all daily meals, prisoners are paid a food allowance to procure foodstuffs. A prison may also arrange the catering for prisoners in a way where the prisoners prepare their own meals either fully or partly in their accommodation unit.

The prison is responsible for the sustenance of prisoners and the need to prepare their own meals may not endanger the dignity of the prisoners’ life or the right to necessary income and care. Before a transfer from a closed prison to an open prison, the staff of the closed prison must make sure that the transferred prisoners are able to pay for the costs caused by the possible preparation of their own meals.

The following matters are taken into account when planning and carrying out the catering services in the Criminal Sanctions Agency:

• fulfilment of the prisoners’ nutritional requirements on average every day and in the long term
• hygiene when making and serving food
  
• tastiness of food
• available appropriations
• requirements related to prison safety and security
• promotion of healthier and more economic eating habits
• preparation of their own meals.

1. Carrying out catering services

Catering services use a production control system. Leijona Catering plans the six-week rotating menu, which is based on the nutritional recommendations of the National Nutrition Council of Finland. The daily order of the dishes may vary within the menu between units. Special diets are available as needed (chapter 3). The menu is confirmed by the working group on developing catering in the Criminal Sanctions Agency. The menus are available at http://ruokalistat.leijonacatering.fi.

1.1. Examination of prisoners participating in catering

The prison is responsible for ensuring that the state of health of all prisoners, who are placed to carry out kitchen or meal distribution duties (in the wards), is examined. The examination may include a stool test for salmonella if it is considered necessary. Prisoners carrying out cleaning duties are exempted from completing the food hygiene competence test (Food Act 23/2006, section 27).

1.2. Own-check

Leijona Catering is responsible for preparing, updating and complying with own-check plans referred to in section 20 of the Food Act that are applied to catering in the prisons. The food control authorities perform control visits to inspect the implementation of own-check in accordance with the food control plan. The reports are at www.oivahymy.fi.

If the food is distributed by the officials of the Criminal Sanctions Agency or the prisoners, the Criminal Sanctions Agency is responsible for measuring temperatures and keeping records in accordance with the own-check plan of Leijona Catering.

Catering must be arranged so that the temperatures and times of storing, transporting and serving food are in accordance with the legislation on food. Perishable or easily perishable foodstuffs can be stored in food distribution facilities outside a kitchen only if there are appropriate cold storage facilities.

Evening snacks can be given to prisoners during dinner only in those wards, where prisoners can store the easily perishable foodstuffs included in the evening snack in a temperature required by the legislation on food until they eat the evening snack. Food waste must always be moved from the wards to the waste storage room or kitchen immediately after a meal.

1.3. Work clothes of prisoners working in kitchen

Prisoners working in kitchen must have work clothes, hat and shoes suitable for working in kitchen. Those work clothes cannot be worn outside the kitchen. Prisoners must follow the instructions of the kitchen staff on the use of possible protective equipment, such as hearing, eye and respiration protectors.

If a prisoner works in a kitchen part-time and the kitchen does not have a changing room for prisoners, the prisoner’s work clothes can be stored at the ward in a locker indicated for that purpose.

1.4. Meals during transport

Prisoners, who are being transported and cannot eat in prison at regular mealtimes, must be given food during the journey until they reach the receiving prison or are transferred into police custody. They must get a packed meal for each meal they miss.

Prisoners, who are travelling on a VR prisoner train carriage during dinnertime, are served a hot meal if they miss a meal in their own prison due to the train journey. Primarily, prisoners are, if possible, served a meal in their own prison before they leave and after return. The receiving prison must make sure that the arriving prisoner gets an evening snack and breakfast. The food served on the prisoner train carriage is made by Leijona Catering. There are separate instructions on meals on VR prisoner train carriage for the staff on the train and a notification to the units.

1.5. Prisoners preparing their own meals

Provisions on prisoners preparing their own meals are laid down in chapter 7, section 5, subsection 3 of the Imprisonment Act and section 35 of the Imprisonment Decree.

Supporting prisoners to prepare their own meals is part of prisoners’ goal-oriented daytime activity and advances their reintegration into society after their release. The aim of the catering-related activities arranged by the prison is to support the independence of prisoners as much as possible.

When prisoners need to prepare their own meals fully or partly, the prison must motivate, guide and instruct them to be independent. The prison must ensure that the prisoners have adequate knowledge and skills as well as time in the daily schedule to prepare their food. The time used for the preparation of food is not considered an activity that requires a placement decision and does not entitle to the activity allowance.

The prison is responsible for ensuring that the storage and preparation facilities are adequate and hygienic and guiding the prisoners to maintain good hygiene when preparing their own meals. The prison must make sure that all prisoners have an opportunity to get the ingredients for preparing their own meals often enough. Alternatively, the prison can acquire the ingredients for independent meal preparation along with other foodstuffs and give them to the prisoners.

1.6. Catering for poor prisoners in a prison where prisoners prepare their own meals

The Criminal Sanctions Agency must have a well-founded way of fulfilling their statutory obligation to take care of the catering of prisoners who, due to lack of money, cannot buy food in a prison where prisoners need to prepare their own meals fully or partly. A practice that is uniform nationwide is justified by the equal treatment of prisoners.

