SCHOOL MEALS
Corporate Watch
September 2005
2. What's wrong with school meals?
Under the privatised school meals system, the stress placed on competition has meant a drive to keep down costs, squeezing out spending on ingredients and on labour, with Best Value interpreted narrowly on the basis of cost. As the following concerns by health experts and unions show, keeping down costs on ingredients has resulted in a reduction of the quality of school food. The concerns raised are not co-incidental, they are the impacts of a vital public service being run for private profit.
2.1 Health
Firms to which school dinners are outsourced have profit not health at heart, so tend to source cheap and poor quality ingredients and favour packaged and processed foods to save on labour costs. The result is that much of the food is high in fat, sugar and salt, and low in fresh fruit and vegetables. Despite this drive to push down costs on ingredients, the price of school meals is actually increasing. The average spent on ingredients per day is 35p[1] (compared to a daily £1.35 by the prison service which includes an estimated 60p for lunch).[2] According to research carried out for UNISON, the average price of school meals in primary schools rose to from £1.03 to £1.31 between 1995 and 2001, whereas if it had risen in line with inflation it would only have reached £1.19.[3] This is because whilst costs are saved through labour and ingredients, further costs mount up through the production, processing, packaging and distribution of food, and administration through procurement and the management of large contracts.[4] For example, according to UNISON, schools in Wiltshire complained that they were paying £2,600 above the cost of meals to cover Sodexho's management costs and investment and to ensure the viability of the contract.[5] A number of studies have illustrated the poor nutritional quality of school meals. According to the Soil Association, school meals contain food that 'every community dietician and the Department of Health urge the rest of us to avoid.'[6] Primary schools provide 'a low grade diet of dematerialised fish, mechanically recovered meat and poor quality produce containing pesticide residues' and are dominated by 'cheap processed and 'fast' food items packed with fat, salt, or refined sugar... and precariously low in essential nutrients.' [7] Additional research by the Soil Association showed that average meals failed to meet recommended nutritional guidelines, with analysis of meals served over a week showing children receiving 40% more salt than recommended, 28% more fat, 20% more sugar, and only 80% of the iron needed.[8] Further research commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills and the Food Standards Authority also found that meals were failing to meet recommendations.[9] Poor quality means many parents opt their children out of school-provided food – which in turn compromises the quality for those staying with provided meals. Often packed lunches are no better, failing to 'deliver sufficient nutrition' and 'very often containing a disproportionate amount of snack foods high in fat, salt or sugar,' according to the Soil Association.[10] The new nutritional standards of 2001 required certain food groups to be made available, rather than regulating the nutritional standard of all food served or a complete meal eaten.[11] The regulations came after a consultation process in which large, private sector catering firms argued that they would not be able to implement quantitative nutrient-based standards,[12] despite such quantitative standards being urged by the Soil Association and the Caroline Walker Trust, a charity set up to advise on nutrition for 'vulnerable groups' including children.[13] A wide platform of experts has urged the government to adopt the quantified nutritional standards of the Trust's recommendations, rather than the narrower food group approach preferred by the catering companies. [14] 2.1.1. Obesity The dietary imbalances described above are the key factors which the World Health Organisation (WHO) links to the growing problem of overweight and obesity, together with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. [15] Obesity is a growing problem in the UK, linked to severe health problems including high blood pressure, heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and various cancers.[16] In 1998 17% of men and 21% of women were obese[17] and two thirds of adults were overweight.[18] Levels have grown by 50% in England between 1980 and 1998, the fastest growth in Europe, so that it has switched from having one of the lowest to one of the highest levels in Europe.[19] Childhood obesity has become a new and growing problem: excess body weight affects a sixth of children, making it the most common childhood disorder,[20] and in 2003, 28% of children in Britain were overweight and 14% obese.[21] The need to address childhood obesity is also urgent because eating patterns and values are formed during childhood which have a serious impact on adult lifestyle,[22] and childhood obesity has a strong likelihood of persisting into adulthood, according to the WHO. [23] Health experts urge that school should be a central venue for tackling obesity. The WHO has highlighted the importance of school as an environment in which children develop eating habits, suggesting that 'studies have shown an effect of school based intervention on obesity prevention,'[24] and that 'there is a need to stress the importance of clear and unambiguous messages to children and youths.'