Government to review nutritional value of school meals after worries about processed foods

A schoolchild eating a meal at Gaelscoil Mhainistir na Corann. The HSE’s National Clinical Lead for Obesity said  that 'some of the major providers are providing foods that we know increase obesity risk and we just need to do better'. File picture: Dan Linehan

The Government is to review the nutritional value of the meals given to schoolchildren as it is expanded to every primary school in the country.

As of this week, an additional 131,700 children across 713 primary schools will receive a hot meal every day. This brings the total number of children benefiting from the programme to 475,000.

However, the scheme has come in for criticism due to the nutritional value of the food being given to children and "needs to be evaluated", according to the HSE’s National Clinical Lead for Obesity.

Professor Donal O'Shea said in December that "some of the major providers are providing foods that we know increase obesity risk and we just need to do better".

Speaking on Friday at St Philip's National School in Mountview, Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary confirmed that both the nutrition and the waste involved in the scheme is under review. A dietician will be paid for by the Department of Social Protection to carry out a review which will be completed by the end of the year.

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Mr Calleary said the numbers of schools is growing in the scheme.

"We will have over 3,000 by September, and it is a very significant investment by my department, but it's a real investment. I want to make sure we're getting the best value for that investment. 

"That's why we're reviewing its nutritional standards to make sure they're still relevant and they're still being rolled out in the way we want them to."

Processed foods

While the food offered varies between providers, there has been criticism that some include processed foods. 

In recent weeks, the provider Carambola issued a letter to parents from consultant dietician Harriet Lynch who said that after a six-week review she was satisfied the scheme was "providing a nutritious and health promoting product to our nation's children". Ms Lynch said that the scheme had been "subject to much misinformation/disinformation".

"Indeed, the ultra-processed foods (UPFs) conversation or arguments presented often carry black and white thinking, where the reality is much more nuanced and multi-factorial. Food additives, for example, are an important part of food processing, and contribute to food safety, palatability and nutritional fortification, to name a few."

Scheme expansion

Mr Calleary said that while the Programme for Government does commit to expanding the scheme to secondary level, he was aiming to "consolidate" it for now as it expands.

"After we do the nutritional review, then we start planning with secondary schools. But I want to learn the lessons, we've grown very quickly."

Mr Calleary also said that he would look to cut the amount of waste the scheme produces.

"It can be challenging because different kids have different tastes and different needs. So we're trying to reduce waste as far as possible, in terms of food waste, but also in terms of packaging waste.

"We're going to try and see how we can keep the range, keep the choices, keep the nutrition, but reduce the waste."