This is a legacy version of the WELL Building Standard. Please check the latest version here.

Processed foods

Processed foods

Intent: 

To help occupants avoid highly-processed ingredients and foods.

Yes, the project is meeting the requirement as long as the whole grain sandwiches make up at least half of all of the food offerings made with grain flour.

Feature 39 Parts 1a, 1b and 1c apply to total sugar content, not just added sugar.

Yes, all foods and beverages that are sold and provided must comply with the requirements. This includes packaged and prepared items, as well as all items in vending machines.

Beverages, regardless of size, are typically consumed in one sitting even if they contain multiple servings (per the FDA's Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed). The updated Nutrition Facts label reflects this change and requires that calories and other nutrients be declared for the entire beverage package rather than per serving. For foods, nutrition information is typically presented per serving as typically consumed

If a project does not sell or provide food and beverages on a daily basis, it is exempt from most Nourishment preconditions. However, Features 41 and 45 may be applicable to your project.

If the multiple-serving food package contains less than 30 grams of sugar "per serving", then Part 1c of the requirement will be met for WELL certification.

If the project owner of the Core & Shell project pursuing WELL certification does not sell or distribute food, or provide vending machines within the building, feature 39 and 40 are considered out of scope.

While the availability of processed foods is limited in WELL projects, employees are not prohibited in what foods and beverages they bring from home or purchase outside of the project.

No, the Nourishment requirements are only applicable to food provided by the project owner or provided by a vendor who is under contract with the project owner, which for a Core and Shell project the project owner is the building developer. Tenants within the building do not need to meet these requirements.

If the tenant decided to pursue the New and Existing Interiors or the Retail Pilot certification, then the nourishment feature requirements would be applicable.

IWBI recognizes the various cultural differences in meal practices and therefore recommends the project to submit an Alternative Adherence Path (AAP) to confirm the project meets the feature intent for the Nourishment concept. In addition, please review the already accepted AAP's for each nourishment feature.

This includes all foods and beverages supplied by the project owner, or by a vendor under contract with the owner, including items sold or provided in the cafeteria, in vending machines, at a coffee bar, and items available to occupants in the kitchen/pantry area.

Yes, if the food served in the eating area is provided daily under the direction of the owner, all of the Nourishment preconditions need to be met by the project regardless of where the food is prepared.

If no food is sold or served within the eating area or break area, most of the Nourishment precondition features would be considered out of scope. However, features 41 and 45 may still be applicable to the project.

No, if food is not catered on a daily basis, most of the Nourishment features are considered out of scope. However, features 41 and 45 may be applicable to your project.

Yes, if any food is provided to occupants the precondition nourishment requirements need to be met for these items. For example, when coffee and milk are provided, milk would need to be labeled for allergens.