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Home School Catering National Nutrition Standards for Primary School Lunches

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Nutritional Standards for School Lunches and Other School Food

Food Based and Nutrient Based Standards for School Lunches from 2008 (Primary) and 2009 (secondary)

Statutory Instrument 2008 No. 1800 - The Education (Nutritional Standards and Requirements for School Food) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 Link to External Website Adobe Acrobat Format

Fruit and Vegetables	Not less than two portions per day per child, at least one of which should be salad or vegetable and at least one should be fruit.
Oily Fish	Oily fish such as mackerel or salmon must be provided at least once every three weeks.
Meat Products	A meat product (manufactured or home-made) from each of the 4 groups below may be provided no more than once per fortnight providing the meat product also meets the standards for minimum meat content and does not contain any prohibited offal: Group1 - Burger, chopped/corned meat. Group 2 - Sausage, sausage meat. Group 3 - Individual meat pie/pudding, pasty or sausage roll. Group 4 - Any other shaped or coated meat products.
Starchy Foods cooked in fat oil	Starchy food cooked in fat or oil should not be provided more than three times a week across the school day.
Bread	Bread with no added fat or oil must be provided on a daily basis.
Deep Fried Foods - restricted	No more than two deep-fried items, such as chips and batter coated products, in a single week across the school day.
Salt & Condiments	No salt shall be available to add to food after the cooking process is complete. Salt shall not be provided at tables or service counters. If made available, condiments such as ketchup or mayonnaise may only be available in sachets or individual portions of 10g (one teaspoon full).
Snacks – restricted	Crisps must not be provided. Nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit with no added salt, sugar or fat are allowed. Dried fruit may contain up to 0.5% vegetable oil as a glazing agent. Savoury crackers or breadsticks can only be served with fruit, vegetables or dairy foods as part of the school lunch.
No confectionery	Confectionery such as chocolate bars, chocolate coated products and sweets must not be provided.
Cakes and biscuits - restricted	Cakes and biscuits are allowed at lunchtime but must not contain any confectionary.
Drinking Water	Free, fresh drinking water should be provided at all times.
Healthier Drinks	The only drinks available should be: Plain water Milk (skimmed or semi skimmed) Pure fruit juice Drinks made from a combination of the above (Also tea, coffee, low-calorie hot chocolate, yoghurt & milk drinks with less than 5% added sugar)

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Primary School Catering
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