Lunchboxes factfile
Monday 1 September 2003
More than 5.5 billion lunchboxes are packed for children each year in the UK according to Mintel (2002). Of the children who took part in the Agency's lunchbox survey, four out of five had a packed lunch every day of the week.
- The lunchbox industry is worth an estimated £4.1 billion (TNS, 2003).
- 92% of lunchboxes surveyed by the FSA contained food high in fat, sugar and salt.
- At lunchtime, children are eating twice as much sugar than is recommended, close to half their recommended daily salt intake and having high levels of saturated fats.
- Fewer than half the children’s packed lunches surveyed included a portion of fruit or vegetables.
- The favourite lunchbox foods were a white bread sandwich (87%), crisps (71%), a biscuit or chocolate bar (60%), and dairy foods such as yoghurts or fromage frais (48%).
- Only a quarter of the lunchboxes met the standards set for school lunches in the UK.
- 91% of children had a drink in their lunchbox of which 9% were fizzy drinks.
Sources
The FSA's School Lunchbox Survey, May 2003.
'Children’s packed lunches', Mintel International Ltd, December 2002.
TNS consumer usage panels, 2003.
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