A school in the United States has apologised to students for the "anxiety and any harm" it may have caused by dishing up a kangaroo meat dish for lunch.

Key points: The school's superintendent vowed students would not be served kangaroo again

The school's superintendent vowed students would not be served kangaroo again He said the meat was "exotic", and insisted the school menu would be limited to "normal staples" in future

He said the meat was "exotic", and insisted the school menu would be limited to "normal staples" in future Last year, Australians were urged to eat more kangaroo

The students were served a chilli made with a mix of beef and kangaroo on October 10, Nebraska's Potter-Dix Public Schools superintendent Mike Williams said in a public letter.

He explained that the school's head cook, Kevin Frei, chose roo for the meal because it was a very lean meat.

However, Mr Williams had a few "thoughts on this situation".

"1. If a family wants to eat exotic foods, they can do so on their own time — not at school," he wrote.

"2. If we were to have food or ingredients that are out of the ordinary, they should be listed on the menu so that the students and families are aware of what they would be being served.

3. "We will no way be serving food of this nature again. Period."

KSID — a radio station based in Sidney, Nebraska — said the school received two complaints, one of which claimed their child became ill after the lunch.

Mr Williams said he did not believe kangaroo meat was unhealthy or dangerous, but emphasised the fact it was not a normal staple of the school community's diet.

"On behalf of Potter-Dix Public Schools, I apologise for the anxiety and any harm that this has caused individual students and/or families," he said.

The school also shared the letter on Facebook, with a note advising readers that all comments about the matter on its page would be deleted.

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While Mr Williams swore off kangaroo, an ecologist last year urged Australians to eat more of the red meat.

Australia's kangaroo meat exports are also growing by about 10 per cent per annum, with about 4,000 tonnes sent overseas last year.

According to the Kangaroo Industries Association of Australia, kangaroo meat is 98 per cent fat free, and high in both iron and protein.