The findings are revealed in a joint report by food company Organix and the Soil Association, as they launched a campaign and petition calling on the Government to put nutritional standards in place for nurseries.
More than 1,300 people had signed the petition within 24 hours of it going live last Thursday.
The report, Georgie Porgie Pudding and Pie: Exposing the truth about nursery food, published on Tuesday (21 October), emphasised that there are no clear nutritional standards for nursery food and that some nurseries spend just 25p per child on a meal.
It said, 'No Government department has been willing to take responsibility for the quality of food provided in nurseries. Despite much questioning, the research team could find no-one in the DCSF who was clearly responsible for this vital service.'
Although some food colourings and additives are banned in manufactured food for under-threes, researchers found that some nurseries are still serving them.
They also found that foods such as crisps, sweets and economy burgers that are now banned or restricted in primary schools are served in some nurseries.
'Without clear regulation and better information for nursery staff, this situation will continue,' the report said.
However, it did cite examples of high-quality, freshly prepared, locally sourced and even organic food spread across private, voluntary and maintained nurseries.
The report recommends that the Government adopt the Caroline Walker Trust guidelines for children under five, which were published in 2006, and that a minimum of 50p be spent for every nursery child's lunch.
Nine out of ten nurseries, the report said, are not covered by any nutritional standards because they are in the PVI sector.
Basic statutory nutrition standards only apply to lunches in state-maintained nurseries and Sure Start children's centres, and they 'fall short' of those set for older children in primary and secondary schools which are governed by the School Food Trust.
The research carried out online surveys with 487 nursery workers and 1,773 parents, who were asked about what type of food was being served, water provision, and parents' views on nursery food.
The surveys revealed a strong demand for greater regulation - 85 per cent of parents and 82 per cent of nursery staff questioned said there should be clearer guidelines and standards for food.
Anna Rosier, managing director of Organix, said, 'The reason we carried this out was not to say nurseries are in a bad way, but to try to create a better environment.'
She said legislation was needed to provide better information for nurseries, because although the quality of food in some nurseries was 'shocking', it was because information was unavailable.
She added that the lack of regulation meant it was impossible 'for a parent to find out if their child's nursery is providing, good, bad or indifferent food without minimum standards. We need a basic level of nutritional requirements. But there are nurseries doing a great job.'
Further information
See the feature on page 14. To join the campaign, go to www.nurseryfood.org.
Type of nursery Percentage of nursery workers surveyed who reported
that they regularly serve this food
Crisps Biscuits Sweets Chocolate Cake Traditional
puddings
eg cake,
sponge
puddings
State maintained 14 26 7 11 26 19
Sure Start/
Children's Centres 16 22 18 10 24 21
Private 14 36 12 12 27 38
Voluntary 12 31 10 11 19 20
Other 24 24 8 0 20 36
Type of nursery Percentage of nursery workers surveyed who
reported that they regularly serve this food
Fizzy Ready Powdered Oily Fruit or
drinks meals Soup fish vegetables
eg at snack
Cup-a-soup time
State maintained 6 6 3 12.5 71
Sure Start/
Children's Centres 3 9 6 16 40
Private 6 8 5 25 69
Voluntary 5 4 8 14 75
Other 4 4 0 16 60
Source: Organix/Soil Association.