Councillor Nan McFarlane is waging a campaign to try and persuade South Ayrshire Council to ditch the cheap substitute for the real deal.

She raised questions at last week’s full council meeting — asking about what goes on behind the scenes of school canteens.

She said: “Kitchen staff have told me they don’t like cooking with powdered milk but they have to.

“Research shows children are developing thyroid issues because they are not getting proper dairy foods. Using dried milk is just not as healthy.” At Wednesday’s County Buildings meeting, it was admitted that school chefs used both powdered and regular milk.

The SNP politician is also calling on South Ayrshire Council to hire a nutrition expert to assess whether grub is up to scratch.

She said: “There should be a dietician employed to make sure pupils are being served decent meals.” The council have instead opted for software programme from a company called Nutmeg UK to analyse menus’ nutritional value.

Councillor McFarlane also found out that the council doesn’t monitor how much food is wasted from unwanted school meals.

Another bugbear was that ice-cream dished out for South Ayrshire lunches is not analysed for healthy mineral content.

A number of primaries, including Struthers, now rely on a meals on wheels service, since the council closed kitchens on the premises.

Councillor McFarlane added: “I am just concerned about kids’ lunches in the aftermath of kitchens shutting. I am not going to let the issue go.” Council executive director of economy neighbourhood and environment Lesley Bloomer said all dinners prepared in line with ‘legal’ compliance.