Parents 'appalled' after Birmingham school gives Muslim pupils mousse containing pork gelatine

Parents with children at a school in Birmingham are furious that some pupils were given food containing pork gelatine during lunch time.

Greet Primary School in Sparkhill sent a letter to parents to notify them of the incident on Wednesday 19 October.

Children in years one, two and three were given raspberry ripple mousse that contained the gelatine, before staff realised and quickly took it off the menu before the older children had their lunch sitting.

The school said the error was unacceptable and a full investigation will be taking place into how it occurred.

In the Muslim faith, pork is considered impure and harmful to humans - making it a forbidden food.

Muslim parents have shared their frustrations with ITV Central. Some only wanted their first names or surnames given.

Fatima said: "I am a parent of a child in Year 1, and I'm honestly appalled by the lack of transparency and professionalism regarding this matter.

"Many kids, as well as my own, have eaten pork gelatine.

"A matter of this degree should be dealt with swiftly and urgently, not within two weeks as the school has told parents."

Meanwhile, another parent called Shazia says it raises concerns about the school's handling of halal food in general.

Shazia said: "I am a parent of a Year 6 child and I am very grateful that the pork gelatine mousse was stopped being given out half way otherwise the remaining school years would have consumed it too.

"But this has upset and angered all Muslim parents of the school and has raised many questions on the dealing of halal food provided alongside food allergies and the dietary requirements of the children too."

Mr Khan, who is a parent of a child who had been given the gelatine, said: "Simply put, if required checks were carried out, this could have all been avoided.

"My child is incredibly upset at hearing they had consumed pork."

The frustrated parents all agreed that school should be a place of 'trust and respect of all faiths,' and they added those values have now been 'broken.'

A spokesperson for Greet Primary School said:

“Earlier this week, during the first lunch serving, staff became aware that a mousse was being served that contained pork gelatine.

"The dessert was immediately removed from the menu and replaced with a halal alternative.

“While we are fortunate that this issue was picked up very early on during the lunch service, and we currently believe only a handful of children ate the mousse, it clearly should never have happened – particularly given the strength of our Muslim community.

"We immediately wrote to our parents to inform them and offer our apologies.

“We share our community’s frustration and disappointment that such a mistake was made, and have launched an investigation to understand how it occurred.

"As part of this, we are looking at whether this was an ordering, supply or delivery issue, and will seek to understand if there is anything more we can do to stop such an event happening again in the future.”