There is more information about each of the final food-based standards for school lunches here www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/foodbasedguidance
- Do the School Food Regulations include a requirement for schools to provide a hot meal?
- Can caterers adapt planned lunchtime menus to suit the likes and dislikes of their pupils?
- What portion sizes should we be using?
- Should the portion sizes provided to primary school pupils vary for different aged pupils? How is this accounted for in the nutrient analysis?
- Do the school food standards prevent us from offering ‘seconds’ to pupils?
- Do baked beans count as a vegetable?
- Do the final food-based standards require us to provide a portion of fruit and a portion of vegetables for every pupil, or just to have them available for the pupils that choose them?
- What are the guidelines on fruit and vegetable wastage?
- How can we encourage pupils to take and eat more fruit and vegetables?
- What counts as a portion of oily fish?
- I can't get the children at my school to eat salmon – what do you suggest?
- Does packaged sliced meat count as a meat product?
- Are joints of meat for roasting (e.g. chicken, beef) classed as group 4 meat products?
- What is meant by chopped meat?
- Why are homemade burgers and meatballs restricted? We make ours from good quality meat – it doesn't seem to make sense?
- What foods are classed as starchy foods cooked in fat or oil?
- Is deep-fried food the same as starchy foods cooked in fat or oil?
- Can desserts be sold as individual items at lunchtimes?
- Why do the final food-based standards not include all of the standards that were included in the interim food-based standards?
- Do we need to provide enough extra bread for all pupils to take some? Does it have to be provided free of charge?
- How can we check and demonstrate that we have met the final food-based standards? We just plan our menus to meet them so this is not recorded.
- The Trust recommends that food provision should be co-ordinated throughout the school day to ensure compliance, and actively monitored – what does this mean in practice?
Do the School Food Regulations include a requirement for schools to provide a hot meal?
The Government’s School Food Regulations require that all food and drink provided by local authorities and school governing bodies meets the final food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches, and the food-based standards for school food other than lunches. These standards do not include a requirement for schools to provide hot food to pupils, although we would recommend that they do so wherever possible.
The Trust has worked with primary and secondary schools across England to introduce the final food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches ahead of the mandatory deadlines. Through carrying out this process, we found that where schools provided a large proportion of hot meals, it was less challenging to meet the nutrient-based standards than when they provided a high proportion of sandwiches, as hot meals are often more nutrient dense than cold food. We would therefore encourage schools to provide hot food wherever possible; however, it is important to note that the school food standards apply equally to hot food and cold food.
Can caterers adapt planned lunchtime menus to suit the likes and dislikes of their pupils?
The Trust recognises the importance of ensuring that flexibility can be accommodated within planned menu cycles e.g. to ensure that caterers can provide meals that are popular with pupils at different schools within a centrally planned contract.
Information has been collected from a number of caterers around the country, to demonstrate different approaches to achieving flexibility within menu cycles without affecting compliance with the food-based and nutrient-based standards. One approach is to enable groups of recipes with similar nutrient profiles to be substituted in planned menu cycles, and an example is given to demonstrate that providing the dishes substituted are sufficiently similar, compliance is not affected:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/menuflexibility
What portion sizes should we be using?
The Government's food-based standards for school lunches do not specify portion sizes. However, in our guidance we have given some information on suggested portion sizes for fruit and vegetables:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/fruitandvegetables
In the 'Turning the Tables' report, the School Meals Review Panel included some information on portion sizes produced for the Scottish Executive's 'Hungry for Success' programme. This information can be found at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/02/16273/17578
Should the portion sizes provided to primary school pupils vary for different aged pupils? How is this accounted for in the nutrient analysis?
We are aware that the appetites and energy requirements of different aged pupils within primary schools can vary considerably and we expect that cooks will use their experience to adjust portion sizes appropriately to ensure that pupils of all ages receive appropriate sized portions.
The nutrient-based standards for school lunches apply to an average school lunch within a menu cycle, and not to the lunches provided to individual pupils. Therefore average portion sizes can be entered into the nutrient analysis, and these portion sizes can be increased or reduced for older or younger pupils as appropriate without affecting the nutrient content of an average school lunch.
