 The MSPs want the new standards to apply to all schools |
A new law laying down nutritional standards for school meals has been backed by a committee of MSPs. They also want to see the new law extended to apply to all pre-school nurseries and independent schools.
MSPs on the communities committee said there was a pressing need to tackle the poor health and nutrition of Scotland's young people.
They unanimously supported the Scottish Executive's school meals bill, which will lay down minimum standards.
It will apply to all food served in schools, including that offered in canteens, tuck shops and vending machines.
Junk food will be banned and replaced by healthy meals and snacks, with free bottled water.
The committee also wants councils to clamp down on chip vans parked outside school gates.
The MSPs condemned many food and drink manufacturers for what they said was "an extremely limited range of healthy products".
They said all children should be introduced to good healthy food at an early age.
Committee convener Karen Whitefield said: "The committee wholeheartedly supports the introduction of a duty to promote health in education authority schools and the introduction of nutritional requirements for all food and drink served.
"However, all children in Scotland should benefit from nutritious food, activities and education to promote healthy lifestyles.
"We call on the Scottish Executive to bring forward proposals which will ensure the health promotion duty and the nutritional requirements can also be applied to independent schools and the early years sector."
Free meals
As well as ensuring all food and drinks served in schools meet certain nutritional standards, the bill allows councils to provide free milk and healthy snacks.
The proposed legislation would also require local authorities to reduce the stigma of free school meals by protecting the identity of those receiving them.
A minority of MSPs on the committee complained the bill did not give councils the power to introduce free school lunches.
Three members, Christine Grahame and Tricia Marwick of the SNP and Green MSP Patrick Harvie, wanted a pilot project to assess the benefit of having free school lunches for all pupils.
However, the majority of the committee backed the current system where most pupils are charged for their meal.
'Too little'
The report also highlighted the problem of older students leaving school at lunchtime and buying food from nearby shops and fast food vans.
The Scottish Socialist Party, which had been campaigning for free schools meals in Scotland's primary schools, criticised the report as a "cop out".
Frances Curran said: "Welcome as the limited ideas in this report are, it really is far too little far to late.
"A government that has spent millions lecturing people about their health but runs away from the provision of free school meals and fails Scotland's children has been backed by this supposedly powerful committee," she said.
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All children in Scotland should benefit from nutritious food, activities and education to promote healthy lifestyles
