Healthy Eating in Schools: A Guide to Implementing the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008

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Section 6: Standards for food outwith the school lunch

Schools must comply with the standards that apply to food that can be provided in food outlets outwith the school lunch service. These standards are set out in the table below. The drink standards that apply to outlets outwith the school lunch are covered in section 4 of this guidance.

Table 5: Food Standards that apply to food that is provided in food outlets outwith the school lunch

1. Fruit and vegetables

A variety of fruit and/or vegetables must be available in all school food outlets.

2. Savoury snacks

Only pre-packaged savoury snacks with:

  • pack size of no more than 25g
  • no more than 22g of fat per 100g
  • no more than 2g of saturates per 100g
  • no more than 0.6g of sodium per 100g
  • no more than 3g of total sugar per 100g

are permitted.

3. Table salt and other condiments

Additional salt must not be provided in schools.

Condiments (if available) must be dispensed in no more than 10ml portions.

4. Confectionery

No confectionery can be provided.

5. Fried foods

Fried foods cannot be provided.

Why are these standards important?

The Standards for Food Outwith the School Lunch and the Drink Standards ( section 4) have been set to complement the work already undertaken by school catering providers and signal a clear and consistent message to pupils about what sort of foods and drinks they should eat throughout the school day.

The standards support the principles of a whole school approach to healthy eating and help to encourage and support young people throughout Scotland to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Hungry for Success brought about many significant improvements in food and drinks offered to pupils for school lunch. Lunch menus have changed significantly thanks to the work of catering providers. It is now important to continue this positive work by ensuring that food and drink standards are applied to improve the food and drinks in other food outlets in schools.

Which food and drink settings do the standards cover?

Pupils have access to foods and drinks in a range of settings in school. The Standards for Food Outwith the School Lunch and Drinks Standards require to be implemented within the following school food outlets if they are operated by the local authority, managers of a grant aided school or by another person or organisation on their behalf:

  • breakfast services and clubs
  • tuckshops
  • mid-morning and afternoon break services
  • vending services
  • community cafes
  • after school club providing snacks or meals.

In schools there are often other contexts where food and drink is provided or sold outwith lunch (e.g. enterprise activities, prizes and rewards). Eating for health can be explored across the curriculum and through many activities outwith the classroom, offering a wealth of opportunities for active pupil participation. It is a natural focus for work on enterprise and citizenship. Where enterprise projects involve food and drink, pupils should take account of the nutritional regulations. Likewise, prizes and rewards should comply with the regulations.

What foods can be provided?

Table 6 helps to interpret the Standards for Food Outwith School Lunch.

  • The 'YES' section specifies the foods that must be available in food outlets and which children and young people should be encouraged to eat.
  • The 'SELECT WITH CARE' section specifies the categories of foods that are allowed to be used or provided in food outlets, but which must be carefully selected to ensure that the criteria stipulated in the standards are met. It also gives examples of foods included in these categories.
  • The 'NO' section specifies the categories of foods that are not allowed to be provided, and gives examples of foods included in these categories.

There is a wide range of other foods that are not covered by the standards that can still be provided in school food outlets. It is important for those responsible for school food provision to ensure that healthier food choices are promoted ( see section 7 on guidance in relation to other foods not covered by the Standards).

YES

SELECT WITH CARE

NO

Foods that must be available:

TickA variety of fruits and/or vegetables must be available in all school food outlets.

These could include for example:

  • Whole or pieces of fresh fruit
  • Canned fruit in natural juice
  • Raw vegetables
  • Salads

There is a wide range of other foods that are not covered by the standards that can still be provided in school food outlets (see section 7).

Foods that can be provided if specific criteria are met:

  • Dried fruit (with no added sugar or salt).
  • If condiments are available, they must only be dispensed in no more than 10ml portions.

    This includes for example: tomato ketchup, brown sauce, salad cream, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles and relishes.
  • Only savoury snacks that have reduced amounts of fat, saturated fat, sodium and sugar and in a pack size no more than 25 grams are allowed.

    This includes for example: crisps, crisp-like products, pretzels, salted or sweetened popcorn, rice crackers, cream crackers, oatcakes and bread sticks.

    See Annex 4 for a detailed step-by-step guide on how to select savoury snacks that meet this criteria.

Foods that cannot be provided:

cross No confectionery

cross No chocolate and chocolate products (e.g. bars of milk, plain or white chocolate, chocolate flakes, buttons, or chocolate-filled eggs, and chocolate spread)

cross Chocolate coated products (e.g. partially or fully-coated biscuits, chocolate coated fruits or nuts, choc ices and chocolate-coated ice-cream and cereals coated with chocolate)

cross No sweets including sugar-free sweets (e.g. boiled, gum/gelatine, liquorice, mint and other sweets, lollypops, fudge, tablet, toffee, sherbet, marshmallows and chewing gum)

cross No chocolate, yoghurt or sugar-coated dried fruit and nuts

cross Cereal bars, processed fruit sweets and bars

cross No fried foods, including products deep-fried in the manufacturing process

This includes for example: chips, pakora, spring rolls, potato waffles, potato wedges, fried bacon, fried sausages, fried burgers and pre-prepared coated, battered and breaded products, e.g. chicken nuggets, fish fingers, potato shapes, battered onion rings and doughnuts.

cross No savoury snacks, with a fat, saturated fat, sodium and sugar content over the criteria specified on page 61, and in a pack size greater than 25g

cross No additional salt should be provided

Advice on dried fruit

Although dried fruit (without added sugar/salt) can be sold outwith the school lunch, it is preferable to limit the availability of this type of fruit to mealtimes. Dried fruit is a concentrated source of sugar. Frequent exposure to sugar damages teeth.

Advice on savoury snacks

Although savoury snacks meeting the specific criteria shown in the table above can be provided or sold outwith the school lunch, schools need to consider carefully the placement and availability of such snacks, e.g. in vending machines, as these products are not permitted to be provided during the school lunch service.

Advice on oils and spreads

Oils and spreads outwith the school lunch should comply with the criteria under Standard 4 on page 29.

Page updated: Friday, September 12, 2008