Do the school food standards prevent us from offering ‘seconds’ to pupils?
The school food standards apply to overall planned provision of food and drink and not to the food provided to, or consumed by, individual pupils at lunchtime. Therefore the standards do not prevent schools from offering ‘seconds’ to pupils where there is food left over at the end of lunch service. Policies in place at individual schools may differ, with some allowing pupils to take ‘seconds’ to reduce potential wastage, and others discouraging the practice.
The food-based standards require schools to provide extra bread (with no added fat) at lunchtime, and this standard is in place to encourage pupils who are still hungry after their lunch to fill up on bread, rather than on foods high in fat or sugar (such as additional servings of dessert options). It may be more appropriate therefore, to encourage pupils with larger energy requirements and appetites to select this extra bread with their lunch, or to select larger portions of self-serve items such as from the salad bar. It is also possible to adjust portion sizes offered to different aged pupils within primary schools to ensure that pupils of all ages receive appropriate sized portions, and are less likely to be hungry after their lunch and ask for seconds.
Do baked beans count as a vegetable?
In line with advice from the Department of Health, baked beans can be counted as a vegetable. However, it is important to offer a variety of fruit and vegetables, so they should not be served every day. Although there are no specific requirements relating to baked beans, it is good practice to provide reduced sugar and salt baked beans, and this will help to meet the nutrient-based standards for sodium and non-milk extrinsic sugars
Do the final food-based standards require us to provide a portion of fruit and a portion of vegetables for every pupil, or just to have them available for the pupils that choose them?
The final food-based standards for school lunches require at least one portion of fruit and at least one portion of vegetables or salad to be provided per pupil per day.
Fruit can be provided as fresh fruit, fruit tinned in juice, fruit salad, fruit juice, dried fruit, or as part of a fruit-based dessert (e.g. apple crumble, fruit sponge or yoghurt with fruit).
Vegetables can be provided as fresh, frozen or tinned varieties, whether cooked, offered as a salad or as part of a dish (e.g. vegetable curry or broccoli quiche). Baked beans and pulses also count as vegetables, but potatoes and spaghetti hoops are starchy foods and do not.
Some ideas for increasing fruit and vegetable provision include:
For further information, ‘Recipe for Success: Fruit recipes and tips’, is a booklet featuring information and ten tried and tested fruit based dessert recipes which can be downloaded from our website at:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/schools/resources/recipes-for-success
What are the guidelines on fruit and vegetable wastage?
For the lunch provision to be compliant with the food-based standard for fruit and vegetables at least one portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables or salad must be provided per pupil per day. Fruit can be provided as fresh fruit, fruit juice or as part of a fruit-based dessert.
In practice, of course, it is up to the caterer to determine how that standard is best met. If they do not want to serve a fruit-based dessert every day, they need to make available an alternative, for example, fresh fruit, tinned fruit or fruit juice. The aim of the standard is to encourage children to eat more fruit. So providing only enough fruit to satisfy the demand of those who want it is not meeting the standard.
Providing a piece of fresh fruit every day for each child who takes a school lunch could result in wastage, particularly if experience shows that only half of those children actually eat the fruit. Caterers should therefore be advised that they could occasionally offer fruit juice as an alternative to a piece of fruit or a fruit-based dessert and still meet the standard.The Trust guidance on the final food-based standards for school lunches suggests ways to incorporate fruit and vegetables into existing dishes, and to encourage pupils to select the fruit and vegetable options, thereby minimising wastage.
How can we encourage pupils to take and eat more fruit and vegetables?
For lunch provision to be compliant with the final food-based standards for school lunches, at least one portion of fruit, and one portion of vegetables or salad must be provided per pupil per day.
Encouraging pupils to eat fruit and vegetables can sometimes be a struggle, especially in secondary schools where a large selection of foods is often available. However, when fruit and vegetables are available and easily accessible, for example chopped up and ready to eat, more pupils will eat them. Providing a variety of different fruits and vegetables is one way to encourage pupils towards healthy eating habits, however you need to be patient. There is some evidence that children need to try new fruits and vegetables up to eight or nine times before they are liked or accepted.
