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Public sector focus


School of fish


M


ore than 30,000 pupils sit down for school dinners in the London bor- ough of Newham each day.


If fish fingers are on the menu, up to 80% of the young diners will select the British meal staple for their main course. Take the same white fish and serve it plain, accompanied with a dill sauce, and the take-up rate drops to 20%, according to Peter Sawula, health and nutrition officer for Newham Catering and Cleaning Services. Sawula says: “When kids think of fish, they see it as having breadcrumbs. But there is a lot more awareness among parents about healthy foods and the importance of ingredients. The message is starting to get through.” The state of school dinners sparked a public outcry in 2005 thanks to celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, and there has been steady progress in improving nutritional standards since those dark days. The latest move saw the introduc- tion of a new set of food standards that became mandatory in maintained schools, new acade- mies and free schools from January 2015. Oily fish, such as fresh, tinned or frozen salmon, sardines, pilchards, mackerel or herring, has to be served at least once every three weeks. The regulations might not be as robust as the Department of Health’s general population advice (two portions of fish each week, including oily fish), but they are said to reflect the balance schools have to strike in enticing, rather than alienating, young fish consumers.


School cooks have their work cut out. A national diet survey in 2014 revealed as few as 8% of children eat oily fish, a food- stuff hailed for containing omega-3 fatty acids linked to maintaining a healthy heart. The battle to boost fish con- sumption is being waged across


28 | The Caterer | 31 July 2015


School cooks are learning imaginative ways to hook pupils on fish. Richard McComb reports


the country including Newham, where Sawula is responsible for setting menus for the bor- ough’s 65 primary and 10 secondary schools. Sawula says: “Fish options are particularly important and appear daily on our primary menus. We offer a wide variety of options to keep the children interested in eating fish regu- larly. We have everything from salmon and cod fillets with dill or cheese sauce to fish bakes, tuna jacket potatoes, wraps and even fish curry.” Schools are encouraged to hold taster ses- sions, with fun cartoon-style characters, to encourage children to step outside their die- tary comfort zone. Working with JJ Food Ser- vice, Newham ensures the majority of its fish is accredited by the Marine Stewardship Coun- cil (MSC) and hopes it will be 100% MSC com- pliant in the near future.


This is welcomed progress for Susan Jebb, project manager of the School Food Plan Standards Panel, chaired by Leon co-founder Henry Dimbleby, which drew up the new food regulations. Jebb told The Caterer that most people, including children, eat “far, far, far less fish than recommended”. Fish and shellfish are great sources of protein and are rich in many vitamins and minerals such as iron and all the B vitamins except folate. Jebb, professor of diet and popula- tion health at Nuffield Department of Pri- mary Care Health Sciences, Oxford University, believes schools have an important role to play in encourag- ing children to eat fish, particu- larly among pupils who come from families where fish con- sumption is rare. Canteen peer pressure and positive role models can be highly effective


in promoting healthy eating. Jebb says: “People learn to like things by exposure and repeated


exposure. Many parents say their children will eat things at schools that they find difficult to persuade them to eat at home. “It’s a good opportunity to boost children’s fish intake and encourage them to lay down the habits of fish eating, which will last them into later life.” But how do school chefs make this tasty and healthy food group more appealing to young


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