If young people are to be capable of selecting and preparing a safe and healthy balanced diet for themselves when they leave school, or otherwise become independent, they need to have attained minimum standards (competencies) of food-related knowledge and skills.

The Food Standards Agency and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), in collaboration with others from across government, have drafted a set of competencies and commissioned research in England with the target group of 14-16 year olds to determine their knowledge and skills in relation to these competencies and to identify any gaps that may exist.

For further information:
Getting to grips with grub - DATA research paper - PDF
www.food.gov.uk - PDF