Food & Farming · Tuesday, 15 September 2026

England takes deep-fried food and Coco Pops off the school menu

11 stories 13 sources

Signals on this beat

The bar and the word are our reading of how hard each one is pushing, and the arrow is where it is heading.

Diesel costing more High↑

US diesel averaged $6.05 a gallon on Friday, in the middle of the corn and soybean harvest. [2]
A farmer in Devon, England, says rising costs are hitting the farm vehicles used every day. [3]
Syria's government raised the diesel price by 40% on Saturday. [4]

Governments changing menus and labels Building↑

England's new standards take deep-fried food out of school dinners from 2027. [1]
Australia's food standards body has consulted on making most packaged foods carry a health star rating. [8]
The US Department of Agriculture rewrote the wording of its local-food option for school meals. [13]

Animals lost to floods, drought and disease High↑

Nepal's floods may have killed 5 to 10% of the farm animals in the affected areas. [7]
Anthrax has killed 46 hippos in one Zambian game area since July. [6]
Drought has made livestock farmers in 14 Wisconsin counties eligible for payments for lost grazing. [12]

The stories

11 stories on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

01
England takes deep-fried food and Coco Pops off the school menu

1,250

schools in England running free breakfast clubs since February

from next September those clubs must follow nutrition standards for the first time [1]

2 a week

the most often a secondary school may serve cake or another sweet dessert

primary schools drop to once a week, and each dessert must come with fruit [1]

1 a week

servings of ham, sausages and chicken nuggets allowed in England's schools

each must now come with vegetables or fruit [1]
What happened
- England's government has set out new food standards for primary and secondary schools, which it calls the biggest change to school dinners there in over a decade. [1]
- Deep-fried food is banned. [1]
- Chips will have to be oven-baked instead. [1]
- Cake and other sweet desserts drop to twice a week in secondary schools and once a week in primary schools, and each must come with fruit. [1]
- Ham, sausages and chicken nuggets drop to once a week, served with vegetables or fruit. [1]
- Pasta must be 50% wholewheat once a week, and high-fibre bread becomes a requirement. [1]
- Breakfast clubs get nutrition rules for the first time. [1]
- Pastries and fried eggs go, cereal gets a sugar limit, and Coco Pops and chocolate spread are not allowed. [1]
- Since February, 1,250 schools have run free breakfast clubs. [1]
- Free school meals now reach every family on Universal Credit, the UK's main benefit for people on low incomes. [1]
- Schools must publish their food policies and menus online. [1]
- How the rules will be checked is still to be worked out with the Food Standards Agency, the UK body that oversees food safety. [1]
- The standards take effect from 2027 and are paid for out of money schools already get, England's government says. [1]
- The Association of School and College Leaders, the head teachers' union, welcomed them but asked for money for kitchens and chef training. [1]
- Its leader asked England's government not to turn the rules into another stick to beat head teachers with. [1]
- Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set their own school food rules. [1]
- Scotland last changed its law in 2020, and Northern Ireland in 2007. [1]
Who is involved
- Lucy Powell England's education secretary; she called the changes once-in-a-generation
- The Department for Education the department of England's government that runs schools; it wrote the standards
- Pepe Di'Iasio leader of the Association of School and College Leaders, the head teachers' union; he welcomed the rules and asked for money
- The Food Standards Agency the UK body that oversees food safety; it will help design how schools are checked
- Farzana Ahmed head of Oasis Blakenhale, a Birmingham school with a free breakfast club; she welcomed the changes and wants clearer guidance
How it unfolded
1. 2007 Northern Ireland last updates its school food rules [1]
2. 2020 Scotland updates its school food law [1]
3. Feb 2026 free breakfast clubs begin; 1,250 schools now run one [1]
4. 13 Sep England's new school food standards are announced [1]
5. End of 2026 new school food guidance comes into force in Wales [1]
6. 2027 England's standards take effect, with breakfast club rules from September [1]
Why it matters

Watch for the plan to check school menus, which England's Department for Education is drawing up with the Food Standards Agency. [1]
The truth
- What is really going on England's Department for Education is changing what children eat by rewriting the menus of the school meals and free breakfast clubs the state already pays for, from 2027, with no new money for school kitchens. [1]
- Why it works on people A named cereal like Coco Pops makes a menu change easy to picture and easy to cheer, before anyone asks who pays to cook what replaces it.
- Who gains Children at England's free breakfast clubs — From next September their clubs must limit sugar in cereal and drop pastries, where before there was no guidance at all. [1]
- Who gains Families newly eligible for free school meals in England — Eligibility now covers every family on Universal Credit, and one Birmingham school expects about 70% of its pupils to get free meals, up from about 60%. [1]
- Who pays School cooks and head teachers in England — They must meet the new standards from 2027 out of the money schools already get. [1]
- Nobody knows yet
  How England's new school food standards will be checked.
  
