Confectionery and savoury snacks with more than a certain amount of salts, fats and sugars, are to be banned under guidelines released by the Scottish Government last year.

The document also says that menus at school lunches must not contain more than three deep-fried items, including chips, in a single week, and also states that chips can only be served as part of a meal, not on their own and no additional salt will be allowed.

Soft drinks are also banned, to be replaced with water, skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, or fruit juices.

The rules have been in place since August of last year in primary schools.

Angus Thomson, catering and cleaning manager for Fife Council, said that schools had been slowly phasing the guidelines in since last year in preparation for them coming into effect.

He said: "The school meals themselves haven't changed to any great extent, what has changed are the peripheral items. Confectionery and all these sorts of items have been removed."

He admitted that the guidelines may lead to pupils leaving the school to buy food elsewhere.

He said: "It's always going to be a problem. Pupils have the freedom to leave at lunchtime and they can and will do. However, we have the moral high ground. Obesity in childhood is growing year on year and it must be tackled."



Gordon Mackenzie, rector of Balwearie High School, said that there had been a push towards promoting healthy eating in schools irrespective of legislation.

He said: "We have been trying for the last few years to replace food in the vending machines with healthy options. I think its important that schools are engaging in promoting healthy eating."

He added: "As a health promoting school, we already offer healthy options in our snack machines, in line with the legislation.

"The catering service provide a range of meals, with good variety, and the food itself is excellent. Clearly one of the things we try to do is match the demand, but through the menus on offer we are trying to educate young people in healthy eating."



Audrey May, headteacher at St Andrew's High School said that the new menu had been implemented without pupils leaving to eat elsewhere.

She said: "Our school meals have offered healthy options for the past two sessions and we have not noticed any significant changes to the numbers of our pupils eating in the dining hall.

"As a fairtrade school we consult our pupil council with regard to our vending machines and aim to offer our pupils a range of healthy and fairtrade options."