Gareth Jones, senior buyer for fresh food and nutrition at NHS Supply Chain, which also runs the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, is to move on after the scheme’s next distribution tender taking place this week, to be the food lead at the department of children, schools and families (DSCF).

He told freshinfo: “This will entail chairing a number of cross-government procurement groups trying to drive forward the healthy food mark, and collaboration across central government departments, as well as trying to save DCSF a huge sum of money by identifying best practice in procurement. I will still be involved in driving forward the EU fruit scheme, but will have a slightly different perspective.”

The tendering processes involved in the scheme have increasingly drawn criticism from the trade. One supplier told freshinfo: “The tender process is long-winded and some of the questions you have to answer are unnecessarily complex and, arguably, superfluous.”

Another labelled it “ridiculous” and “badly thought through” - particularly, he added, as the intended emphasis on high quality and traceability is rendered obsolete by the auction itself. “As long as you have answered the questions well enough to get to the auction, it’s all about price,” he said. “At that point... it’s a matter of who blinks first.”

For some companies, said another, the decision to bid lower at auction has jeopardised the financial viability of their SFVS business. “It is a tricky balance,” said the supplier. “And if you get it wrong, it can prove costly. The obvious temptation must be to cut corners.”

NHS Supply Chain is recruiting a replacement for Jones.