School Meals: Standards
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will assess the effectiveness of the [i] School Food Regulations 2014, [ii] School Food Standards practical guide, [iii] School food standards: resources for schools and [iv] School Food in England and consider the potential merits of adding references to the slaughter methods of meat to [a] provide information to people to understand how their meat is prepared and produced and to [b] provide information to parents and guardians about the school food that their children are eating.
Answered by Department for Education
The School Food Standards set the mandatory nutritional framework for food and drink provided in state‑funded schools in England. They do not specify food requirements in terms of cultural and religious needs.
Beyond the School Food Standards, headteachers, governors and their catering providers are best placed to make decisions about school food policies and provision. The department expects schools to act reasonably by offering choices that take account of cultural, religious and special dietary needs and to work with parents to make appropriate arrangements. Schools should decide how they engage parents about food provision and how they hold discussions. Schools are also best placed to determine what works best for their pupils and wider school community.
All meat produced in UK slaughterhouses must meet the animal welfare standards set out in legislation, which requires animals to be stunned before slaughter so that they are unconscious and insensible to pain. The only exception is where animals are slaughtered in accordance with religious rites. There is no legal requirement to label meat from animals slaughtered without prior stunning. However, where such information is provided, it must be accurate and must not mislead consumers.
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