Examining school food policy in Scotland by Hazel Long, RD
It has been 20 years since Jamie Oliver hit the screens campaigning nationally for more nutritious school meals. He was remembered for raising awareness of the ‘turkey twizzlers’, as well as the wider issues around the low nutrient content of school meals. Since then a huge amount has changed in terms of school food nutrition in Scotland, and local authorities are now legally required to meet specific standards that are aligned with the Scottish Dietary Goals.
In 2007 the Scottish Government passed the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) Scotland Act, which aimed to ensure that health promotion was a central focus of education. This was shortly followed by The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drinks in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008, which held local authorities accountable for meeting specific food and nutrient standards. This included 14 nutrient standards, eight food standards and drinks standards for both primary and secondary school provision across the school day. All menus were now required to be nutritionally analysed, with evidence of compliance requested from Health and Nutrition Inspectors from Education Scotland.
The new food standards meant that fruit and vegetables had to be available as part of the school meal, and oily fish needed to be on the menu once every three weeks. Confectionary and sugar sweetened drinks were no longer permitted. I was still in school when these changes were implemented and I recall the change in environment, in particular the sale of sweets and sugar sweetened drinks in vending machines. In 2015, the Scottish Government made school meals free for all primary 1-3 pupils, and in 2018 there was a financial commitment to supporting children who experience food insecurity in the school holidays.(1)
In 2017, the Scottish Government held their first ‘Stakeholder Event’ to review proposed changes to the current nutrient standards. These changes were put forward by a technical working group, which included Registered Nutritionists employed by Food Standard Scotland, Education Scotland and Public Health Scotland. The updated standards proposed to align school meal provision with the current evidence base. Examples of some of the updated standards are detailed in Table 1.
Food standard | Primary schools | Secondary schools |
|---|---|---|
Fruits & vegetables | Not less than two portions of vegetables shall form part of the analysed school lunch. Not less than one portion of fruit shall form part of the analysed school lunch. | Not less than two portions of vegetables shall form part of the analysed school lunch. Not less than one portion of fruit shall form part of the analysed school lunch. |
Red and red processed meat | No more than 175g of red and red processed meat is permitted over the course of the school week, of which no more than 100g should be red processed meat. | No more than 230g of red and red processed meat is permitted over the course of the school week, of which no more than 130g should be red processed meat. |
Sweetened and baked products | Sweetened baked products and desserts cannot be served more than three times per week. When served they should contain no more than 15g of total sugar per portion | Only products meeting the following criteria can be provided:
|
Bread | All bread and bread rolls must contain a minimum of 3g of AOAC fibre per 100g | All bread and bread rolls must contain a minimum of 3g of AOAC fibre per 100g. |
Pastry and pastry products | Pastry and pastry products must not be provided more than twice a week across the school day. | Pastry and pastry products must not be provided more than twice a week across the school day. |
By 2021, local authorities were legally required to meet these standards (there was a slight delay in implementation due to covid-19), as described in Healthy Eating in Schools.(2) In addition to this, in 2021 the Scottish Government expanded the free school meals to p4 and p5 pupils, which was a huge commitment to improving child health.
Whilst the policies in schools discussed are a huge step, we have to recognise that the majority of food a child or young person consumes is not at school and, therefore, we need further work to change the wider food environment. I certainly welcomed the UK Government announcement to restrict TV advertising of high sugar/salt and fat foods before 9pm from 2025. In addition to this, Food Standard Scotland is currently working on collecting evidence to support changes in the out of homes sector.
In summary...
In summary, reflecting on the past 20 years, we have seen a major shift in terms of the school food environment in Scotland. In particular we have seen a real commitment from the Scottish Government to promote the uptake of school meals by offering free meals to all children p1-5. Additional policies focusing on marketing, price promotions and the out of homes sector are needed to ensure the wider food environment supports child health.
Hazel is a registered nutritionist working part time in the NHS and as a freelancer in her private practice HCL Nutrition. She is passionate about
evidence-based nutrition and supporting individuals to have a positive relationship with food.
Hazel Long, RD
references
- Scottish Government (2018). A Healthier Future. - www.gov.scot
- Scottish Government (2020). Healthy Eating in Schools. A guide to implementing the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. - www.gov.scot
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