  The monitoring plan is still to be developed with the Food Standards Agency, and a Birmingham head teacher says schools need more guidance on what it will look like day to day. [1]
- Nobody knows yet
  What the new menus will cost schools.
  
  England's government says the changes are paid for from money schools already get. [1] The head teachers' union says kitchens and chef training need more investment, and the report gives no figure for either. [1]
Good news
- Free school meals in England opened this year to every family on Universal Credit. A boy at Blakenhale Juniors in Birmingham who used to eat cold sandwiches and come home starving now gets healthy school meals and a snack.

02
US diesel passes $6 during the harvest
What happened
- Diesel in the United States averaged $6.05 a gallon on Friday, above the record $5.85 set on 4 September, according to the motoring group AAA. [2]
- It cost about $3.76 before the US and Israel went to war with Iran in late February. [2]
- American farmers are harvesting corn and soybeans now. [2]
- Jason Kurtz, who farms in Missouri, says his combine burns 200 gallons a day and he is paying twice as much for diesel this year. [2]
- Syria's government raised diesel by 40% on Saturday, and it has more than doubled there since February. [4]
Why it matters

Diesel runs the combines and tractors, and the trucks that haul grain from the field to wherever it is sold. [2]
Kurtz says he will put off some farm work in the hope that the price falls. [2]
The truth
- What is really going on In the United States, diesel passed $6 a gallon in the middle of the corn and soybean harvest, so farmers are paying more just to bring the crop in. [2]
- Who pays US corn and soybean farmers — A combine can burn 200 gallons of diesel a day, and one Missouri farmer is paying twice as much for diesel as last year. [2]
- Nobody knows yet
  How long US diesel stays above $6 a gallon.
  
  It rose from $5.85 to $6.05 in a week, and a Missouri farmer is putting off some work in the hope that it falls. [2]
03
Nepal's floods buried rice and killed animals
What happened
- The flash floods that hit Nepal's Bhote Koshi-Trishuli river valley on 26 August killed more than 1,000 people, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says. [7]
- Its early count of farm damage puts about 1,800 hectares of crops damaged, mostly rice paddies, with losses near 7,700 tonnes. [7]
- The 11 affected municipalities held more than 350,000 cattle, buffalo, sheep and goats and 1.6 million poultry. [7]
- The FAO estimates that 5 to 10% of those animals may have been lost. [7]
Why it matters

The FAO says losing an animal means losing food now and income and production later. [7]
It is giving emergency vet care, and says farms need help to plant again before the next season. [7]
The truth
- Who pays Farming families in Nepal's flood areas — About 7,700 tonnes of crops were lost, mostly rice, and up to a tenth of their animals may be gone. [7]
- Nobody knows yet
  How many farm animals Nepal's floods killed.
  
  The FAO's count is preliminary: thousands of animals reported lost, and an estimate of 5 to 10% of the animals in the 11 affected municipalities. [7]
04
Anthrax in wild animals that people ate
What happened
- Anthrax has killed 46 hippos, eight elephants, five buffalo and a crocodile in Zambia's Munyamadzi game area since July, the country's disaster management unit said. [6]
- Twelve people who ate meat from the dead animals are infected and being treated, and nobody has died. [6]
- Anthrax is a bacterium whose spores live in soil for years and mostly kill grazing animals. [6]
- Officials told people not to eat, sell or handle meat from animals that died suddenly, and want hunting there suspended. [6]
Why it matters

The unit's coordinator said local people ate the carcasses because they depend on that meat for food. [6]
In 2011 five Zambians died after eating meat from hippos infected with anthrax. [6]
The truth
- Who pays People in Zambia's Munyamadzi area — They depend on wild meat for food, and are now told not to eat animals that died suddenly. [6]
- Nobody knows yet
  How many people in Zambia ate meat from animals that died of anthrax.
  
