Abstract
The study traces the history of the prison dietary in England and Wales, from its earliest days when there were no universal standards of feeding, to the carefully monitored situation of today. The present-day diet is superior nutritionally to its predecessors and meets with the recommendations of the NACNE Report (National Advisory Committee on Nutrition Education, 1983) and the COMA Report on Diet and Cardiovascular Disease (DHSS, 1984), except that notably it remains high in energy, provided by an excess of fat. The diet is compared with that enjoyed by the average household consumer in England and Wales, by reference to the National Food Survey. Nutritionally the prison dietary compares favourably with food obtained for domestic consumption. Prisoners, it seems, consume considerably less fruit, coffee and cheese than household residents. On the other hand they drink more tea and milk, and eat more meat, fish, fats, potatoes and other vegetables, flour and bread (including wholemeal), sugar and preserves. The study suggests that although nutritional adequacy is a necessary condition in the feeding of prisoners it is not, by itself a sufficient condition. Food in prison takes on an importance other than as a source of nutrients, in that it appears to play a major role in maintaining equilibrium within the establishment.