Sweets and salt banned in new food standards

The Schools Food Trust, the independent organisation set up by the DfES to improve school food in 2005, has set out guidelines covering breakfast, snacks, vending machines, tuck shops and any evening meal.

Fruit and vegetables must be provided in all school food outlets and free water must be available at all times. Other drinks permitted are skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, fruit or vegetable juice, and soya, rice or oat drinks, as well as tea, coffee and low-calorie hot chocolate.

Confectionery, crisps, cakes and biscuits are prohibited, and deep-fried or starchy food and meat products can only be offered a certain number of times per week or per month. Salt cannot be provided at tables or service counters.

Amanda Argent, chief executive of Schoolfriend etc, which runs more than 500 out-of-school and breakfast clubs, said, 'We fully support the nutritional standards regulations. However, everything needs to be in moderation. We need to make sure that the choices are still appealing to children and not considered boring, as this will result in children going home and eating the wrong sort of food there instead.'

State sector nursery schools have been working under the interim food-based standards for lunches since last September. The final nutrition-based and new food-based standards for lunches come into force in September 2008 for primary and nursery schools.

A guide to introducing the new food-based standards for all school food other than lunches is available at www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk.