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The Prison Catering Service has changed from a Ration Scale to a pre‐select menu system as the basis for providing prisoners' meals. The purpose of this research was to ascertain how this may have affected male prisoners' nutritional intake. Using a modified visual estimation technique, the dietary intake of 506 prisoners (mean age 35 years, height 1.77 m and weight 78.03 kg) in eight prisons was estimated for a 24‐h period. Results show that overall, the mean nutrient intake from food provided by HM Prisons (2561 kcal; 10.77 MJ) fell within current recommendations. However, in four prisons, energy intake was below the recommendations as were a small number of micronutrients (vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin C and calcium, one prison each; and vitamin D, in all prisons) from the food provided. The mean percentage of energy provided from total fat (36%) was just in excess of the recommendation of 35% and similar to the National average. There is little evidence to suggest that the ‘new’ system has any detrimental effects on prisoners' nutritional intake.

Purpose -The purpose of this research is to establish whether the meals provided by the prison service enable prisoners to follow government guidelines on nutrition and healthy eating, and the extent to which they do so. Design/methodology/approach -A total of eight prisons, four male (category A, B and C), two female and two young offenders' institutes were randomly identified and visited. Data collection involved taking three days of cyclical menus, the institution's recipes and methods and standard or average portion sizes to calculate the mean nutrient composition of standard, healthy, vegetarian/vegan and Halal menus. Menus were also analysed to establish how well they conformed to the "Balance of Good Health". Findings -Results show that, with the exception of some nutrients, prisoners have access to and are able to choose a nutritionally balanced diet and in the main do so. All prisons have attempted to make available menus that conform to the Balance of Good Health model; however, in some cases, choice is hampered, primarily because menus have not been annotated accurately; some dishes are not always as healthy as they might or could be; and prisoners in most cases do not actually understand what constitutes a healthy balanced diet. Originality/value -There is a paucity of data on prison food service and as such this original work adds to the body of knowledge in the field.

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