School drinks guide confusing, say firms
Six months after the government's School Food Trust (SFT) first outlined its guidance on what types of drink will be acceptable inside Britain's schools, manufacturers say they are still confused as to what ingredients are permitted.
In May 2006, the SFT recommended bottled water, skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, pure fruit juices or combinations of these options. Additionally, the recommendations covered yoghurt and milk drinks (with less than 5% added sugar), low-calorie hot chocolate, tea and coffee.
Artificial sweeteners were judged acceptable in yoghurt and milk drinks, but not as part of a juice drink or flavoured water. Pure juices were deemed acceptable because, according to the SFT, the benefits outweighed the erosive effects on teeth.
The guidance appeared to leave suppliers with few options if they wanted to produce a conventionally bottled juice or water-based drink that was sweet enough to appeal to children but had a sufficiently long shelf-life.
William Watkins, md of Radnor Hills Mineral Water Company, said: "The SFT has laid down the law, but how do you interpret 'combinations' when it comes to juice? Does that mean that derivatives such as fruit sugars are permitted? We had hoped that a panel would be set up to assess each product on its merits."
An update on the guidance is expected to clarify the SFT's position next year.
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