AS school children from across Hampshire converged this week on the Great Hall at Winchester to receive healthy schools awards, Hampshire County Council leader Ken Thornber has been called upon to defend the practice of serving pre-cooked chicken from Thailand as part of the school dinners menu. His statement attempted to appease Alton parents who feel let down by a system which is expounding the value of healthy eating while, as reported in The Herald last week, importing chicken from a part of the world plagued by bird flu. Not only are parents angered by the potential health risks involved with serving their children reheated chicken that has been flown half way around the world, but they cannot believe that the meat is being imported from a country that is struggling to control the spread of avian flu. Having been led to understand, following the government's "Jamie Oliver" campaign, that all ingredients for school dinners should, wherever possible, be "freshly cooked, locally sourced and organically grown or reared", the feeling is clear - cheap, battery-produced chicken from Thailand does not fit the bill. While in no way condemning the schools themselves, or the in-house catering staff, parents in Alton have directed their wrath squarely at Hampshire County Supplies (HC3S) - the company commissioned by Hampshire County Council to supply the ingredients for school dinners. In defending HC3S, Mr Thornber has sought to assure parents that the chicken supplied by HCC's catering service will not harm their children and is of a high quality. "I give parents my full assurance that the chicken supplied by Hampshire County Council catering services is perfectly safe to eat. We are committed to providing schools with a quality service with traceable food products of a high standard." And he stressed: "No-one can catch avian flu from eating meat. The only way to catch this form of influenza is from contact with live birds. "The cooking process for the chicken and all the meats used is also completely safe and meets the regulations put in place by environmental health." Mr Thornber concluded: "HC3S is an excellent service which has just been awarded the internationally-recognised hospitality assured award for achieving service and business excellence in its school meals provisions. Last year HC3S became the first and only school meals service to receive the highest standard award from the Hyperactive Children's Support Group for its removal of 70 additives from the school menu. "We continue to strive toward improving our catering services and hope that these recognitions illustrate some of what has been achieved." Carol Walters - headteacher of Anstey Junior School, one of three schools mentioned by parents in last week's article as offering imported chicken on their school dinners menu - has also sought to assure parents that the meals children get at school are healthy. In a statement Mrs Walters told The Herald: "At Anstey Junior School pupils are able to choose each morning from the menu choices to ensure that they always receive the lunch they prefer. Our recent Ofsted inspection highlighted that with regard to the well-being of pupils, Anstey Junior School is "outstanding". "Our school governors are actively involved with HC3S, ensuring that school dinners at Anstey Junior School are the best they can be. HC3S have assured us that the chickens used in school meals is completely safe to eat."
