Lesson time for school catering providers

Foodservice giant Brakes is organising an educational forum to address issues raised by chef Jamie Oliver about the quality of school meals.

The forum, which will bring together Brakes, its customers in the education service, and the government, should coincide with publication of compulsory nutritional standards for school meals drawn up by the new school meals review panel.

The government-funded panel, which met for the first time in May, will lay down minimum standards for salt, fat and sugar in school dinners, based on Food Standards Agency guidelines currently out for consultation. It will also set minimum protein levels in vegetarian meals.

Brakes, which has about 20% of the educational catering market, said that many local authorities had seen a drop in the number of children taking school meals, while some schools had closed their kitchens. Marketing manager Anne Mulcahy said, "This is a real shame, as in many cases, children's diets are not greatly improved by replacing a hot dinner with snacks brought from home."

She added: "Schools don't really know what they want. They feel that they should be offering less processed food, but they don't know what they should be serving instead, especially when budgets are so tight. I think many people in the market are in limbo."

The forum in London on September 28 will also explore the opportunities for caterers if school hours are extended.

start 'em young

More than 200 Yorkshire children will learn about food production in York's Guildhall on September 22 through a tie-up between sector skills council Improve and eight local employers.

The firms will tell children from three schools how to put bubbles into Aero chocolate bars, cure bacon, make pasta and whip up ice cream. They will also cover health and safety, hygiene, careers and pay.

"This is something that could be rolled out to raise awareness among students of the wealth of opportunities available in this industry," said Improve.