Soft drink suppliers are urging the government to retain moderate portions of fruit juice within school meal provision to maintain a “balanced approach” to children’s health.
The government unveiled plans in April to overhaul the school food standards, with proposals to remove fruit juice from primary school menus and to phase it out in secondary schools.
However, the British Soft Drinks Association has warned these proposals “risk undermining efforts to improve children’s diets”.
The trade association said that while fruit juice naturally contained sugar, a 150ml serving counted towards a child’s 5 a day, adding that fruit juice provided vitamin and phytonutrients that support health and wellbeing.
It argued that government data showed household purchases of fruit & vegetables had declined in recent years, with nearly one in five children deficient in vitamin C, which is found in orange juice.
“This ban on fruit juice could backfire,” said BSDA director general Andy Bagnall. “Everyone wants children to eat more healthily, but with fruit & vegetable consumption already worryingly low, cutting fruit juice from school menus would be the wrong move for children’s diets.
“We support efforts to improve the nutritional quality of school food. As part of that, the government’s objective should be to increase children’s fruit & vegetable consumption and encourage uptake of nutritious school meals. Fruit juice can play an important role in achieving both those aims. It needs to stay on the menu as part of a balanced approach.”
However, the Food Foundation previously said that removing fruit juice from primary schools was an “evidence-based, long-overdue intervention”.
It has argued that fruit juice alone accounts for 15% of free sugar intake in primary-aged children and a single 150ml portion delivers around three-quarters of a primary child’s maximum recommended daily free sugar allowance.
Under the government’s wider plans to overhaul the school food standards, schools will no longer be able to offer unhealthy ‘grab and go’ options such as sausage rolls and pizza every day. Deep-fried food will be banned completely and fruit will need to be served instead of “sugar-laden treats” for the majority of the school week.
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