We can help schools demonstrate compliance with the School Food Standards.
Key food areas for concern
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Burger boy and sporty girl – what do children really think??
Barnardo’s, the UK’s leading children’s charity, carried out a two part study to discover children’s perception of food choices within schools and an analysis of the nutritional content of school meals and packed lunches. 18 groups of primary and secondary school children were asked their opinions on who would eat two types of meals – burger, chips, soft drinks, sweets and crisps, or rye bread with cottage cheese, tomato, milk, yoghurt and an apple. The children were asked questions including – what would this person be like? What clothes would they wear? What would their hobbies be? What were their family like? The first picture was of the burger and chips, and replies from the children revealed interesting and consistent results; the person was definitely a boy, a very naughty, lazy and trouble making boy, who would of course be chubby, fat or overweight, who snacks on junk food and watches television regularly. His parents would also be fat and lazy, and perhaps drug dealers, unemployed or working in Burger King, and they would spend holidays together in a caravan, or with family in the UK. Although the picture these children have painted of this ‘burger boy’ was of a lazy and naughty boy, most children said that they would eat the entire meal. The second picture of the rye bread and fruit surprised children, with a 10-year-old girl stating that you couldn’t really eat that ….. children eat fatty food. The children could not relate to this person they did not exist, unlike the ‘burger boy’ they did not know anyone who would consume these ‘healthy’ foods. They thought that this individual had to be a goody-goody, posh girl who never broke the rules, she would be very healthy, with a clear complexion and white teeth. She would also be very physically active, and be conscious about her appearance, and be concerned about her long term health. She would live in a posh house and have holidays in hot countries, although her friends would be very envious of her. Most children stated that they would eat some parts of the ’sporty girls’ meal e.g. the apple or the glass of milk, but not the whole meal! It is clear from this report that children can see a relationship between consuming ‘healthy’ foods and being healthy, with some children understanding that this in turn improves long term health, body size and appearance. Although the children are aware of the benefits of healthy eating, the majority chose the unhealthier options due to a large amount of choice, peer pressure, children wanting to fit in and not be different from their peers, freedom to eat what they prefer at home with limited restriction from their parents, and the higher cost of healthier foods – some students commented that to buy a jacket potato with one filling was twice as expensive as burger and chips, and a bottle of water was also twice the cost of a can of coke. HET tips: Click here to view the full report.
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Salt intake – A National Problem, but can it be easily rectified?
Overview It has been well publicised that a high salt diet is ‘bad for you’, but there is much confusion about how much is too much, since many perceive their intake to be within normal limits. Salt is a very useful and necessary molecule that occurs naturally in various foods. Over consumption however may adversely affect our health, by contributing to raising blood pressure. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, and stroke. Adjusting our salt intake is one aspect of our diet that can be relatively easily changed, in fact intakes have crept up over the years as a result of our increasing reliance on processed foods. Current concerns about salt stem from this and the Government is looking to the Food Industry to help reverse this trend. It must be remembered however, that reducing salt intake is only one aspect of our diet that needs some attention. A nutritionally balanced diet remains the number one aim. More than 75% of our salt intake is provided by processed foods as it is added by manufactures to increase/maintain shelf life, therefore it is necessary to target manufactures to reduce the salt content of foods as well as targeting consumers to make appropriate choices. |
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The Salt Diaries
1994 Salt Targets set |
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Recommended intakes are set to optimise public health. In 1994 the Government’s Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA) recommended reducing salt intake at population level from 9g/day by a third to 6g/day, this target has remained the same for a number of years. Unfortunately the recent National Dietary and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) on adults aged 18-64 years revealed that national average intakes have increased to 9.5g/day (11.0g/day for men and 8.1g/day for women). If the population’s salt intake was reduced to 6g/day then the national average blood pressure would be reduced, benefiting public health by reducing the risk, and occurrences of stroke and cardiovascular disease. There is a clear link between high salt intakes and blood pressure which is a particular concern for those who’s intake of salt is well above the average: some men are consuming 3.5 times the recommended 6g/day (21g/ day) and some women 2.5 times (15g/day), so efforts to reduce salt would be particularly beneficial for these individuals. |
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| 15th May 2003: New salt targets for children | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Achievable targets (not optimal intakes) for children were set by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in response to a report written by the Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). Children, like adults, have a requirement for salt especially as they are still growing. However children’s intakes are very high due to the increasing consumption of high salt snacks, convenience foods, ready prepared meals and processed foods, which are eaten as part of a diet that is usually low in fruit and vegetables1. Children’s blood pressure can be affected at an early age, so it is important to ensure that their intake is on par with recommendations.
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| 1 Gregory J et al. (2000) National Diet and Nutrition Survey: young people aged 4 to 18 years. Volume 1: Findings. London: The Stationery Office. |
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| Salt Conversion Chart.
