Children’s meals served at hundreds of family attractions around the UK are packed with “overwhelmingly” high levels of salt, sugar, protein and fats, parents are being warned.

Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (Lacors) tested 397 meals at 220 theme parks, wildlife parks, museums and other attractions and found that some children’s menus contained up to 600% more fat, 500% more protein and 350% more salt than government-recommended amounts.

None of the meals surveyed complied with School Food Trust (SFT) recommendations that a healthy lunch for 7-to 10-year-olds should contain a maximum 6g of saturated fat; investigators found food outlets at theme parks were serving children’s meals containing up to 42g of fat.

Nearly nine out of every 10 meals surveyed were based on the same eight products: burgers, chicken nuggets, fish fingers, ham, pasta, sausages, cheese and tuna.

“School food has significantly changed over the past few years,” says the report, “and it is time the hospitality industry introduced similar changes.”

Geoffrey Theobald, chairman of Lacors, added: “It is vital we do not stand by and do nothing while a generation of children becomes addicted to unhealthy food because of lack of choice.”

But Merlin Entertainments, which owns a portfolio of properties including Legoland, Alton Towers and Chessington, has dismissed the findings, arguing that while healthy meal options have long been available alongside the high-fat alternatives, parents often choose to treat their children on a day out.

“Any suggestion that the food choices parents make for their children on a day out contributes significantly to longer-term diet or health – for good or bad – is nonsense,” said Merlin. “A healthy diet is established through the food that children are given on a daily basis at home and at school.”

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