1 week Ago By [email protected] (Louise Burne)
The Government is set to crack down on chicken goujons and other unhealthy foods being regularly provided in primary school children’s hot school meals. It follows concerns from parents and teachers over recent months that primary school children were being provided with foods that could lead to them putting on weight. Social Protection Dara Calleary will announce an extension of Hot School Meals to 713 additional primary schools this morning [fri] at an event in Dublin with Education Minister Helen McEntee and Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers.
It will mean that over 475,000 children in 2,850 schools will get a hot meal for their lunch in school. The Irish Mirror understands that Minister Calleary will also make an announcement about the nutritional standards of the hot school meals programme. Several senior Government sources admitted to the Irish Mirror that there has been concern regarding the nutritional value of the food being provided to primary school children as part of the programme, which was initially launched by former minister Heather Humphreys.
Sources said that food like chicken goujons, chicken nuggets, sausages and chips were only supposed to be provided once a week. However, there is a worry that they are being provided to children more regularly. Guidelines for the Hot School Meal programme state that “processed meat and processed chicken products, fried foods, foods cooked in batter or breadcrumbs or foods containing pastry, should only be provided once a week maximum, if at all”.
This, they said, includes bacon, ham, sausages, chicken nuggets and similar products. It added: “Fried and other high-fat food products, such as chips, roast potatoes, fried potatoes, products fried in the manufacturing process, garlic bread, fried fish or meal choices containing pastry, should only be served a maximum of once a week.” Public concerns have also been about the nutritional value of the meals provided to schoolchildren.
On an episode of RTÉ’s Upfront with Katie Hannon in December 2004, primary school teacher and nutritionist Shaun Conaghan said: “Unfortunately, some of the major providers are providing foods that we know increase obesity risk, and we just need to do better.” Professor Donal O’Shea, the HSE’s national clinical lead for obesity, told the same show that the scheme should be reevaluated. He said: “We should not be providing ultra-processed anything under this scheme.
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