§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what representations she has received about the effect of school meal sweets on dental decay; if she has considered the survey carried out by Professor Bender on this subject; if the Committee on Catering Arrangements will be considering the content of school meals; and if she will make a statement;
(2) if she is aware of the concern of the British Dental Association about the high sugar content of school meals and its impact on the dental health of children; if she will meet members of this association to discuss their concern and proposals; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasThe British Dental Association wrote to the Department in November expressing concern about school meals with particular reference to the cariogenic effects of sweet sticky foods and suggesting that dental aspects should be covered in any consideration of nutritional changes in the school meal. They were told that while the Committee on Catering Arrangements in Schools was concerned primarily with organisational, administrative and financial aspects, it was open to it to recommend that the nutritional value and 135W balance of the school meal should be reviewed. The association was assured that in any such review cariogenic factors would be among those considered, and indeed it can be assumed that the association would be invited to submit evidence to any such review body.
A national survey is at present being conducted under Government auspices into the dental health of school children, but my right hon. Friend is not aware of any survey specifically directed to the effect of school meal sweets on dental decay. She is aware of Professor Bender's reference to this factor in his report of a survey of 772 meals in 48 schools in Essex carried out between November 1970 and May 1971 when he found that the amount of sugar in the average meal examined exceeded the recommended intake by a small margin. A food analysis return by the local education authority to the Department relating to four consecutive weeks in the period covered by the survey showed that the average intake was slightly less than the recommended figure over a very much higher sample of meals.