A ROW has erupted in Alton after parents discovered their children were eating school dinners containing chicken imported from Thailand. The discovery has come as a massive shock to the local mothers who feel let down by a system which is expounding the value of healthy eating while importing chicken from a part of the world plagued by bird flu. While in no way condemning the schools themselves or the in-house catering staff, their wrath is aimed squarely at Hampshire County Supplies (HC3S), the company commissioned by Hampshire County Council to supply the ingredients for school dinners. School dinner lady Helen Pettitt, who has children at Alton County Infant and Anstey Junior School, said the food cooked by in- house school caterers always looks "very good". But she was "gobsmacked" when she discovered that they were using pre-cooked chicken flown in from Thailand. "It is causing a huge furore among parents in Alton. A lot of my friends have said they will stop their children eating chicken at school. And they are questioning where the other meat comes from," said Mrs Pettitt. Following the government's "Jamie Oliver" drive to try and encourage more children to eat healthier meals, schools have introduced new recipes with menus which are said to use freshly cooked, locally sourced, organic ingredients, so the chicken anomaly has resulted in a huge loss of confidence. Jane Cuff has a child at Andrews Endowed School, Holybourne. She found the news "unbelievable". "We don't eat chicken or turkey at home at the moment so I was panic stricken to think my child was being served chicken that has come from an area where bird flu is rife. "Our government is meant to be protecting us, not sourcing the cheapest chicken they can get. If our children are ill, it will fall on the National Health to look after them. It's false economy. "You have to question what more we are unaware of. It could be the tip of the iceberg," she said. Friend Juliette Horton said she was "concerned and horrified" to hear that her seven-year-old daughter was eating chicken, probably battery reared, that had been pre-cooked and flown halfway round the world before being reheated and served to school children. A pupil at Anstey Junior School, Mrs Horton's daughter used to take packed lunches but due to a highly publicised improvement in quality has now opted for school dinners. "I thought the menus were better and we were told that the food would be locally sourced and mainly organic. "But on Friday I found out that the chicken was imported from Thailand. At first I thought it was a silly rumour. Then it was confirmed." While Mrs Horton recognises that she has the option to stop her child having school dinners, she feels it is important that other parents are able to make an informed choice. "This has undermined my confidence in the quality of all the meals, not just the chicken," said Mrs Horton who, while "reasonably confident" that her daughter will not contract bird flu from the meat, is seriously concerned about the risk of salmonella. The big question asked by all three mothers is why, when chicken is produced in the UK, is it necessary to import "cheap meat" from the Far East? Hampshire County Supplies (HC3S) has defended its "food sourcing" which it takes "very seriously", having "rigorous methods in place for checking the quality of all the products used.". The chicken HC3S uses is imported from Thailand by Crown Foods of Lymington, which has local offices in Thailand. According to an HC3S spokesman: "Crown Foods carefully monitors the production sites to see that they meet high standards and quality assurance. The Thai Department of Livestock Development also monitors, licenses, inspects and analyses all products and facilities and there is absolute traceability of the origin of every product batch including on-farm records of feed and veterinary care." She continued: "Influenza is spread by the airborne virus from the lungs of infected people or animals being breathed in by the next victim. "HC3S would like to reiterate to parents that you cannot catch bird flu by eating chicken. You are only at risk of getting bird flu if you come into close contact with infected poultry and via their faeces or bodily fluids."
