Many schools now meet healthy food targets, over half of the UK's babyfood is organic and we have government targets for breastfeeding. So how come one in six nurseries serve junk food? Our new report, Georgie Porgie Pudding and Pie, produced with Organix, reveals that our toddlers are not getting the healthy start they deserve.

Executive summary

Introduction

• This is the first detailed investigation into the state of food fed to young children attending nurseries in England and Wales. Whilst many changes have been made to school dinners for primary and secondary school children over the last five years, food fed to younger and more vulnerable children has been left behind.
• This report covers research carried out by the Soil Association and Organix, questioning nursery workers and parents, researching case studies of good practice, and looking in detail at the legislative background to food provision in nurseries.
• The younger the child, the more vulnerable their health is to the effects of poor quality nutrition. The bodies of under-fives are developing at a fast rate, which means that the choices, tastes and nutritional quality of the food they eat have a far reaching impact on their food preferences and health later in life.
• In 2006, 618,000 children under the age of five attended nurseries in England and Wales. Whilst there is no complete data, all these children are eating some food during their time at nursery, and a significant minority of children who attend nursery 'full time' will be eating the majority of their food at the nursery.

Research findings

• Research detailed in this report shows that some nurseries are regularly serving food that is not permitted or heavily restricted in primary and secondary schools, including crisps, chocolate, lollies, sweets, cakes, biscuits, burgers and chips.
• Regulations covering the use of food additives such as artificial colourings and artificial sweeteners recognise the special vulnerability of young children by banning the use of some additives in food manufactured for the under-threes. However, the research team found that some nurseries are serving food to children under the age of three that contains such additives, including Sodium aluminium phosphate (E541), Carboxy methyl cellulose (E466), Propyleneglycol esters of fatty acids (E477), Calcium stearoyl lactate (E482), and the colouring Norbixin (E160(b)), as well as the flavour enhancers Monosodium Glutamate (E621) and Disodium 5-ribonucleotide (E635). Without clear regulation and better information for nursery staff, this situation will continue.
• The serving of foods containing such additives at nursery reveals a legal inconsistency that must be addressed: foods served to children under three years are permitted to contain additives that are banned in manufactured foods for the same age group. With so many young children now eating food at nursery, this is a great cause for concern.
• The amount of money spent on ingredients is sometimes pitifully low. Although not formally monitored, the research found some nurseries spending as little as 25p on ingredients for a child's meal.
• Many parents and nursery staff are unhappy with the current 'unregulated' state of nursery food: 82 per cent of nursery school staff and 85 per cent of parents want clearer and more effective standards for nursery school food. Clear standards already apply in other European countries such as Italy, France, Austria and Denmark.
• In spite of all the challenges, many nurseries are providing an exceptional service to the children in their care. The research team found examples of high quality, freshly prepared, locally sourced and sometimes organic food in all sectors of nursery provision.

The need for better regulation

• Early in 2008, the Government Cabinet Office's Strategy Unit said that "existing patterns of food consumption will result in our society being loaded with a heavy burden of obesity and diet-related ill health" and that "ill health is already costing the NHS £10 billion per annum". Against this background, it is hard to under-estimate the public health significance of the food provided for children in nurseries.
• However, there are no statutory nutritional standards covering the food served in all nurseries, despite the ongoing improvement and introduction of standards for primary and secondary schools. Basic statutory nutrition standards cover state-maintained nurseries, but:
  - These are far less stringent than the standards for primary and secondary schools.
  - There is no systematic monitoring of the food provided.
  - 88 per cent of nurseries fall outside of these basic standards because they are not state-maintained.
• There is no requirement for nursery workers to be trained in nutrition, or food quality, or to understand the limited standards that apply to the food provided for very young children.
• No Government department has been willing to take responsibility for the quality of food provided in nurseries. Despite much questioning, the research team could find no one in the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) that was clearly responsible for this vital service.
• In summary, when considering food served in nurseries in England and Wales, this is the situation:
  - No compulsory training for staff
  - No clear nutritional standards
  - No agency to monitor the quality of food provided
  - No Government department giving a lead or promoting good practice
  - No Government funding available to help nurseries improve provision

Recommendations

The Soil Association and Organix recommend that:

• The Department for Children, Schools and Families takes full responsibility for:
  - Implementing Caroline Walker Trust nutrient-based standards in all nurseries
  - Improving the regulation of food in nurseries
  - Staff training
  - Performance measurement
  - Financial assistance

However, if they are unwilling or unable to do this, the Prime Minister should pass responsibility to the Department of Health.

• The Food for Life standards, used throughout England, should be adopted as basic criteria for nursery school food provision. The Food for Life standards represent the gold standard in food provision in schools, building on the Caroline Walker Trust nutrient-based standards, and to that adding the following criteria:
  - Minimum 75 per cent of meals to be made from unprocessed food/ingredients
  - Minimum 50 per cent of food to be locally sourced
  - Minimum 30 per cent of food to come from certified organic ingredients
  - Environmental sustainability of food provision
  - Appropriate food education

While the Food for Life targets are the best examples of their kind in primary and secondary schools, younger children, who are more vulnerable, deserve such high standards as a minimum in their food
provision. If these standards can work for older children, then the younger and more vulnerable children deserve nothing less.

» Read the full report [PDF, 3.8 MB]
» Take action - sign the petition calling on the Government to put in place nutritional standards that will cover all nurseries

Contacts
Emma Hockridge, Policy Department, Soil Association, T: 0117 314 5000, ehockridge@soilassociation.org
Clio Turton, Press Office, Soil Association, T: 0117 914 2448, cturton@soilassociation.org
Joanna Quinn, PR Manager, Organix, T: 01202 409511, joanna.quinn@organix.com