Ham is off the menu in North Ayrshire schools after concerns were raised over its health impact on pupils.
High levels of sodium content within the meat sparked the safety fears from officials which led to its removal among the list of items back in 2019.
It means the humble ham and cheese sandwich is off limits, despite it being the most popular item among pupils.
The issue reared its head again at a meeting of the audit and scrutiny committee as one councillor admitted he had received earache from staff pointing out youngsters weren't consuming school meals.
Kilwinning rep Donald Reid: “I didn't realise that ham in school sandwiches was so important and menu consultations are undertaken to ensure meal choices are popular which helps minimise food waste.
“Cheese and ham is the number one favourite sandwich at home and parents keep asking why they are not allowed it at school.
“My ears were burning over the weekend with teachers and academics saying the same thing; that kids are choosing not to have school dinners, all they want is sandwiches and they want ham and cheese sandwiches.”
Committee chairman, John Bell, said: “The Scottish Government gave recommendations on what is available in schools and that has meant there has been a reduction in red meat.
"The issue over ham was because of high sodium content and unfortunately there was not much choice but in my last discussion they were trying to source ham without a high sodium content and had not been able to do that.”
Laura Miller, senior manager (audit fraud risk & safety), said she would contact facilities management about the issue.
Meanwhile, Irvine councillor Matthew McLean also voiced concern he heard on a strike day that no pupils attended to pick up lunch and they were subsequently binned.
“More than 200 were made on a strike day throughout all of North Ayrshire and only 20 picked them up," he said. "In a significant number of schools, no pupils turned up.”
Ms Miller said it may be the fact the council still has to have the meal ready to collect and if it was not, that may cause issues but she again agreed to talk to the facilities management team.
Audrey Sutton, executive director of communities & education, said uptake on industrial action days has been quite low but that was partly down to poor weather.
She said they planned to make the food available to schools in local community centres in case there were any concerns about getting into the school on strike days; and any unused food could be shared by local people through these facilities.
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