Long-term school dinner contracts are proving a stumbling block for getting junk food off the menu, it is claimed.
The revolution, inspired by Jamie Oliver’s television series, is already running into problems with some schools locked into 25-year contracts with private companies leaving them unable to get rid of junk food in the canteen, according to a report in the Guardian.
Other schools are being hit by significant financial penalties if they opt out of contracts with private caterers.
The government has pledged to clean up the canteens by imposing new nutritional standards, but the practical difficulties of imposing change on the private companies has been underestimated.
However, according to figures from market analysts ACNielsen, school meals are already become healthier, with a reduction in orders for chips, chocolate and frozen turkey.
The figures revealed fewer frozen chips were being supplied to schools in the year to March 12, with sales down by £521,000. Frozen turkey sales fell by £463,000 and chocolate dropped £267,000.
A spokesman for ACNielsen said the figures were a clear move away from unhealthy food.
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