THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Pork is being banned from school dinners even where the majority of parents have no religious objection to it.Head teachers are deciding for “cultural” and “religious” reasons to drop traditional sausages and ham from children’s lunches.
One council has issued "best practice" advice to all schools in its area to “ban all pork products in order to cater for the needs of staff and pupils who are not permitted contact with these for religious reasons”.
The guidance, issued in Haringey, north London, does not specify what proportion of a school’s intake should object to the meat - which is not eaten by devout Muslims or Jews - before it is dropped.
The policy was criticised last night by MPs and farmers’ leaders, who accused head teachers of depriving other children of a choice and pointed out that all schools already offer vegetarian options.
Pabulum, a school caterer in south-east England, said that around 20 of the 48 primary schools it supplied chose only non-pork lunches.
Most serve no halal or kosher meat, however, so many Muslim or Jewish pupils would not be able to eat the dishes anyway.
In Luton, 23 out of 57 schools which contract their dinners from the local authority have a “no pork” policy. In Bradford the figure is 24 out of 160; in Newham, east London, it is 25 out of 75; in Tower Hamlets, east London, it is 85 out of 90. In Haringey’s infant, junior and primary schools, 37 out of 47 serve no pork. Read on and comment » | Julie Henry, Education Correspondent | Sunday, June 17, 2012
