UK School Bans Triangular Flapjacks

Just another example of politically-based, cultural ridiculousness.
Apparently, U.S. schools are not alone in stupid and reactionary decisions aimed at over-protecting their school children from threateningly-shaped lunch foods.

SARCASM ALERT:
On the plus-side, I suppose a time may, one day, come when we will all look back longingly at a time when dangerously-shaped pancakes were once our greatest safety issue.

Canvey Island school bans triangle shaped flapjacks

A school's decision to ban triangular flapjacks after a pupil was hurt has been labelled "half-baked" by the Health and Safety Executive. It follows an incident at Castle View School in Canvey Island, Essex, when a boy was hit in the face by a flapjack. Catering staff at the school have been told only to serve square or rectangular flapjacks. The school said the "isolated accident" had led to a review of "the texture and shape of the flapjacks" provided.

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said: "We often come across half-baked decisions taken in the name of health and safety, but this one takes the biscuit. "The real issue isn't what shape the flapjacks are, but the fact that pupils are throwing them at each other - and that's a matter of discipline, and has got nothing to do with health and safety as we know it.

"We're happy to make clear that flapjacks of all shapes and sizes continue to have our full backing." Health and safety adviser Ray Hurst said he could not understand why triangular flapjacks had been banned, but not those cut into squares or rectangles.

"Anything that is thrown is likely to cause injury if it hits somebody, especially in the face or the eye," said Mr Hurst, former president of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health. "It does seem a little over the top to ban triangular flapjacks," he said. Essex County Council said it did not give schools guidance on the shapes of foodstuffs.

www.bbc.co.uk...

Then they came for the edible shurikens
and I didn't speak out because I didnt eat shurikens...

reply to post by IAMTAT


You can have my flapjack when you can pry my flapjack from my cold, dead, slightly sticky from a nice maple syrup, hands.

Okay, silliness aside.

This really should go into the record books as one of the most stupid ideas of all times! And that even beats the bath-time-toaster oven!

reply to post by IAMTAT


Wow.

So triangle shaped pancakes are banned because they have sharp corners, but the corners of square and rectangular pancakes aren't as sharp and pointy? Suuuuure! Makes sense to me! *eyeroll*

And perhaps flapjacks are different in the UK than they are in the US, but here, they are soft and not hard enough to cause an injury, even if thrown at a high rate of speed, so how the hell does one get injured by a flapjack???

reply to post by beezzer

Love your response, beezer. Sometimes, all we can do is just sit back...and watch the parade of stupidity pass before us.

Here in the U.S., schoolkids are expelled for chewing their rectangular-shaped pop tarts into the shape of a gun.

reply to post by IAMTAT
How in the heck can someone be injured by a flapjack? Did someone mix ball bearings into the batter or something? Sounds like somebody is making up some BS just to get paid!

Just saw this on the local news. About as big a story we get round these parts. Flap jacks should be square or oblong not triangular. You could have someone's eye out with one of those things.

to be fair, flapjacks are a serious business.

i suspect that these ones are tooth bustingly hard, whereas they should have a good dose of squelch in their consistency - at least once you have sawn through the outer layer.

and anyway, triangular flapjack just are not cricket by golly..i bet they put currants, and nuts in them too, the heathens

serious matters require serious measures, we should fight with every breath in our bodies against the reverse flapjackism that now seems so prevelant against square and rectangular flapjacks who, afterall, came to these fair islands first. it makes me sick. they will be after victoria sponges next, you mark my words

Here in the U.S., schoolkids are expelled for chewing their rectangular-shaped pop tarts into the shape of a gun.

reply to post by IAMTAT


This is true. I'm not sure if I should be comforted by the fact that the US is no longer the only country to make stupid food laws or if I should be disturbed that this is what the world is coming to.

Is it not normal to just make flapjacks round in the UK like it is here in the US? Can't say I've ever seen a flapjack in any shape other than round or those cutesy animal or Mickey Mouse shapes.

This is just... ridiculous.

I can just see what's coming next. Hot dogs and bananas banned because they look too phallic. I think these people just get bored and look for things to ban to spice up their day.

I really think that inane decisions such as these must make low-level, meddling bureaucrats feel empowered, validated and important.

To clear up a bit of misunderstanding for our American cousins. British Flapjacks are NOT Pancakes.

They are made of Oats, Butter, Honey and Flour. They are then baked. They should be chewy and fairly soft but it seems the offending delicacy in question had been baked until it resembled a Cinder Block.

This of course is quite typical in the Great British tradition of School Dinners.

Fondly do I remember gluing the sole back on my shoe with a bit of the Dinner Lady's Tapioca Pudding.

We are slowly removing important lessons from our children.

Learning that there is a string of unfortunate consequences when you spotaneously decide to throw a flapjack at someone...that's part of growing up and learning to think things through.

All of these kids, being boxed into colorless politically correct padded cubicles, they are going to get dumped out into the world as adults where one dumb spontaneous decision can cost them their freedom and maybe their life instead of costing them their recess time or dessert.

reply to post by BritofTexas


ah, british school dinners, not so much eaten as gagged on and then forced down so you could have some spotted dick

Forget the dumbing down of America, its the dumbing down of the planet!

reply to post by skalla


It was actually an incident involving our Headmaster, a Dinner lady and a Spotted Dick that led to said Headmaster being relieved of his duties.

To clear up a bit of misunderstanding for our American cousins. British Flapjacks are NOT Pancakes. They are made of Oats, Butter, Honey and Flour. They are then baked. They should be chewy and fairly soft but it seems the offending delicacy in question had been baked until it resembled a Cinder Block.

reply to post by BritofTexas


Aaah! Gotcha! Thanks for that. Clears up just a bit of the confusion, lol. I can at least see why corners of a flapjack would be more dangerous than corners of a pancake. Not that I agree that banning them in any shape is a smart idea, but it makes more sense now.

Seriously, this is really just another classic example of the current liberal mentality in action.

A kid throws food at another kid during a cafeteria food fight, hitting the child in the eye...and the current administration, taking absolutely zero responsibility for slacking in it's own duty to supervise and discipline the offending behavior, ultimately ends up blaming the item of food as the problem...while giving their own culpability in the incident a complete pass.