Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee 08 October 2025
Our final new petition for consideration today is PE2173, which was lodged by Lauren Houstoun. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to ban the use of ultra-processed food in school meals across Scotland in order to give our children healthier options.
The SPICe briefing explains that there is no single, universally agreed definition for “ultra-processed food”. Examples of ultra-processed foods might include sweetened breakfast cereals, carbonated soft drinks or confectionery. They might also include low-fat spreads or some flavoured yogurts.
The Scottish Government’s response to the petition states that all food and drink that is served in education authority and grant-aided schools in Scotland are under a statutory duty to comply with the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. Compliance with the regulations is monitored by Education Scotland’s health and nutrition inspectors as part of the school inspection programme.
The Scottish Government’s response also states that current scientific evidence does not support a change to dietary advice in relation to the consumption of ultra-processed foods and notes that the evidence base remains of insufficient quality to propose changes at this time. The submission highlights that not all ultra-processed foods are unhealthy, with many playing an important part in ensuring food safety and standards. The issue of processed and ultra-processed foods is kept under review by the scientific advisory committee on nutrition.
The Government’s submission notes that an outright ban of ultra-processed products would mean that products such as bread, yoghurts and breakfast cereals would no longer be provided in schools. That could have a significant impact on the nutritional content of school meals, including fibre, calcium and vitamins, some of which would be difficult to get in sufficient quantities from other food sources that are available. As such, the Scottish Government does not currently consider that a ban on ultra-processed products in schools would be in the best interests of child nutrition in the light of current scientific evidence and dietary advice.
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