[25] Clearly the quality of school meals plays a huge part in this. According to the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), school catering is 'likely to play an important role in influencing potential weight gain' and is part of the 'pastoral responsibility' of schools,[26] in which regulatory bodies should play a larger role:'Meals in most European schools are poorly regulated and of low nutritional value. Mistaken assumptions are made that young school children are capable of making informed choices despite the contrary evidence. There are few schools with formal mechanisms for ensuring a dialogue between teachers, parents, governors and children ... School catering staff are often poorly educated with no contractual obligations to ensure healthy nutritional meal provision...the overall lack of regulatory processes in most European countries aids the escalating childhood obesity epidemic.'[27]The IOTF report shifts the focus of blame from the individual to society at large, and describes what it refers to as the 'toxic environment' created by the penetration of a commercialised culture into children's lives and food production, in particular the marketing of unhealthy food in schools. [28] According to the Soil Association, 'the provision of healthy, high quality school meals is central to any effective national paediatric health care strategy [on obesity].'[29]
Obesity is more prevalent amongst children from lower socio-economic backgrounds and low-income families, and in particular amongst children from deprived areas.[30] Research has shown that access to shops, particularly those selling fresh fruit and vegetables, is often limited in deprived neighbourhoods, far more than access to shops selling poor quality food.[31] So poor health in such communities is not just down to individual food choices, but is a matter of 'social environment', a response to what is available, and what is marketed.[32] In such cases it is even more crucial that the onus be on public bodies including schools to ensure access to good quality food. 2.1.2 Mental and behavioural health The links between nutrition and mental and behavioural health is controversial but increasingly backed up by scientific study, which suggests that an excess of fatty, heavily processed foods and insufficient nutrients can affect the behaviour, academic achievement and happiness of children. In a time of concern about 'antisocial behaviour' and the growth of health problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), it is crucial to take these links seriously. Fatty acids and vitamins Essential fats are involved in the functioning of the brain. Omega-3 oils, for example, are said to 'improve behaviour...in children with ADHD and related disorders.'[33] Fatty acids are present in fish, nuts, seeds and green vegetables, but crucially are stripped from food by industrial processing, in particular the process of hydrogenating fats to increase shelf life. As a result, the presence of Omega-3 is diminishing. The strong links between these qualities of food and behavioural problems is a powerful case for increasing the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables in children's diet.[34] Research has suggested that behaviour, mood and achievement are affected by whether the brain receives enough of the nutrients it needs to function, and suggests that dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD are related to diet and can be improved with nutritional supplements. In an experiment in Durham amongst underachieving children given fish oils, 40% experienced rapid improvements and 50% of those with ADHD symptoms made enough progress to be no longer counted as having attention disorders. [35] Similarly, a 2002 study found that 'antisocial behaviour in prisons, including violence, is reduced by vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids...there are similar implications for those eating poor diets in the community. 'The study suggested that 'dietary standards should be re-assessed to take account of behavioural effects.'[36] Other studies have suggested that academic performance and behaviour could be improved with increased consumption of vitamins. One study included changes in behaviour at an American high school after the introduction of healthy food into the school cafeteria. [37] Additives In 1999 research was carried out by the David Hyde Asthma and Allergy Research Centre, at St Mary's Hospital, Isle of Wight, on the effect of additives including sodium benzoate and the food colours carmoisine, ponceau 4R, sunset yellow and tartrazine on behaviour. The research concluded that positive changes in behaviour could be achieved by removing the additives from food.[38] The Food Standards Agency judged the methodology of the research inadequate,[39] and agreed to commission a new study.[40] A school in Worcestershire which banned all additives from meals reported a significant improvement in pupil's behaviour.[41] Iron and zinc Iron and zinc deficiencies are both common. 39% of boys aged 7-10, 50% of boys aged 11-18, 59% of girls aged 7-10 and 100% of girls aged 11-18 fail to reach Department of Health recommendations of iron. According to the Soil Association, the relationship between iron level and brain function has been established, and zinc deficiency has been linked to hyperactivity.[42] 2.1.3 Chemicals The Soil Association recommends increasing the sourcing of local and organic food in schools, suggesting that children are especially vulnerable to the health risks posed by high levels of chemicals used in industrial agriculture. High doses of agricultural chemicals in food have been linked to cancer, especially for children.[43] One study has linked a number of chemicals used both for animal weight gain and for pest control in food production, to obesity.[44]
2.2 Labour casualisation
