France struggles to meet organic food targets in collective catering

France is struggling to meet the 20% organic product threshold for collective catering established by the Egalim Law. Currently, organic products account for only between 6% and 12% of purchases in this sector, which manages approximately four billion meals annually.

There are significant disparities across different sectors: organic usage is around 19% in public school and university canteens, roughly 10% in corporate cafeterias, and only 4% in hospitals. While consumer demand is high—with 88% of employees and 87% of parents favoring more organic options—financial constraints remain the primary obstacle. On average, switching to organic ingredients adds approximately 30 cents to a meal that typically costs 2.20 euros, a significant increase for limited budgets.