Pizza and cake on school menus as meals fail quality standards

MORE than half of secondary schoolchildren are fed poor quality meals as canteens serve up oily foods, cakes and processed meat, according to a study.

Standards have slipped for the first time since school dinners improved following Jamie Oliver’s campaign in 2005, according to caterers.

A report by the Soil Association estimates that at least 60 per cent of secondary schools are failing to meet legal standards, with many offering meals lacking vegetables and serving oversized puddings and unhealthy snacks.

Campaigners have called on the Government to better monitor school food standards and sanction those that serve unhealthy meals.

The researchers spoke to 30 caterers across an 18-month period, including 14 last autumn.

Most caterers said they were aware of schools that were not complying with School Food Standards, which became mandatory in 2015. “We have seen menus that are clearly not compliant,” one caterer said, “including menus with too many oily and processed foods. They aren’t serving a portion of vegetables with every meal.”

Others reported that schools were offering processed meat for breakfast and sugary cakes and tray bakes daily for break as well as lunchtime.

Another caterer said: “We know of a school just serving pizza and cakes for the children at lunchtime.”

“We know a caterer serving lower quality meats from the EU and passing it off as British mince,” one caterer said.

Rob Percival, the head of policy at the Soil Association, said: “We’ve seen this picture across the last 10 years of steady improvements in school foods, ever since Jamie Oliver’s programme really.

“But just in the last two years or so we have approached a tipping point.

“The budget for school meals hasn’t risen in line with inflation and we have seen a decline in quality of ingredients.”

A Department for Education spokesman said: “All children should have access to healthy and nutritious meals, which is why the school food standards were introduced. School governors have a responsibility to make sure their school complies with these and should raise any concerns with the head teacher and the senior leadership team.

“We are providing 1.3million disadvantaged pupils with a free school meal, and a further 1.4million infant pupils benefit from our Universal Infant Free School Meal programme.”