New menus feature lower salt and sugar content

Durham County Council was one of the first authorities in the country to pledge big changes in school meals after a review of existing provision.

The review, which coincided with comments by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, identified the need to reduce fat, salt and sugar content in meals.

Trials of new menus at some schools have proved a big hit with pupils.

Durham County Council has signed a deal with school meals provider Scolarest to implement the changes to pupil diets, with more fruit, vegetables and other essential nutrients.

Although the new menus will be introduced from September, they are being piloted in a handful of schools throughout the county, including the Blue Coat Junior School in Durham City.

'Very enthusiastic'

The new two-year contract with Scolarest covers 239 primary and day special schools in the county. The company will provide more than four million school lunches annually.

Alison Hughes, who is leading the project for Scolarest, said: "If every school is as receptive as the Blue Coat School then we're onto a winner.

"The pupils there are very enthusiastic about the new menus, which have gone down extremely well and the results are certainly very encouraging for when the contract is introduced throughout the county."

The revamped meals feature bigger portion sizes for older pupils, with more vegetables and starchy foods such as potatoes and pasta, more fruit, vegetables and salads.

They also include the removal of most processed products, lower levels of fat and sugar, as well as reductions in levels of salt. Extra kitchen hours are also being introduced to allow catering staff to prepare meals and more training and "healthy eating" support for school meals staff.

Durham County Council is also to increase its funding towards school meals by �275,000 over the next year, and an increase in school meals prices to �1.50 will also help support the initiative.