Increasing the availability of vegetarian meals in worksite cafeterias to increase their sales
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN36918695 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN36918695 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | 1 |
- Submission date
- 19/09/2023
- Registration date
- 21/09/2023
- Last edited
- 19/12/2024
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
The study aims to address the health and environmental concerns associated with meat consumption in affluent countries. It intends to assess the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of an intervention that promotes vegetarian meal options in worksite cafeterias' lunch offers. The intervention involves replacing one meat meal option with a vegetarian alternative. The study will determine whether this leads to an increase in the proportion of vegetarian meal sales and explore potential unintended consequences like changes in total site revenue and food waste.
Who can participate?
Worksite cafeterias that meet specific criteria are eligible to participate. They must offer at least three main meal options at lunch, including at least one vegetarian option and two meat-based options (so that a meat option can be swapped for a vegetarian option during the intervention period while still maintaining customer choice). Additionally, the sites should be willing to change their menus for the study period.
What does the study involve?
The study is implemented over a minimum period of 10 weeks with potentially 2 additional weeks of data collection (these fall into early December and will only be included in analyses if seasonal Christmas meals have not been introduced into menus or these have not disrupted the proportion of vegetarian meals available). Cafeterias will be randomly assigned to implement the intervention at different time points staggered over 6 weeks. During the intervention, cafeterias will increase the availability of vegetarian meals by replacing one meat meal option with a vegetarian one while maintaining the same total number of meal options.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Benefits may include contributing to research that addresses the health and environmental impact of meat consumption. Cafeterias may also benefit from increased sales of vegetarian meals. Risks could include potential disruptions in meal sales and increased food waste.
Where is the study run from?
University of Oxford (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
October 2022 to December 2023
Who is funding the study?
Economic and Social Research Council (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Rachel Pechey, rachel.pechey@phc.ox.ac.uk
Contact information
Scientific
University Of Oxford
The Radcliffe Observatory Quarter
Woodstock Road
Oxford
OX2 6GG
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0002-0237-057X |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 (0)1865 617855 |
| elisa.becker@phc.ox.ac.uk |
Study information
| Study design | Interventional randomized controlled stepped-wedge field trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Retail/food outlet, Workplace |
| Study type | Prevention |
| Participant information sheet | Not applicable |
| Scientific title | The effect on sales of increased availability of vegetarian meals in worksite cafeterias |
| Study objectives | Offering a higher proportion of vegetarian meals increases their sales |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Approved 14/04/2023, Medical Sciences Interdivisional Research Ethics Committee (Research Services, Boundary Brook House, Churchill Drive, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7GB, United Kingdom; +44 (0)1865 616575; ethics@medsci.ox.ac.uk), ref: R72710/RE006 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Diet sustainability |
| Intervention | This study evaluates the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptance of increasing the relative availability of vegetarian (defined here as ovo-lacto vegetarian, i.e. containing no meat or fish, but possibly animal products such as dairy or eggs) main meal options on worksite cafeteria lunch counters. Cafeterias will increase their offer of vegetarian meal options at lunchtime by swapping out one meat meal option for a vegetarian alternative. The study is implemented over a minimum period of 10 weeks with potentially 2 additional weeks of data collection (these fall into early December and will only be included in analyses if seasonal Christmas meals have not been introduced into menus or these have not disrupted the proportion of vegetarian meals available). Cafeterias will be randomly assigned to implement the intervention at different time points staggered over 6 weeks. During the intervention, cafeterias will increase the availability of vegetarian meals by replacing one meat meal option with a vegetarian one while maintaining the same total number of meal options. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Percentage of vegetarian (out of total) meals (in units) sold in each cafeteria measured using centrally provided sales data, averaged for each week from 12 weeks prior to intervention until at least week 10 of the intervention. A further 2 weeks' data will be included if the availability of Christmas meals does not disrupt the intervention implementation. |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Total environmental impact of meals sold, measured using an estimate of greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication potential, water use, and land use (using an equivalent method to that described in https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2120584119), each week during the baseline and intervention period 2. Total energy purchased (kcal) from meals sold, measurement provided by the catering company, taken each week during the baseline and intervention period 3. Total site sales revenue (£GBP), measurement provided by the catering company, taken each week during the baseline and intervention periods 4. Total food waste, measured in both kg and £GBP provided by the catering company, taken each week during the baseline and intervention period |
| Overall study start date | 10/10/2022 |
| Completion date | 15/12/2023 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Employee |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Upper age limit | 99 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 18 |
| Key inclusion criteria | N.B.: This study tests an intervention on the level of individual worksite cafeterias, so the researchers will specify eligibility for cafeterias here. Eligible worksite cafeterias will: 1. Offer at least three main meal options at lunchtime (if the number varies systematically across the week, then a site will be eligible if at least three main meal options are offered on at least 4 out of 5 weekdays) 2. Currently offer at least two meat-based meals and at least one vegetarian meal (to ensure that a choice between meat/fish-based and vegetarian meals is possible at baseline and during the intervention) 3. Be willing to take part in the study and change their menus for the full study period |
| Key exclusion criteria | Not sending at least 4 out of 6 weekly menu pictures during the pre-trial monitoring period, unless a further missing menu can be explained, e.g. by site closures |
| Date of first enrolment | 19/04/2023 |
| Date of final enrolment | 16/10/2023 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
Radcliffe Observatory Quarter
Woodstock Road
Oxford
OX2 6GG
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
University/education
Radcliffe Primary Care Building
Radcliffe Observatory Quarter
Woodstock Rd
Oxford
OX2 6GG
England
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)1865 616575 |
|---|---|
| ethics@medsci.ox.ac.uk | |
| Website | http://www.ox.ac.uk/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/052gg0110 |
Funders
Funder type
Research council
Government organisation / National government
- Alternative name(s)
- ESRC
- Location
- United Kingdom
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 31/12/2025 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Not expected to be made available |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a high-impact peer-reviewed journal |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not expected to be made available due to confidentiality. |
Editorial Notes
19/12/2024: The intention to publish date was changed from 31/12/2024 to 31/12/2025.
20/09/2023: Study's existence confirmed by the Medical Sciences Interdivisional Research Ethics Committee.