There is a page on the Trust website which includes tips for encouraging pupils to select and eat fruit, vegetable and salad options, including details of how one secondary school encouraged pupils to select fruit as part of their dessert with an innovative offer. There is also a database of tried and tested fruit-based dessert recipes available to download:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/fruitandveg
For further information, ‘Recipe for Success: Fruit recipes and tips’, is a booklet featuring information and ten tried and tested fruit based dessert recipes which can be downloaded from our website at:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/schools/resources/recipes-for-success
What counts as a portion of oily fish?
An oily fish is one containing omega 3 fatty acids. This includes fresh, canned or frozen salmon, sardines, pilchards, mackerel or herring, and fresh or frozen tuna. Vacuum packed oily fish is also acceptable. Tinned tuna does not count as an oily fish, although fresh or frozen tuna do. This is because the canning process removes a significant amount of the omega 3 oils. The intention of the standards is that pupils should eat a portion of oily fish, so whilst a sandwich filling or a portion served as part of a salad would meet this, the amount of oily fish as a pizza topping is unlikely to be sufficient.
I can't get the children at my school to eat salmon – what do you suggest?
Try serving salmon and cucumber sandwiches, with small amounts of salmon to start with. Serving small taster portions is a good way of helping children to accept new tastes. You could also make a fish pie with other ingredients to disguise the taste of the salmon.
Does packaged sliced meat count as a meat product?
If the sliced meat is pure meat sliced from a joint e.g. ham or beef this would not count as a meat product. However, if the sliced meat is processed and includes other ingredients e.g. corned beef, this would count towards the meat products standard, and provision would be restricted. For further clarification of these categories, please refer to the website guidance on the standards for meat products, available from www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/meatproducts or to the Meat Products Regulations (2003) No. 2075 available from: www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20032075.htm(Meat Products Regulations (2003) No. 2075)
Are joints of meat for roasting (e.g. chicken, beef) classed as group 4 meat products?
Meat that has not been coated or shaped, but simply tumbled with water and other ingredients to produce a finished product with a shape similar to its unprocessed shape (for example meat joints for roasting), does not fall within Group 4 of the meat products category, and provision of these products is not restricted under the school food standards.
Meat that has been shaped (for example meat balls, nuggets, goujons) or coated (for example chicken breast in breadcrumbs or batter) would be classed as group 4 meat products, and provision of these products is restricted to once per fortnight across the school day.
What is meant by chopped meat?
Chopped meat refers to ‘finely chopped' processed meat such as canned chopped ham and pork. It does not include good quality, unprocessed meat that has simply been chopped up to prepare a dish.
Why are homemade burgers and meatballs restricted? We make ours from good quality meat – it doesn't seem to make sense.
Although we recognise that homemade meat products may be very similar in terms of meat quality to a serving of bolognaise sauce or shepherds pie, the restriction for meat products still applies in order to encourage dietary diversity and a cultural shift towards healthier choices outside of school.
What foods are classed as starchy foods cooked in fat or oil?
Starchy foods cooked in fat or oil are defined as starchy foods where fat or oil has been added before or during the cooking process. Examples of starchy foods cooked in fat or oil include roast or sautéed potatoes, fried rice, fried bread, garlic bread, Yorkshire pudding and chapattis made with fat.
Where fat or oil is only added to a starchy food after the cooking process is complete (e.g. the addition of butter or fat spread to mashed or jacket potatoes), the dish would not be classed as a starchy food cooked in fat or oil, and the provision would not be restricted.
Is deep-fried food the same as starchy foods cooked in fat or oil?
Not necessarily, this depends on how the food is cooked. For example, roast potatoes cooked from raw in the school kitchen would count as starchy food cooked in fat or oil, but not as a deep-fried food. Frozen roast potatoes, oven-baked in the school kitchen and deep-fried during the manufacturing process, would count as both deep-fried food and starchy food cooked in fat or oil.
Can desserts be sold as individual items at lunchtimes?
The Government’s food-based standards relate to overall provision rather than what is provided to or consumed by an individual. We are aware that secondary schools operate canteen style catering systems whereby food and drink items are sold individually. This means that children who bring packed lunches could then buy a dessert as well. It would be up to schools to develop their own policy if they wish to serve desserts with a main meal rather than as individual items, or limit the number of desserts one child can buy.
