Newsroom
More than €9.5 million was spent feeding National Guard soldiers in 2025, yet a new Audit Office report has found significant problems with food safety, meal quality, ordering practices and waste, with 73% of soldiers saying they avoid certain dishes.
The report, based partly on inspections and 1,106 questionnaires completed by soldiers, found that the catering system generally provides the basic nutritional requirements expected of personnel. But the system is not consistently operating as designed, with problems ranging from food arriving at unsafe temperatures to excessive ordering and soldiers turning elsewhere for food.
Perhaps most strikingly, 69% of respondents said they sometimes or every day rely on products from the camp canteen to supplement their meals, while 41% said they eat food from outside their camp.
Food that should have been 60°C was measured as low as 20°C
One of the most serious findings concerns the temperature at which meals are delivered.
During a surprise inspection on January 22, 2026, delivery documents recorded the food at 65°C. When Audit Office officials checked the same meals with a certified thermometer, however, the pork measured between 35°C and 45.2°C, while the potatoes ranged from 20°C to 50.2°C.
The contractual minimum for hot food is 60°C.
The Audit Office said the recorded temperatures fall within the food safety “danger zone”, where microorganisms can multiply rapidly, meaning the required safety conditions were not being maintained.
The inspection also found problems with the equipment used for checks. In one case, a contractor's thermometer did not match the identification code on the delivery documentation and lacked the appropriate certification.
An electronic scale used to check portions had last been inspected in 2022 and was subsequently found unsuitable for the particular checks being carried out.
Soldiers are skipping food, buying from the canteen and eating outside
The survey paints a revealing picture of how soldiers actually interact with the meals provided.
Nearly three quarters of respondents, 73%, said they avoid or do not eat particular dishes. Taste, quality, preparation and suitability were among the reasons given, with legumes and fish recording particularly low acceptance.
The result is not simply a matter of soldiers leaving food on their plates. The Audit Office links the low consumption to wasted public resources and additional costs for soldiers' families.
The report also found that 41% of respondents eat food from outside the camp, while 69% sometimes or daily purchase products from the camp canteen.
Overall satisfaction with catering was described as moderate, ranging from 44.5% to 61% depending on the meal or category.
Beverages received the lowest rating at 44.5%, followed by breakfast at 48.9%.
For soldiers following special diets, the picture was even less encouraging. Only around one in five said their dietary needs were adequately or fully met.
The Audit Office also found that the National Guard has not scientifically established soldiers' daily energy requirements or analysed meals according to their carbohydrate, protein and fat content.
Orders were sometimes far bigger than the number of soldiers
The report found significant discrepancies between the number of soldiers being fed and the quantities being ordered.
At some outposts, individual meal orders exceeded the authorised daily catering strength by 42% and 40%.
At two specific outposts, the difference was even more striking. Orders were 100% and 57% higher than the actual number of soldiers present.
The Audit Office calculated that better use of an existing contractual provision could cut catering costs. Where side dishes are being under-consumed, quantities can be reduced by up to 50%.
Under the scenario examined, this could lower daily catering costs by 11% at camps and 12% at outposts, representing savings of around €10,000 a week.
One in four soldiers reports health problems
The survey also found that approximately one in four respondents reported mild health problems, mainly gastrointestinal issues, which they attributed to the food provided.
The Audit Office described this as a serious indicator of soldiers' perceptions of food quality and hygiene.
Not every aspect of the catering operation received poor feedback. The cleanliness of dining areas and catering equipment was assessed positively.
But the complaints system was another weak point.
Around one in five soldiers said they had complained about the food, yet only 18% believed their complaint had been fully or partially resolved. Three quarters said their complaints had not been resolved.
24% of active unit kitchens have no professional cook
Staffing problems were also identified.
The National Guard has 21 professional Grade A cooks, but four of its 17 active unit kitchens, equivalent to 24%, do not have a professional cook assigned to them.
At another unit, a professional cook is serving despite there being no active kitchen.
720,000 single-use meal containers
The report also turns its attention to the environmental cost of the catering system.
From the beginning of the current contract on January 20, 2025, through the completion of the audit on March 6, 2026, around 720,000 individual meals had been distributed in single-use packaging.
The Audit Office found that the packaging frequently ends up in ordinary waste bins rather than being recycled.
Almost half of catering units, 48%, said they had no recycling bins, while 52% said they were not covered by a licensed collective waste management system.
Audit Office calls for major changes to the system
The Audit Office has proposed a series of measures intended to tighten oversight and improve the quality of meals provided to National Guard personnel.
Among them is the formal establishment of the National Guard Catering Technical Committee, known as TESEF, with defined responsibilities for overseeing the planning, implementation and evaluation of the catering system.
The report also calls for soldiers' nutritional requirements to be scientifically calculated, including their daily energy needs and appropriate levels of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Laboratory testing of meals and nutritional information for individual portions are also recommended.
To tackle waste, the Audit Office proposes using the new SEDITЕF system to identify excessive orders, allowing soldiers at outposts to request half portions, and making greater use of the existing provision allowing side dishes to be reduced where consumption is low.
Food safety controls would also be tightened. The seven catering units supplying remote outposts should be equipped with certified thermometers for checking transported meals, while portable refrigerators should be considered when temperature problems occur.
The Audit Office is also calling for additional inspections of the contractor's facilities and microbiological and chemical testing of meals.
More fresh food, better breakfasts and a menu soldiers will actually eat
The report's recommendations are not limited to safety and cost control.
Based on soldiers' responses, the Audit Office calls for a more varied menu with healthier and more balanced choices, greater use of fresh food, more breakfast and beverage options and more frequent availability of fresh fruit.
Meals that receive particularly poor feedback should be reassessed, while soldiers should have a more direct role in providing feedback on what they are being served.
The report also calls for greater attention to special dietary requirements and a more effective complaints system, including clear channels for submitting complaints, systematic recording and assessment, and regular communication with soldiers about how their concerns are handled.
