Revenge of the Turkey Twizzlers as Jamie's campaign backfires

Published on Friday 23 October 2009 22:10

HE DECLARED war on Turkey Twizzlers and tried to enlist the nation's dinner ladies in a campaign to introduce school children to healthy food.

But a new report says Jamie Oliver's School Dinners campaign has actually led to a drop in the numbers of children choosing to eat a midday meal cooked in a school kitchen.

Only one in five parents says their child regularly has school meals – with the majority still choosing to take packed lunches or to buy sandwiches or takeaways at lunchtime.

The survey by market analysts Mintel says attempts to introduce healthy eating have backfired.

"Children do appear to want to eat more healthily, although they are reluctant to do so if it means drastic changes to their current diet," the report said.

"Hence the popularity of products free from artificial colours and food stations (such as salad/sandwich/jacket potato bars], which allow children to customise their meal and add in a touch of 'good' and 'bad' elements."

The report says that local authorities and caterers have found it difficult to provide healthy meals within the budget allowed.

"The moral and socially responsible aspects of Jamie Oliver's healthy eating campaigns may have been lauded, but they have also had significant financial implications, many of which continue to incapacitate both in-house school caterers and private contractors.

"Indeed, while the majority of operators just about manage to break even, a small proportion have been running at a deficit, leading to some contracts being withdrawn or contractors no longer bidding for certain school contracts."

Scotland, which introduced healthy eating guidelines earlier than England, has the highest proportion of satisfied parents, with 38 per cent saying they are happy with school dinners as they are, and 27 per cent saying they are good value for money.

But Scots are the least likely to support a clampdown on vending machines – with only 38 per cent saying they supported stopping children buying fizzy drinks and crisps at school.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We are taking action to improve the diet of Scotland's young people.

"Teaching children about healthy eating and living is vital and that's why Curriculum for Excellence and health promotion in schools is so important."

Oliver's campaign to improve quality of school dinners across Britain was launched in 2005 as part of a reality television programme.

He believed that the future health of the nation could only be improved if schools actively tried to improve the nutrition of pupils, removing snack bar type foods such as chips and burgers, and replacing it with tasty but nutritious healthy alternatives.

During the early days of his campaign, the celebrity chef praised Scotland's school dinner system as being "light years ahead" of the rest of the UK because it made use of fresh local ingredients.