UNISON, the public services union, found that 'a two-tier workforce had or was emerging as a matter of routine in many workplaces' where services are contracted out of local authorities to private companies - a finding it regarded as 'disturbing.'[45] The system of Best Value has meant that 'contractors build into their winning bids lower pay and conditions and poorer pensions for the new workforce.'[46] The following examples illustrate this in force in the school catering sector, which, together with cleaning and care jobs, are the worst affected by the two tier workforce according to UNISON's report:| Lancashire County Council - contracts were awarded to three catering companies, Harrison Catering Ltd, Mellor Catering Services, and Palm City Catering Group. The companies were paying transferred staff £4.80 per hour while pay for new staff dropped to £4.20.[47] Transferred staff were paid unsocial hours payments under the national joint council for local government services (NJC) agreement (salary enhancements above 37 hours a week), while new staff were denied any unsocial hours payments.[48] The companies were also reported to be increasing the number of casual and temporary contracts for new starters.[49] Nottinghamshire County Council - transferred staff in school meals services contracted to Scolarest were being paid £4.80 for a 38 week contract where new staff were hired on £4.60 for a 34 week contract.[50] Stevenage Borough Council - catering contract awarded to Crown Venue Catering in 2001. 'The transferred workforce has changed from a hard working, reasonably happy, conscientious, helpful workforce into a stressed out, unhappy, miserable, overworked understaffed workforce who are continually looking for new employment.'[51] |
2.3 The costs of the 'cheap' food chain
The availability of cheap food relies on the squeezing of livelihoods at other points in the food chain, in particular farmers and producers, and has an implied impact on rural economies and communities. See Corporate Watch's 'Food and Agriculture Project' and reports on supermarkets.References
[1] BBC NEws, 'Cheap School meals 'risk health', 25.09.03, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/3137410.stm, (viewed 16.04.05); School meals and sustainable food chains: The Role of creative public procurement', 2004 Caroline Walker Lecture, Royal Society London, www.cf.ac.uk/cplan/downloads/kjm-lecture.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[2] The Soil Association, 'Food for Life: Do our children need healthy food?' 2003 p.6
www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/9f788a2d1160a9e580256a71002a3d2b/65a3b4988446e96280256db400380e4c/$FILE/Healthy%20local%20organic%20school%20meals.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[3] UNISON, 'School meals in the 21st century', Unison Education Services, London 2002 p.6 www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/12416.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[4] The Soil Association, 'Food for Life: Do our children need healthy food?' 2003 p.17-18
www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/9f788a2d1160a9e580256a71002a3d2b/65a3b4988446e96280256db400380e4c/$FILE/Healthy%20local%20organic%20school%20meals.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[5] UNISON Companies update, June 2004 www.unison.org.uk/bargaining/ doc_view.asp?did=1420&pid;=716 - 19k - (viewed 10.07.2005)
[6] The Soil Association, 'Food for Life: Do our children need healthy food?' 2003 p.11 www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/9f788a2d1160a9e580256a71002a3d2b/65a3b4988446e96280256db400380e4c/$FILE/Healthy%20local%20organic%20school%20meals.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[7] ibid. p.5
[8] Soil Association Press Release, 'School meals fail to meet nutritional standards,' 28.10.04, www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/848d689047cb466780256a6b00298980/c4348a6d752d25aa80256f3a0048831b!OpenDocument (viewed 06.08.05);
[9] Soil Association, 'Charles Clarke vs. Food for Life,' www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/848d689047cb466780256a6b00298980/c4348a6d752d25aa80256f3a0048831b/$FILE/Full%20menu%20and%20chart%20pdf.pdf (viewed 06.08.04)
[10] School Meals in secondary schools in England, Kings College London, Nutrition Works! And National Centre for Social Research for Dfes and FSA, www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RB557.pdf (viewed 06.08.05)
[11] The Soil Association, 'Food for Life: Do our children need healthy food?' 2003 p.22 www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/9f788a2d1160a9e580256a71002a3d2b/65a3b4988446e96280256db400380e4c/$FILE/Healthy%20local%20organic%20school%20meals.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[12] ibid. p.37
[13] ibid. p.43-4
[14] Caroline Walker Trust website, www.cwt.org.uk/abouttrust.html
[15] Letter to Ruth Kelley re: school meals standards, 22.03.05, www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/848d689047cb466780256a6b00298980/fc0600b87ccae23480256fd3003d6227/$FILE/Ruth%20Kelly%20letter.pdf (viewed 06.08.05)
[16] World Health Organisation, 'The world health report 2002 - Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life' Geneva 2002 www.who.int/whr/2002/chapter4/en/index4.html (viewed 09.09.2005)
[17] ibid. p.57
