Council concern Derry/Strabane schools operating under food standards guidance past its use by date
Sinn Féin councillor Caroline Devine has voiced concern that schools are operating under food standards guidance that is almost 20 years old.
At December’s Derry City and Strabane District Council meeting councillor Devine told members that schools are currently operating under food standards guidance from 2007, despite the guidance having been revised in 2020.
She put forward a successful motion that council write to the Education Minister, Paul Givan, around the implementation of updated food standard guidance for the district’s schools.
The proposal read: “That this council writes to the Education Minister, seeking clarity on his plans and timeline for replacing the 2007 Nutritional Standards for Food in Schools with the revised and updated standards; and that this council urges the Department to prioritise implementation to ensure that food in schools align with the most up-to-date guidance”.
Councillor Devine noted that the Health Minister [Mike Nesbitt] announced in September that the updated food standards would be adopted across health and social care settings, and said that council ‘urgently needs the Education Minister to do the same’.
“We know there is strong evidence that establishing healthy eating habits in early life is critical as childhood eating patterns are strong influences for lifelong behaviours and can significantly reduce the risk of developing different chronic diseases and long-term conditions in the future.
”If we're serious about reducing the prevalence of overweight and obesity, and delivering on the new healthy futures obesity strategy, then updating the school food standards is essential,” said the Derg DEA councillor.