Jamie Oliver is bringing his popular “Food Revolution” show back to the United States, but this time, schools aren’t letting him in their cafeterias.

According to the LA Times, Oliver’s request to revamp school lunches in the Los Angeles Unified School District were turned down, a statement coming from spokesperson Robert Alanz reading, “Reality TV has a formula. You either have to have drama or create conflict to be successful. We’re not interested in either.”

But who will ban the pink milk and throw the french fries in the garbage can?

Unfortunately, California schools have had already had drama in their cafeterias in the past. The issue was not even related to improving food nutrition, but about basic food safety.

A USA Today article states that since the Child Nutrition Act of 2005 was passed, routine school cafeteria inspections have been mandatory. However, a survey found nearly 30% of school districts did not comply in 2006-07 and 2007-08, simply because there weren’t enough inspectors to go out and get the job done.

Two yearly inspections are required, but of the 10,666 California schools reporting, 57.2% reported having fewer than 2 per year.

One food service director had tried to get LA County to inspect its Garvey School District in Rosemead for years, but calls and letters to the county office went unanswered. After the director hired an outside agency to do so, the county finally agreed.

The USA Today article states inspections in some school districts in the United States have turned up everything from lack of hot water to expired food.

Photo: really short/Creative Commons

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