Food Standards Agency lifts lid on children's lunchboxes in the South East

Wednesday 1 September 2004

Ref: 2004/0511

The Food Standards Agency's (FSA) second survey of school lunchboxes reveals that children in the South East who take a packed lunch to school are eating too much fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar.

From their lunchbox foods alone, children are eating up to double the recommended lunchtime intake of saturated fat, over double the recommended lunchtime intake of sugar* and up to two-thirds (61%) their daily recommended salt intake. Also less than a quarter of lunchboxes (20%) in the South East currently meet the Government nutritional standards that were set for school meals in 2001.

With an estimated 5.5 billion** lunchboxes packed for children each year in the UK and with nine out of ten surveyed children choosing to take a packed lunch to school each day, the FSA recognises the challenges parents face when putting together nutritious, practical and affordable packed lunches that their children will actually eat.

To support parents, the FSA has provided a range of information on this website that includes:

• two months worth of simple lunchbox suggestions
• top lunchbox recipes – for parents and children to make together
• top tips on how to reduce sugar, saturated fat and salt in lunchbox foods
• nutritional guidelines for parents – what foods school children need to stay healthy
• information for schools on the FSA's Cooking Bus

The survey, which looked at 688 home-packed lunchboxes for children from 28 schools across England, revealed that since last year the amount of fat in an average child's lunchbox has increased by three grams, of which saturated fat has increased by one gram.

The most popular lunchbox food items were sandwiches or rolls present in eight out of ten packed lunches (82%), a packet of crisps (69%), dairy items such as yoghurts, cheese or milk-based products (59%), biscuits or chocolate bars (58%) and cakes and cereal bars (29%).

The majority of fat present in the surveyed lunchbox foods was shown to come from crisps, fat spreads, cheese products, chocolate bars and biscuits. Foods contributing to high salt intake included white bread, crisps and processed meats and the higher levels of added sugars came mainly from fruit squashes, chocolate-covered bars and biscuits and yoghurts.

The survey also revealed under a fifth of lunchboxes (16%) did not contain a starchy food such as sandwiches, pasta or rice and that just under half the lunchboxes surveyed (48%) failed to contain a portion of fruit or chopped veg. Only one lunchbox contained a salad. Nutritional standards state that school meals must offer at least:

• one portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables
• one portion of milk or dairy item
• one portion of meat, fish or other protein source
• one portion of a starchy food such as bread, pasta or rice

Sam Church, nutritionist at the Food Standards Agency said:

'Parents want the best for their children but everybody knows how difficult and stressful it can be to get children to eat a wider range of different and healthier foods. Our survey findings revealed that children need to eat more starchy foods such as bread, pasta, rice, fruit and veg and dairy foods such as yoghurts; so the Agency has incorporated these foods into two months' worth of lunchbox suggestions. We have also tried to make eating healthily a fun experience for children and have selected some quick and simple lunchbox recipes that both children and their parents can make together. These will stimulate kids' interest through different colours, shapes and tastes and will help them try a wider range of foods.

'We all know that what children eat now can have a big impact on their diet and health in the future and that there is nothing wrong with children having the odd snack – but these should be eaten in moderation and as part of a varied and balanced diet.'