1.7. Practice

The Criminal Sanctions Agency orders food boxes, which do not need cold storage, from Leijona Catering and pays for them and, when needed, gives the boxes to prisoners who do not yet have means to buy foodstuffs for their own meals. During their arrival interview, prisoners are asked if they need a food box or have a special diet. The staff discuss the duration of the use of food boxes with the prisoners and support them to manage their own financial situation so that they can start preparing their own meals as soon as possible.

The use of food boxes is continued until the prisoners get their first activity allowance or wages, which is enough to buy foodstuffs for independent meal preparation. After that, they will also get a food allowance instead of the food boxes. This means that they will start following the normal procedure where the prisoners buy their own food with their income and get the food allowance afterwards according to a payment schedule.

Prisoners, who get the food boxes, are not paid the food allowance. The decision on food allowance must include the reason why the food allowance is not paid right after the prisoner’s arrival in prison, i.e., the prisoner gets the food boxes instead of the food allowance. If the assumed date of receiving the food allowance changes, a new decision is made based on the changed information (e.g., if the use of food boxes ends earlier or continues longer).

1.8. Content and ordering of food boxes

A food box contains products, which do not need cold storage, are packed in individual bags and add up to four separate meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening snack). There are six different food boxes, which must be ordered directly from Leijona Catering. The storage time of the food boxes is three months. The expiration date of the product that has the earliest expiration date is clearly marked on all bags and the box Special diets are taken into account in the food boxes.

1.9. Distribution and management of food boxes

If the payment day of the activity allowance or wages is quite far, the prisoners will not get all food boxes at once but only, for instance, for one or two days at a time. In this way, it is also easier to change the practice if prisoners get money soon after their arrival in prison.

The food boxes, which do not need cold storage, are meant for short term use and, therefore, do not contain fresh food products. If the food boxes are used for more than three days, the prison must, if possible, offer those prisoners inexpensive fresh food products of the season, such as vegetables and fruits, in addition to the food box when they pick up their food boxes.

The prison must keep stock records of the given food boxes (prisoner / number of given boxes / date / staff member who gave them)

2. Special diets

New prisoners arriving in prison must be asked if they need a special diet. The preparation of the special diet is started based on that information. The special diet is recorded in the prisoner data system. The prisoner must be sent to see the health care staff or the official in charge of activities or security to confirm the special diet as soon as possible.

If the special diet is not confirmed within two weeks of the prisoner’s arrival in prison, the prison must make a decision, which is eligible for a request for a review, to end the special diet. The health care staff must be heard before ending a special diet that is based on health reasons.

2.1. Exception to the basic diet due to health reasons

The public official in charge of activities or security decides on an exception to be made to the basic diet.

A special diet must be based on a health disorder, which the prison physician has found to clearly indicate the need for a special diet based on verified medical examinations of the prisoner or the symptoms described by the prisoner. A special diet cannot be justified by a prisoner’s food preferences or eating habits. If the special diet is later found unnecessary based on a medical assessment, it must be ended.

The health care staff goes through the main points of the special diet with the prisoner. If the prisoner does not follow the special diet, the prison staff must consult with the restaurant manager and the health care staff whether it is necessary to continue the special diet.

The basic diet offered to prisoners is planned based on the nutritional recommendations of the National Nutrition Council of Finland. The service provider can provide a calculation of the nutritional contents. There are no grounds to order a healthy prisoner additional food, snacks or vitamins and other nutritional products.

Special diets are variations of the basic diet but as similar as possible.

2.2. Exception to the basic diet due to religious conviction

The public official in charge of activities or security decides on an exception to be made to the basic diet due to a religious or some other well-founded conviction.

A special diet due to a religious conviction is granted based on the prisoner’s own account of his or her religious practice. Such special diet is based on the dietary requirements commonly known to be prescribed by the religion in question. Special requests made by a prisoner are not considered requirements set by the religion.

A special diet based on a religious conviction must be such that it can be prepared by using the normal procedures and agreements of the prison concerning the procurement of foodstuffs (e.g. not kosher or halal).

2.3. Special diet due to some other well-founded conviction

A special diet cannot be justified by food preferences. The conviction must be permanent. A special diet based on a conviction cannot be changed to another without particularly special grounds. The conviction and its reasons are included in the prisoner’s sentence plan. A special diet based on a conviction must be such that it can be prepared by using the normal procedures and agreements of the prison concerning the procurement of foodstuffs. The prison does not pay for special products that cannot be acquired from the normal sources. In addition, the costs of the special diet must be comparable to the costs of the basic diet.

If a prisoner wants to follow a very restricted diet with only a few ingredients or a diet for which the prison cannot use the normal procedures and stay within the normal costs to acquire the ingredients, the prison cannot be responsible for the nutritional balance of the diet. The prison does not acquire vitamin or mineral products for prisoners to supplement their diet, but the prisoners must pay for themselves.

Director General Arto Kujala

Senior Coordinator Tatja Kivimäki