Chicken nuggets and other 'cheat foods' banished from school meals

The newly-appointed dietitian will produce a draft report for minister Dara Calleary by the end of 2025, but the 'cheat food' ban will commence from the start of the school year. Thinkstockphotos

Plans to eradicate “cheat foods” such as chicken nuggets or sausages from hot school meals will go ahead from the start of the new academic year, with a dietitian recruited to improve the programme starting in mid-September.

Social protection minister Dara Calleary announced in April that a review of the nutritional standards of the meals would be completed by a dietician following concerns about the standard of food being provided to primary school children each day.