Research
This section contains recent information on food and health education and consumer trends.
Food and meat price inflation in the UK
KS3/4 and AS/A2 Food Technology
This article looks at how average food prices have moved over the last ten years and in particular at the trend in retail meat prices. It then looks in more detail at food inflation in the last year or so and specifically those commodities that have driven the recent increase in price. An analysis of the input costs of food production so far in 2007 reveals a change in influence compared with previous years.
Communicating the pork message
KS3/4 and AS/A2 Food Technology
This article summarises the main findings of the research conducted by Pathway Research.
World Cancer Research Fund Report
Read the response of the meat industry to the recent World Cancer Research Fund report.
Green Shoots Report (extract)
(Research findings extracted from Green Shoots report published 2006)
KS3/4 and AS/A2 Food Technology
Research shows that convenience foods and ready meals are in decline, while more meals are being cooked 'from scratch' with fresh ingredients. Parents are ignoring 'pester power' and taking control of what their children eat. Health and quality are increasingly driving choice.
Addressing the whole food agenda - top tips for 'stretched' Food Technology teachers
KS 3 Food Technology
Never before has food education been under such scrutiny from government, media and the public. Achieving the balance between practical skills versus industrial knowledge, implementing the Secondary Strategy, working towards healthy school status and supporting primary colleagues under the Food in Schools scheme are just some of the demands that Food Technology teachers wrestle with on a daily basis.
Summary of new nutritional standards for school lunches
In response to the findings of the secondary school meals survey (Nelson et al. 2004), and against a backdrop of increasing concern over children's diets, the School Meals Review Panel (SMRP) was established by DfES to transform school meals.
The panel included headteachers, governors, school caterers, registered nutritionists and dietitians as well as parents and food industry representatives.
The SMRP was asked by the Secretary of State for Education to review existing standards for school lunches and make recommendations to government, with the primary aim of reducing pupils' consumption of fat, salt and sugar and increasing consumption of nutrient-containing foods, such as fruit and vegetables.