BPEX: Call for more pork sausages for schools
BPEX is calling for a review of how often sausages are served in schools following a survey which showed parents believe children would be more likely to eat a school meal if pork sausages were on the menu.
The research, undertaken by YouGov for the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), also reveals the importance of quality with 65 per cent of parents saying they wanted to see more sausages on the school menu made with Quality Assured pork.
At present the rules on school meals say sausages can only be served once every two weeks but most schools use a three-week cycle and still only serve them once.
BPEX foodservice trade manager, Tony Goodger, said: “The research showed a quarter of parents want to see pork sausages served up more frequently.
“Clearly they know that their children enjoy eating them as part of a balanced diet and can even help encourage them to eat certain foods.
“This mirrors earlier research that we undertook at a previous LACA conference which showed that school meal uptake increased by 12 per cent when sausages were on the menu.
“What’s more, the majority of school meal managers would be happy for sausages to appear twice on the menu cycle.
“We believe that this should be recognised by the School Food Trust and Government when next reviewing the standards.
“Quality assured pork sausage
s can fit the bill, but all too often they are overlooked as caterers find the rules too complicated. We want to change opinion and show that sausages make a great choice and fit well within school meal standards.”
Source: BPEX
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