The salt content of a food product is usually displayed on the label under the nutritional analysis in terms of its sodium content rather than salt content (common salt is sodium chloride), which can be a little confusing. Therefore a conversion factor is needed to give the total salt content. This can be done by multiplying the amount of sodium in grams by 2.5 to give the value of salt. If you wanted to convert the other way; multiple the salt content by 0.4. To give you an idea of quantities 0.5g sodium/100g is a lot of salt and 0.1g sodium/100g is a little. |
* Target set by SACN for recommended daily intake for adults |
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| 29th May 2003: Salt minimisation in the public sector |
Some practical solutions to reducing salt intakes
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Caterers within the public sector, i.e. industry, schools, hospitals and prisons were requested, by the government, to reduce the salt content of their meals. Actions have been taken in the past, with success, to reduce salt/sodium levels in various products, including bread and soup, however further reduction is needed. For information on recent reductions of the salt content of bread, visit
http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/…/saltinbread |
Other useful ideas
Tinned goods
Fast foods
Snacks
Meat products Plain meats are naturally low in salt, but salt is added during the processing of meat to produce meat products, such as sausages, bacon, cured meats and pies. You don’t have to stop eating your favourite meat products just because you are worried about the salt content. Lower salt varieties can be purchased so look at the packaging. Also don’t add salt during cooking and most important of all consider what you’re going to eat with your favourite meat product. A balanced meal needs a good serving of vegetables, salad and potato/rice/pasta/or bread alongside your meat option. Aim to have three quarters of your plate filled with these foods and one quarter for your meat. |
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| February 2004: Salt minimisation in industry |
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The British Retail Consortium developed a salt minimisation project. In February 2004 food retailers promised to reduce the salt content of many of their own brand products, without compromising food safety or consumer acceptability.
This programme will be carried out over a period of five years, focusing on two products in the first year and five by the third. Upper limits of salt content will be set, along with other specific guidelines e.g. 4g of salt per sandwich serving, with 50% of all sandwiches containing no more than 2.4 grams. These guidelines will be reviewed yearly in response to changes in shelf life and consumers opinions. It is anticipated that this programme will result in a 10-25% reduction in the nation’s salt intake. Although it must be noted that other measures are required, and we cannot rely on the food industry to reduce our salt intake for us, we can take positive action ourselves, today. |
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| 1st September 2004: New insight into children’s school lunchboxes |
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A study looking at the nutritional quality of children’s lunchboxes revealed that salt intake equated to a staggering half of the total daily recommended intake set for children. Click here for further information on this report.
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| 14th September 2004: Massive Campaign to reduce national intakes |
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The Food Standards Agency (FSA) launched a campaign to reduce the national intake of salt. The FSA revealed that consuming too much salt is a risk factor for high blood pressure, which causes or contributes to 170,000 deaths each year in England, and is thought to cost the National Health Service an estimated 840 million in prescriptions alone. They estimated that 26 million people consume more than the dietary recommended amount of 6g per day.
The FSA also revealed that the food industry is on track for reducing salt levels in processed food by 1g before the end of 2005. The FSA have developed a webpage to help individuals learn about salt, and also contains practical advice on how to reduce levels of salt in our diet. Visit Review the whole FSA campaign on
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Other sites with more information on this topic:
The British Nutrition Foundation has written an informative overview of salt, for more information please use the link below. The BDA (British Dietetic Association) have produced a very good fact sheet, showing salt levels in processed foods, conversion factors, what to avoid, and how to choose various foods i.e. sandwiches with salt contents below 0.5g sodium per meal. Use the link below. http://www.dpp.org.uk/downloads/updashplan.pdf For a more detailed review of the salt issue visit the Salt and Health report written by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition in 2003.
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Food provided in the school environment is important for children’s growth and development, whether provided by the school’s catering system or brought in from home. School meals contribute between a quarter and a third of young people’s daily energy, fat, dietary fibre, iron, calcium, vitamin C and folate intake, so a nutritionally balanced school meal, whether provided by home or by the school, is a crucial way to impact on children’s nutritional wellbeing. Unfortunately research has suggested that although more caterers may be providing some highly nutritious meals, not all children are choosing the best options (see the school meals report for further details). Similarly only a quarter of all school lunchboxes meet the nutrition guidelines (see below). Lunchboxes are still not cutting the grade A recent survey on the nutritional quality of children’s lunchboxes was carried out by the British Dietetic Association on behalf of the Food Standards Agency. This study updated information carried out last year (reviewed on the HET news and factfinder page Standards stipulate that packed lunches should contain at least
Visit the FSA website for exciting lunchbox suggestions Full copy of the report can be downloaded from |
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The Which? Report: Cereal Offenders, March 2004
Breakfast, as we all know, is ‘the most important meal of the day’ due to the need to ‘break the fast’ from the previous nights sleep. However many people skip breakfast, then feel hungry mid-morning and end up snacking on products that are high in salt, fat and sugar. There’s now a good deal of research to show that people who start the day with breakfast cereal are more likely to achieve a good diet overall in terms of nutrients. It is worrying to note then that the majority of breakfast cereals aimed at children contain large quantities of salt, sugar and saturated fat. The Consumers Association carried out a comprehensive survey tabulating the fibre, salt, sugar and fat content of 100 breakfast cereals produced by the 5 biggest manufactures. The cereals were analysed into two categories ‘cereals marketed to children’ and ‘choosing cereals for adults.’ It is worrying that 40% of cereals surveyed were classified as containing ‘a lot’ of salt, which was more than 1.25g salt/100g of cereal. Aside from these findings, the question is: Why do we have to make a distinction between cereals for adults and children? Who says children can’t eat from the same cereal box as their parents? If children were introduced from an early age to the so called ‘adult’ type cereals then this will remove the need for such heavily processed cereals that require high levels of salt and sugar to apparently taste good! Eating breakfast with your children is an important step to encouraging healthy eating habits. For further information from Which? on ready meals, cereals and supplements click here |
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