A Liverpool school headmaster has been rapped by a city's "Food Police" for handing-out chocolate snack bars to pupils as a reward for effort.
Mr John Waszek, of St Edward's College, Sandfield Park, was given a ticking-off for keeping a stock of KitKat bars as special treats.
Mr Waszek was hauled over the coals by an joint team of NHS and town hall healthy eating inspectors tasked with eradicating junk food, or excesses of salt or sugar in school diets.
The former Roman Catholic grammar school stands in leafy Sandfield Park and is one of the city's most sought-after estanlishments with parents battling to get their children a place on the roll.
Mr Waszek revealed that the "Food Police" trouble began when an auditor from the city's Transforming School Food Strategy carried out an visit and spotted the box of KitKats.
He was sent a note drawing his attention to the fact that the school was in breach of guidelines dating back to 2007 which banned in such items.
The note said: "There are a number of non-permitted school meal items in stock. These include confectionery items - sweets and chocolate."
Mr Waszek said the school operates a policy to promote healthy eating but and felt the official waring was a case of unwarranted interference.
He said: "The person came into school and I was told that chocolate should not be allowed and we were in breach of the regulations.
"I asked 'Do you mean the box of KitKats?' and I was told yes. I just laughed."
Mr Waszek explained that he has a system holding a series of informal "pastoral" meetings to discuss and problems and progress with pupils.
The headmaster explained: "I ask the students would they like a tea, coffee or hot chocolate and they can have a KitKat with the drink.
"That's why we have a box of KitKats in school."
He also revealed the school had also been warned against handing-out a sausage roll to members of sports team after a game.
However, he pointed-out that St Edward's has achieved National Healthy School Status, awarded for excellence in physical activity, healthy eating and emotional health.
Mr Waszek added: "The motives are fantastic. I don't have a problem with the healthy schools sentiment and a lot of the guidelines are absolutely right.
"But our job is made more difficult by legislative requirements."
Dietitians have said that occasional chocolate is harmless as part of a balanced diet, but is inappropriate as a school reward.
Rachel Cooke from the British Dietetic Association said: "Obviously schools need to be teaching the value of healthy eating, and the importance of limiting the amount of chocolate and sweets which we eat.
"Schools now have to work to set nutritional standards, which is why a teacher shouldn't be promoting chocolate as a reward, and obviously dietitians support that and work with schools to promote this.
"The healthy schools eating programme tries to highlight there are no good or bad foods, just good or bad diets, and things like pizza and chocolate are not necessarily bad in moderation, it's all about being sensible with quantities.
"Giving a child a treat for good behaviour or as an incentive is clearly not a bad thing.
"All that we would advise, is that it would be better to offer a range of treats, rather than just offering the occasional bar of chocolate.
"Very often kids would choose some stationary or the chance to take part in an activity over a bar of chocolate."
The Transforming School Food Strategy unit is run in partnership by Liverpool NHS Primary Care Trust and Liverpool City Council.
Liverpool City Council said the team was working with schools to advise and help them meet national healthy eating targets set out by the Food Standards Agency.
A town hall spokesman said: "We have had a fantastic response from schools, who tell us how useful this service is in helping them meet these targets.
"The government says all students are entitled to a broad and balanced diet. We are there to support schools in achieving this.
"This work is having a real impact, with the quality of school meals and food in general improving dramatically in recent years.
"Eight out of every 10 schools have now achieved National Healthy School status which means the vast majority of our schools are providing the very best for students, helping to fight obesity and building a healthier future for our young people."
SC, Liverpool around 2 years, 5 months ago