  Twelve are known to be infected, and officials have not yet found how far the outbreak has spread. [6]
05
Smithfield expects a loss on fresh pork
What happened
- Smithfield Foods, one of the biggest US pork companies, said on 8 September that its fresh pork business will lose $70m to $90m in the three months to September. [5]
- It made $10m there a year earlier. [5]
- The company pointed to falling hog prices and a falling USDA pork cutout, the US Department of Agriculture's measure of what the cuts from one pig sell for. [5]
- Its own hog farms expect a profit of $25m to $45m, against $89m a year ago. [5]
Why it matters

Its biggest business, packaged meats, kept its yearly profit forecast of $1.08bn to $1.15bn. [5]
So the squeeze sits with fresh pork and the company's pig farms, and Smithfield said cautious shoppers are part of it. [5]
The truth
- Who pays Smithfield's hog farms — Their profit for the quarter is forecast at $25m to $45m, against $89m a year earlier. [5]
- Nobody knows yet
  Why US pig prices have fallen this far.
  
  Smithfield points to lower hog prices, a lower pork cutout and cautious shoppers, but gives no figures for any of them. [5]
06
Louisiana fishers sue over a mud spill
What happened
- Twenty commercial fishers, fishing guides and seafood processors in south-west Louisiana are suing Venture Global, a company that exports liquefied natural gas. [10]
- They say dredging for its new $30bn CP2 terminal spilled mud that killed millions of oysters and cut catches of fish, crabs and shrimp. [10]
- The company says a discharge carried more sediment than expected into a channel in August 2025, and that it has worked on clean-up since. [10]
- It is at least the third suit over CP2, and court-ordered mud testing is due later this month. [10]
Why it matters

One plaintiff, Tad Theriot, puts his losses above $450,000 and does not know when his fishing grounds will recover. [10]
The company is widening a channel near Calcasieu Lake, and one oyster farm had 5.3 million oysters where that channel enters the lake. [10]
The truth
- Who gains Venture Global — Its $30bn second export terminal is still being built while at least three suits over the dredging go through the courts. [10]
- Who pays Fishers around Calcasieu Lake in Louisiana — One puts his losses above $450,000 and does not know when, or if, his fishing grounds will recover. [10]
- Nobody knows yet
  Whether Venture Global's mud spill killed Louisiana's oysters.
  
  The fishers say it did, and the company says only that more sediment than expected escaped and it has worked on clean-up. [10] Court-ordered testing of the mud is due later this month. [10]
07
Australia weighs compulsory health stars
What happened
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the body that writes food standards for both countries, has consulted on making most packaged foods show a Health Star Rating. [8]
- The rating gives a food from half a star to five, marking it down for energy, saturated fat, sugar and salt and up for protein, fibre, fruit and vegetables. [8]
- It is voluntary now, and 60 to 77% of shoppers say it helps them find healthier food. [8]
- An Australian TV investigation, Four Corners, questioned whether it works, and the competition regulator is looking into those claims. [8]
Why it matters

The rating does not take account of how processed a food is, its own website says. [8]
A separate plan to make 30 May the single yearly start date for label changes is at an early stage, with no decision made. [8]
The truth
- Nobody knows yet
  Whether Australia's health star rating becomes compulsory.
  
  Food Standards Australia New Zealand has opened a consultation on it, and the competition regulator is still looking into a TV investigation's claims about whether the ratings work. [8]
08
Drought aid opens in 14 Wisconsin counties
What happened
- The US Department of Agriculture said on 8 September that drought has hit farms across Wisconsin hard. [12]
- Livestock farmers in 14 counties, including Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas and St.
- Croix, can now claim for lost grazing under its Livestock Forage Disaster Program. [12]
- A second programme covers the extra cost of hauling water and feed to animals. [12]
- Claims for this year's losses are due by 1 March 2027, and more counties may qualify if the drought goes on. [12]
Why it matters

When pasture dries up, farmers have to haul in water and feed, and the second programme pays for that extra hauling. [12]

