School lunch boxes packed with crisps and chocolate

CHILDREN are being sent to school with lunchboxes packed full of junk food, a study has found.

More than 98 per cent of packed lunches served up by parents are ‘unhealthy’ – meaning they do not meet minimum nutrition standards set for school canteens, according to research.

Some lunches found in the Leeds University study of primary schools did not meet any of the nutritional standards.

One included a pasty, a packet of Wotsits crisps, a chocolate bar and a blackcurrant squash.

Another was made up of a chocolate roll, a packet of Hula Hoops crisps and blackcurrant squash.

The study, funded by Flora, found just 1.6 per cent of children receive a packed lunch that could be considered healthy, which is little better than ten years ago.

More than half contained too many sweets and 60 per cent too many savoury items such as crisps. Just 17 per cent contained any kind of vegetable or salad.

Lead researcher Dr Charlotte Evans said: ‘I hope the results of the study are an eye-opener, highlighting that more stringent policies need to be introduced.’

Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on school food, said the group had recently called for more action on unhealthy packed lunches.