Home baking ban at school fairs

[Para Handy]

Home baking has been banned from schools in Dundee because the council believes it is a health risk.

 

Letters were sent to parents at a city primary telling them that the cake stall would not be allowed at the end-of-term fun day.

 

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said home-made cakes on school stalls should be safe to eat as long as the bakers followed good hygiene rules.

 

One of Scotland's top microbiologists also said the ban was "over the top".

 

A Dundee City Council spokesman said: "Head teachers have been issued with advice not to sell home-made food goods at events organised by the school itself.

 

"The decision has been taken by the education department on health and safety grounds."

 

The FSA guidance on selling home baking on school stalls states: "Home-made cakes should be safe to eat, as long as the people who make them observe good food hygiene, and the cakes are stored and transported safely."

 

Microbiologist Hugh Pennington told BBC Scotland that the ban was a bit over the top.

 

He said the risk from home bakes was negligible and it was a pity that people seemed to live their lives in an ultra-cautious way.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/8078591.stm

 

Why not just ban kids from school on health and safety grounds

 

I would have been very pleased about that one

 

Its always in the schools favour never in the kids. Just like the banks an error is always on the side of the bank

[MJ]

heard from someone there was a similar ban here. Health and safety quoted, I argued that there are no laws, but they insisted it was an environmental health thing.

 

At my daughters old school they would only allow home baked cakes so that folk knew what was in them (all ingredients had to be listed on a piece of paper) where as in the state schools they only allowed shop bought.

 

To be honest there doesn't seem to be the same tradition of bringing in homebakes for birthdays and festivals up here. Nor have I been asked for any school fairs.