09
A Newark food pantry lets people pick
What happened
- A food pantry in Newark, New Jersey, swapped pre-filled bags for shopping carts and grocery-style aisles in July. [9]
- Staff had seen people sort through the bags and throw some of the food on the pavement. [9]
- The United Community Corporation, the charity that runs it, renamed it the Market at UCC. [9]
- More people are turning to pantries as grocery prices rise and federal food stamp benefits are cut. [9]
Why it matters

The charity's director, Craig Mainor, said giving everybody the same things wasted food that some people did not need. [9]
Pantries that let people choose can help both newcomers and regular visitors feel in control, the New York Times reported. [9]
How it works
Where a government pays for the meal, it gets to write the menu

Because England pays for school meals and free breakfast clubs, its government can take fried food and Coco Pops off their menus.

The twist

England's government does not decide what a family pours for breakfast at home. In a free school breakfast club that it pays for, it can take Coco Pops off the table.
Step by step
1. A government does not decide what a family cooks at home
2. It does pay for school meals and free breakfast clubs
3. Whoever pays for a meal can set conditions on what is served
4. So school cooks must drop fried food, cut desserts and use wholewheat
5. The change reaches every child who eats there, including those on free meals
The same force, elsewhere today

Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.
- Culta's strawberries
  
  Culta buys back the whole crop from its 36 contract growers, so they grow the variety Culta chose.
- The US school local-food option
  
  A school meal programme spending money on food can use the option to send its order to a farm nearby.
- The Newark food pantry
  
  The charity paid for the food and chose every item in the bag, until people threw some away and it let them pick.
Where you've seen this

Road building

a transport agency paying for a bridge can require the steel to be made in its own country

Research grants

a funder can require that results be free for anyone to read

Sports kit

the sponsor paying for the shirts decides which name goes on the front

The catch

The new standards come with no new money, and head teachers say their kitchens and cooks need investment to meet them.

And the whole of it

A pupil at a Birmingham breakfast club, the cook who plans the week and the parent who no longer packs a cold sandwich all live with a menu the Department for Education wrote. Most people who ever ate a school dinner ate from a list like it, and never met the people who drew it up.
The truth
- Who gains People using the Newark pantry — Since July they fill a cart from the aisles instead of taking a pre-filled bag. [9]
Good news
- In July a food pantry in Newark, New Jersey, swapped pre-filled bags for shopping carts and aisles, so the people who use it now choose their own food.

10
Culta takes a heat-hardy strawberry abroad
What happened
- Culta, a Japanese company that uses computer analysis of plant genes to breed fruit faster, is in talks to expand to Australia, the US and Europe. [11]
- It aims for 30 billion yen ($195m) in sales by 2032. [11]
- Its 36 contract growers raise its varieties under licence, and Culta buys back the whole crop to sell under its brand. [11]
- Its strawberry Sakura Drops copes with warm early spring and ships until June, and Culta says it yields 1.4 times more than the leading Japanese variety. [11]
Why it matters

Hotter springs have shortened Japan's strawberry season, which used to run from December to June and now struggles past April. [11]
Culta says it has cut the time to develop a strawberry variety from about 10 years to two. [11]

How it works

Culta buys back the whole crop from its 36 contract growers, so they grow the variety Culta chose.
The idea, in story 09: Where a government pays for the meal, it gets to write the menu →
The truth
- Who gains Culta, the Japanese fruit breeder — It licenses its strawberry varieties to 36 growers and buys back the whole crop to sell under its own brand. [11]
11
US school meals keep a local-food option
What happened
- The US Department of Agriculture published a rule on 9 September that rewrites the wording of an option in its school lunch, school breakfast and summer meal programmes. [13]
- The option lets those programmes prefer unprocessed food that was grown, caught or raised locally. [13]
- The department says the new wording is easier to understand and does not change what the rules mean. [13]
- It takes effect on 9 November unless written objections arrive by 9 October. [13]
Why it matters

The option is what lets a school meal programme give its order to a farm near it. [13]
A small wording change still has to go through a public comment period before it applies. [13]

How it works

A school meal programme spending money on food can use the option to send its order to a farm nearby.
The idea, in story 09: Where a government pays for the meal, it gets to write the menu →

England takes deep-fried food and Coco Pops off the school menu

11 stories on this beat today.

Where a government pays for the meal, it gets to write the menu