Moray Council has revealed it will serve UK-produced chicken in school canteens in an effort to curry favour with parents who feared meat bought abroad could be of poor quality.
The local authority came in for a grilling earlier this month when it emerged that some chicken served up in its schools had been imported from Thailand.
The council was keen to stress there was “no suggestion” the poultry in question was “inferior”, or did not comply with food standards.
But, faced with a backlash, officers quickly moved to arrange a supplier closer to home.
Yesterday, the authority’s audit and scrutiny committee learned the changes would be implemented quickly.
They welcomed the update that, from the start of next term, all the chicken served up to the area’s youngsters will be produced in Britain.
A spokesman said: “Our catering service prides itself in sourcing food supplies locally, wherever possible, and this latest switch is in line with that policy.
“All our meat products are already supplied by Fraser Brothers of Forres who already supply around half of all the chicken served up in our schools, with the remainder being provided by a national supplier.
“The situation now is that the butcher is sourcing all of our chicken from the UK.
“Although the costs involved are slightly higher, we feel comfortable using home-based suppliers and believe parents will also be reassured by the provenance of the chicken.”