It’s official – school meals really are rubbish

Secondary schools are serving up high fat, high salt and high
sugar foods that don’t meet national nutritional standards,
according to a new government report.

Pupils are choosing high fat and sweet foods over healthier
options, says the survey of 79 maintained secondary schools by the
Food Standards Agency and Department for Education and Skills.

Most schools used outside contractors to provide food to pupils,
and the foods on offer did not generally offer a balanced diet.
None of the set meals offered by the schools met nutritional
standards, and foods offered most often were cakes, says the
report.

Pupils eating meals from secondary school canteens were most
likely to choose high fat main dishes such as burgers with fried
chips or other fried potato products, and soft drinks. The least
popular choices were fruit, fruit juice, vegetables and salads. As
a result, more than 40 per cent of total energy was derived from
fat.

More than half the pupils spent less than £1.50 on their
lunch, and those spending less than £1.50 were more likely to
buy chips.

The report recommends compulsory national nutritional standards
for school food.

It also says pupil choices should be restricted to healthier
foods and lunches as choices must conform to the “balance of good
health” standard.

Schools should have written documentation on the nutritional
quality of school lunches which are “specific, quantitative,
measurable and time-bound” and these standards must be
monitored.

Head cooks and catering managers must have training in healthy
catering and resources to support this should be provided by the
DfES.

The report also recommends that the DfES sets up a committee to
develop a new set of compulsory nutritional standards for school
meals.

In a separate report, Ofsted and the Food Standards Agency found
there was no effective food and nutrition education in most primary
schools. As a result, children’s knowledge of food and
nutrition was generally poor and what they learned had very little
impact on what they chose to eat and drink.

– More information at
www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/secondaryschoolmeals.pdf