School children to learn more about their food

11-Sep-2014 - Last updated on 12-Sep-2014 at 09:44 GMT

Young children will gain a better understanding about food

Changes to the recommendations on how pupils should be taught about food in schools could help fill the skills gap in the industry and breed a generation more clued-up on food safety and nutrition.

That’s according to The British Nutrition Foundation’s (BNF) education programme manager Roy Ballam. Ballam said changes to the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA’s) list of core competences for children aged five to 16 would help them gain a better understanding of diet, food preparation, storage and handling and physical activity.

The updated competences now include physical activity in a bid to help children become more active and tackle the UK’s obesity epidemic. They also include an update on consumer awareness to help children understand the importance of food labelling surrounding issues such as allergens and food safety.

Greater awareness

“We need to make sure there is a real awareness with young people that food needs to be treated well,” said Ballam. A generation with a greater awareness about food could lead many to consider careers in the industry, he added.

“I think ultimately this could lead to more people seeking employment in the food industry,” Ballam said. “The aim is to make sure all children leaving school have a good set of life skills. We are hoping this will inspire people to think about careers in all areas of the food chain including nutrition.”

The FSA launched its original competences, developed following consultations with the BNF, in 2007. They are built around the themes of diet, health, consumer awareness, cooking and food safety. They recommend what level of knowledge children should have gained by certain stages in their education.

They have since been widely used and gained support from Public Health England, which used them in resource development for national food programmes and created posters through its Change4Life campaign for schools.

Successfully used in schools

The BNF developed a series of primary and secondary school resources – called Food Route – which were successfully used in schools, Ballam said.

He urged food and drink manufacturers to study the competences so that what people were taught in schools could easily be transferred into the workplace for those starting careers in food and drink.

“We want to make sure there is a consistent framework for anyone involved in supplying food training in schools, so everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet,” he said.

BNF plans to use the new training for school children in its Healthy Eating Week next year.