Schools in the UK should be banned from giving pupils cakes and biscuits as part of their lunches due to their high sugar content, food campaigners say.
They are calling on ministers to overhaul the rules guiding the nutritional content of meals served by schools to ban these sugary snacks.
The call comes from Action on Sugar, a group of nutritionists and other health professionals from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) who campaign on the health risks of eating too much sugar. .
Schools are currently allowed to provide desserts, cakes and biscuits to pupils as part of the lunch they receive on-site, under the School Meals Standard. This includes sweet treats that are purchased or made from scratch, such as cakes, breads, pastries, and scones.
Action on Sugar filed the lawsuit after analyzing the sugar content of dozens of cakes, chocolates and biscuits, as much as 12 teaspoons. For example, Ritter Sport's Marzipan contains 51 g per bag, while the same company's Whole Hazelnut and White Whole Hazelnut contain 44 g, the equivalent of 11 teaspoons.
“These findings support the urgent need to completely ban cakes and biscuits, which are currently allowed at lunchtime in the School Meals Standard, as they have no potential to meet current maximum carbohydrate guidelines. because they are less sexually active,” said Dr. Kawsar Hashem, lecturer in public health nutrition. Head of Research and Impact at QMUL and Action on Sugar.
“We have a duty to every child to make every school a sanctuary from unnecessary sugar so they can grow up healthier, stronger and free from the risk of diet-related disease. There is.”
The campaign group added: “School lunch standards that allow cakes and biscuits at lunchtime may cause children to exceed the daily carbohydrate limit.'' Ministers added that the sugar tax should be extended from soft drinks to other sugar-rich products such as confectionery.
It found that a child who ate cake at lunch, a chocolate bar on the way home from school, and two biscuits after dinner could ingest up to 23 spoons of sugar by doing so. .
A government spokesperson said: “We encourage all schools to promote healthy eating habits and provide nutritious food and drink, and we have recently strengthened our understanding of the School Meals Standard, ensuring that children do not have to spend time in class. We have launched a new training program for school principals to help ensure that children are getting nutritious food through the school.”
“More broadly, we are determined to create the healthiest generation of children in history by shifting our focus from treatment to prevention, including by restricting school children's access to fast food.”
