Police write 45 pages of lunch instruction

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Police in Scotland have distributed a 45-page document to catering firms seeking to serve beat officers describing the desired contents of their lunches.

Lothian and Borders Police created the 10,000-word document in October to spell out the precise requirements for the sandwiches, chips and bottled water served to officers working the beat at Edinburgh soccer games, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

The police, who have a budget of some $109,400 to spend on 7,500 packed lunches per year, said the sandwiches must be served on 11-inch baguettes, 75 percent of which must be on white bread and 25 percent on brown bread. The document includes a spreadsheet listing the acceptable sandwich contents, including brie, cranberry, smoked salmon, cream cheese and prawn mayonnaise.

The document states the sandwiches must be filled to "the standard size and weight stipulated by the British Sandwich Association."

Andrew Cave of the Federation of Small Businesses criticized the "onerous requirements" spelled out in the document and said many small businesses would be excluded from bidding for the catering contracts because "they simply don't have the time to go through all this."