Many people have misconceptions about the standards for school food. Here is a collection of these misconceptions and the truth revealed.

The standards are not as restrictive as many people believe. The table below reveals the truth about many popular misconceptions.


Schools cannot serve cheese	Yes they can serve cheese, at any time of the school day. It is good practice to use low fat varieties of cheese.
Schools cannot use salt in cooking	Salt is permitted in the cooking process but should not be provided at lunch tables or at service counters. It is good practice to reduce the amount of salt used in cooking, add herbs and spices to flavour dishes.
Schools cannot serve cakes and biscuits	Cakes and biscuits can be served at lunchtimes as long as they contain no confectionery. Children should only be encouraged to eat these as part of a meal following, but not instead of, a main course.
Schools cannot put butter on jacket potatoes	Butter is permitted on jacket potatoes. This does not count as a starchy food cooked in fat or oil as the butter is added after the cooking process. It is good practice to restrict the amount of butter added to a jacket potato.
Schools cannot serve chips	Deep-fried foods (e.g. chips) can be served up to twice a week across the school day.
Schools cannot provide jam or honey to spread on bread or toast	Jam and honey are not restricted by the standards. It is good practice to limit servings of jam and honey which are high in sugar.
Schools cannot dilute fruit juice with water	Fruit juice can be diluted with water provided that the fruit juice component in the final drink is at least 50% by volume.
You cannot serve bacon at breakfast	Bacon is not restricted by the standards. It is good practice to grill rather than fry bacon and vary the types of foods served at breakfast.