SPE Certified

SPE Certification is a foodservice industry standard aimed at enhancing the nutritional quality of meals, without compromising the taste. SPE stands for “Sanitas per Escam” in Latin; its English translation is literally “Health Through Food.”^[1] The certification program’s core principles include increasing the consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, as well as reducing intake of saturated fats, added sugars and salt.^[2]

Photo of the SPE Certified seal on a menu in a restaurant in New York City in 2013

The SPE Certified seal, described by The New York Times as a “squiggly red insignia” is placed on a foodservice establishment’s menu next to a specific dish when the dish has met all the required culinary and nutritional criteria.^[3]

SPE was developed as a nutritional and culinary philosophy in Rouge Tomate restaurant, Brussels, in 2001. In 2011 it was molded into a certification program aimed at encouraging other foodservice establishments to cook healthy, sustainably-sourced dishes, retaining focus on the taste of the food.^[4]