Experts have come together and told the Welsh Assembly that the sale of sweets, chocolate, cereal bars and processed savoury snacks like crisps should be "completely banned as soon as possible".

This groundbreaking report ‘Appetite for Life’ was proposed last month at a conference on young people's food and fitness. The report introduces more stringent standards for school lunches and sets new minimum standards for all food and drink available throughout the school day. This is in response to a parents' backlash against unhealthy food following TV chef Jamie Oliver's high-profile campaign.

The proposed overhaul which made 41 recommendations to improve pupils' health is likely to cost between £17 million and £38 million over three years to bring school food in Wales up to standard, based on investment in Scotland and England.

Some of the recommendation included

• Lunches should contain at least two servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
• Children should get oily fish at least once a fortnight and no more than two fried products a week.
• Secondary schools should only provide drinks, other than water and pure fruit juice, 'which have a clear nutritional benefit ... and do not encourage a preference for sweet drinks'.
• Free cold drinking water should be available throughout the school all day, it says and primary schools should only offer milk as an alternative to water as a snack drink, and may provide fruit juice with a meal.
• It says: 'Snack food provision in schools must have a clear nutritional benefit (in that they should provide essential nutrients rather than just calories) and in primary schools should be restricted to fruit at break time.
• 'The sale of confectionery (sweets, chocolates), cereal bars and packaged processed savoury snacks (crisps and related products) should be completely banned as soon as possible.'
• Schools should “not serve reformed/reconstituted foods made from ‘meat slurry”’ or processed food if it does not meet nutrition targets.

The Food in School Working Group and the public are now asked to give their opinion on the report.