France to ration tomato ketchup in school canteens to keep its kids French

Plan introduced to help combat childhood obesity

Banned: Tomato sauce is off the menu in French schools following the introduction of a new decree to try to curb childhood obesity in the country

Garlic butter, mais oui - but tomato ketchup is definitely not on the menu for French schoolchildren these days.

The country famed for its culinary skills has moved to ration the oh-so-Anglo red substance from its canteens.

Baguettes, however, will be distributed in endless quantities to children as part of a government decree that came into force this week.

It is hoped the switch will combat obesity in the nation's 6.7m primary school pupils.

' Canteens have a public health mission, but also an educative mission,' National Association of Directors of Collective Restaurants chairman Christophe Hebert said.

' We have to ensure children become familiar with French recipes so that they can hand them down to the following generation,' he said.

' They need to know that in France food means conviviality, sharing and having a good time at the table.'

Under the decree, school chefs must provide four or five dishes every day, including a main course, and a dairy product such as cheese.

They must also offer a starter and a dessert, naturellement.

Unlimited: Baguettes will be freely available for children to eat as part of the menu that will include starters, deserts and four of five choices of main course

Tomato sauce - and mayonnaise - will only be allowed with chips, and only once a week at that, and certainly not with traditional dishes such as roast veal

' Food is very important here and we can't have children eating any old thing,' the district's director of school food Jean-Jacques Hazan said.