[18] National Audit Office, 'Tackling Obesity in England,' London Feb 2001 p.1 www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/00-01/0001220.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[19] International Obesity Task Force and European Association for the Study of Obesity, Obesity in Europe, the case for action , London Sept 2002 p.7 www.iotf.org/media/euobesity.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[20] National Audit Office, 'Tackling Obesity in England,' London Feb 2001 p.12 www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/00-01/0001220.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[21]International Obesity Task Force and European Association for the Study of Obesity, Obesity in Europe, the case for action, London Sept 2002 p.15 www.iotf.org/media/euobesity.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[22] Dhitri Jotangia, Alison Moody, Emmanuel Stamatakis, Heather Wardle, Obesity among children under 11 Department of Health, Health and Social Care Information Centre p.4 April 2005
[23] National Audit Office, 'Tackling Obesity in England,' London Feb 2001 p.39 www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/00-01/0001220.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[24] World Health Organisation Technical Report Series 916, 'Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases,' Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation, Geneva 2003 p.36-8
www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/who_fao_expert_report.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[25] ibid. p.65
[26] ibid. p.7
[27] International Obesity Task Force and European Association for the Study of Obesity, Obesity in Europe, the case for action , London Sept 2002 p.16 www.iotf.org/media/euobesity.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[27] ibid p.11
[28] ibid. p.8
[29] The Soil Association, 'Food for Life: Do our children need healthy food?' 2003 p.5
www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/9f788a2d1160a9e580256a71002a3d2b/65a3b4988446e96280256db400380e4c/$FILE/Healthy%20local%20organic%20school%20meals.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[30] Dhitri Jotangia, Alison Moody, Emmanuel Stamatakis, Heather Wardle, Obesity among children under 11 Department of Health, Health and Social Care Information Centre p.11-14. April 2005
[31] University of Southampton Press Release, Large Food stores may prove an oasis for consumers in 'food deserts', 09.09.2002, www.externalrelations.soton.ac.uk/media/02122.htm (viewed 03.08.2005)
[32] Kevin Morgan & Adrian Morley, 'Relocalising the food chain: the role of creative public procurement' The Regeneration Unit, Cardiff University p.12
www.organic.aber.ac.uk/library/RelocalisingProcurement.pdf (viewed 03.08.2005)
[33] Food Additives and Ingredients Association www.faia.org.uk/roleofnutrition.php
[34] Felicity Lawrence, 'Why its time we faced fats,' The Guardian 05.05.2005
www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1476219,00.html (viewed 09.09.2005)
[35] ibid.; Food and behaviour research: www.fabresearch.org/view_item.aspx?item_id=456; www.fabresearch.org/view_item.aspx?item_id=473; www.fabresearch.org/view_item.aspx?item_id=805; www.fabresearch.org/view_item.aspx?item_id=761 (all viewed 09.09.2005)
[36] Bernard Gesch, Sean Hammond, Sarah Hampson, Anita Eves, Martin Crowder, 'Influence of supplementary vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids on antisocial behaviour of young adult prisoners.' British jounral of pshychiatry no 181, 2002 p22-28 http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/181/1/22?maxtoshow=&HITS;=10&hits;=10&RESULTFORMAT;=1&author1;=gesch&author2;=hammond&title;=essential+antisocial&andorexacttitle;=or&andorexacttitleabs;=and&andorexactfulltext;=and&searchid;=1119522993831_1253&stored;_search=&FIRSTINDEX;=0&sortspec;=relevance&resourcetype;=1,10&journalcode;=bjprcpsych (viewed 09.09.3005)
[37] The Soil Association, 'Food for Life: Do our children need healthy food?' p.56-7 www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/9f788a2d1160a9e580256a71002a3d2b/65a3b4988446e96280256db400380e4c/$FILE/Healthy%20local%20organic%20school%20meals.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[38] ibid. p.57-8
[39] Food Standards Agency Committee of Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, 'Statement on a research project investigating the effect of food additives on behaviour,' 2001 www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/COTFoodAdditivesStatement.pdf (viewed 09.09.05)
[40] Food Standards Agency, 'Food additives and behaviour in children meeting minutes,' 02.04.2003 www.food.gov.uk/science/ouradvisors/104833/additiveschildminutesfeb2003 (viewed 09.09.2005)
[41] NUT - Briefing on schools' role in promoting child health and combating commercialisation p.3
www.teachers.org.uk/resources/pdf/combating_comm.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[42] The Soil Association, 'Food for Life: Do our children need healthy food?' p.55 www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/9f788a2d1160a9e580256a71002a3d2b/65a3b4988446e96280256db400380e4c/$FILE/Healthy%20local%20organic%20school%20meals.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[43] ibid. p.58
[44] ibid. p.60
[45] UNISON, Best value and the two-tier workforce in local government,' Best value intelligence taskforce, January 2002 p.1 www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/B318.pdf (viewed 06.09.05)
[46] ibid p.1-2
[47] ibid p.5
[48] ibid p.6
[49] ibid p.11
[50] ibid p.5
[51] ibid p.14
[52] UNISON & YMCA, 'The Big Bite! Why its time for the minimum wage to really work,' p.17 November 2004 www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/B1657.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)
[53] ibid p.20
[54] The Soil Association, 'Food for Life: Do our children need healthy food?' p.11
www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/9f788a2d1160a9e580256a71002a3d2b/65a3b4988446e96280256db400380e4c/$FILE/Healthy%20local%20organic%20school%20meals.pdf (viewed 09.09.2005)