Schools’ recipe for disaster

SCHOOL meals have been suspended for hundreds of children in Sunderland after concerns a recipe breached dietary requirements.

Children who have special dietary needs, including intolerances and allergies, have been asked to take a packed lunch into school while recipes are scrutinised.

The suspension comes after fears a non-dairy recipe provided by a dietician included dairybased ingredients.

It means the meals won’t be served by Sunderland City Council until further notice.

The suspension affects up to 400 pupils with special dietary needs, but does not impact standard school meals served to more than 14,000 pupils.

The council has decided to hold off on the meals while they check more than 100 recipes with a new dietician.

No child is believed to have taken ill before the meals were stopped.

Councillor Michael Mordey, portfolio holder for city services, said: “I and the city council want to stress that this is a precautionary measure because some of the information given to us on special diets for school meals contains some inaccuracies.

“We are not aware of any pupils being affected and we have taken this decision to suspend special diet meals because the health and welfare of our children is our highest priority.

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused. We hope that all parents appreciate it is best that we take a precautionary and proactive approach, however inconvenient.”

Any parent wanting to discuss their circumstances can contact the city council school’s catering service manager on 0191 561 4655.