'Onus on individual schools' to ensure coeliac children catered for

One Tipperary mother said she had chosen to deliver hot food to her six-year-old daughter so she was not left out.

Government departments have defended the provision of coeliac-safe food as part of the rollout of school meals, saying it is the responsibility of individual schools "to ensure every child is catered for".

The comments were made following concerns raised by the Coeliac Society of Ireland. Parents have told the society that children with coeliac disease were being offered just fruit, or all meals on offer were marked “may contain gluten”.

The schools meal programme is administered and funded by the Department of Social Protection. It now covers 2,723 schools and organisations, including 472,000 children, a spokesman said.

“The food provided for those with allergies must comply with the nutritional standards. Guidance on allergies such as coeliac disease and gluten intolerance is available from Safefood.net,” he said.

Companies, once picked by a school, should find out what options are needed.

“[Schools] have signed a service level agreement, and the onus is on the school to ensure that every child is catered for in accordance with their specific needs,” he said.

However, one Tipperary mother said she had chosen to deliver hot food to her six-year-old daughter so she was not left out.

“If the Government is going to put these meals out for schools, they have to make sure they are going to offer meals to all the kids, not to have one child sitting in the classroom watching everyone else eating pizza,” Emma said.

She asked that her surname not be used as she feels the school is doing its best.

“These companies are going to have to offer like-for-like meals, so if they offer pizza there should be a vegetarian pizza, a gluten-free pizza”. 

Glanmore Foods, one of the suppliers to a wide number of schools, said it worked with certified gluten-free suppliers. 

"The gluten-free meals are delivered to us pre-wrapped, ensuring they remain uncontaminated. These meals are then delivered to the schools unopened,” a spokeswoman said.

A seasoned industry expert, who asked not to be named, said one issue was logistics, as the programme is expanding so rapidly.

Another issue, he said, was awareness, saying: “We are taking on board their concerns.

“We have been providing gluten-free products for years, but nobody has ever come to us and specifically looked for food that is suitable for someone with coeliac disease.” 

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The Department of Education said it funded a unit which advises schools on procurement.

A Department of Health spokesman said the standards' document links to “Safefood’s guidance on food allergens, which includes coeliac and gluten-free guides", he said.