Why do the final food-based standards not include all of the standards that were included in the interim food-based standards?
When schools introduced the nutrient-based standards for school lunches, they also implemented the final food-based standards for school lunches instead of the interim food-based standards. Some of the interim food-based standards are included in the final food-based standards (e.g. the requirement to provide a portion of fruit and a portion of vegetables for each pupil, and the requirement to provide oily fish). This is because these standards are still required even when the nutrient-based standards are met. For example, the standards requiring the provision of fruit and vegetables, and oily fish still apply to help increase intakes of these foods.
However, some of the interim food-based standards are no longer required, and are not included in the final food-based standards. These include minimum required provision of red meat, fish and dairy products. As the nutrient-based standards specify minimum levels of nutrients such as protein, iron, zinc and calcium in an average school lunch, it is no longer necessary to specify minimum provision of these foods too. There is more information about the difference between the interim and final food-based standards for school lunches in section 2.2-2.4 of the guide to the nutrient-based standards.
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/nutrientbasedstandards
The food-based standards for all school food other than lunches remained unchanged when schools introduced the final food-based standards and nutrient-based standards for school lunches. There is more information about these standards available from: here.
Do we need to provide enough extra bread for all pupils to take some? Does it have to be provided free of charge?
The final food-based standards for school lunches require that bread with no added fat or oil (i.e. butter or margarine) is provided as an extra to the meal every day. This is to meet the needs of those pupils with greater energy requirements who are still hungry after their lunch, and encourage them to fill up on starchy foods rather than foods high in fat or sugar.
There is no requirement as to the amount of extra bread that should be provided, but it should be sufficient for the pupils who want to take it.
Although the standards require the extra bread to be freely available (i.e. so children are able to select it if they are still hungry after their main course) the standards do not require that the extra bread is provided free of charge. However, it is good practice for the extra bread to be provided free of charge to pupils.
It is also important to note that bread provided as an extra should not be included in the nutrient analysis of an average school lunch.
How can we check and demonstrate that we have met the final food-based standards? We just plan our menus to meet them so this is not recorded.
Although menu planning and nutrient analysis software packages produce reports to demonstrate which of the nutrient-based standards for school lunches have been met over a menu cycle, they do not generally produce equivalent reports for each of the final food-based standards.
We would strongly recommend that catering providers use a tool such as a checklist to evaluate their planned menu cycles against the final food-based standards to ensure they are fully met, and to use as evidence to demonstrate compliance when required. We would also recommend that this information is provided to schools along with newly introduced menu cycles, so that schools can use this information to ensure that the food-based standards that apply across the school day are met across all outlets.
The Audits and Inspections toolkit includes a paper checklist that can be completed electronically or by hand to evaluate compliance with the final food-based standards, or alternatively, the Trust’s online checklist tool can be used for this purpose.
These are available from:
Audits and Inspections toolkit:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/measuringcompliance/auditsandinspections
Online School Food Checklist tool:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/checklist
The Trust recommends that food provision should be co-ordinated throughout the school day to ensure compliance, and actively monitored – what does this mean in practice?
Three of the food-based standards (restrictions on provision of deep-fried foods, meat products and starchy foods cooked in fat or oil) apply across the school day. As schools often have outlets in place that are run by different food providers, it is important that provision of food across these outlets is organised to ensure that these restrictions are complied with.
We strongly recommend that evidence of compliance with the standards is produced and is available within school for each outlet that operates across the school day. A nominated person within the school (e.g. the senior management lead for food) can then be given responsibility for checking this information at regular intervals (e.g. when new menus are introduced) to ensure that each of the standards are met.
Where catering budgets have been delegated, it is the governors that are responsible for compliance with the school food standards. It is therefore vital that they are kept fully informed about the degree of compliance with the food-based and nutrient-based standards. This could be achieved by ensuring that evidence of compliance is given to governors on a regular basis, and shared at governor meetings.
The Audits and Inspections toolkit provides a tool that schools can use to ensure that they have recommended minimum evidence available within school to demonstrate compliance. This can be downloaded from:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/measuringcompliance/auditsandinspections
