Jamie Oliver warns Michael Gove on academy school meals
TV chef Jamie Oliver has said Education Secretary Michael Gove is endangering pupils' nutrition by not controlling what food academy schools provide.
He said he was "totally mystified" that academies were allowed to determine what food should be on offer, while state schools follow strict rules.
"The public health of five million children should not be left to luck or chance," he told the Observer.
The government says it trusts schools to act in their pupils' best interests.
A campaign by the chef led to tough new legal standards on school meals in England.
Oliver told the newspaper: "This mantra that we are not going to tell (academy) schools what to do just isn't good enough in the midst of the biggest obesity epidemic ever."
'Playing with fire'
Referring to Mr Gove, who enabled more schools in England to become academies through the Academies Bill in 2010, Oliver said: "I have got nothing against him personally. But the health of millions of children could be affected by this one man.
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... (BBC News - 22 April)