Parents lose packed lunch appeal

(ANSA) - Rome, July 30 - Italy's supreme Court of Cassation said Tuesday that parents do not have the right for demand their children be able to take packed lunches from home and eat them in school canteens.

The Cassation said the canteen services were the remit of schools' "organizational autonomy" as it upheld the city of Turin's appeal against a lower court's ruling in favour of parents who wanted their children to bring packed lunches from home to school.

The decision was blasted by group of Turin parents who argued their children should be allowed to take in packed lunches, given the high price of school canteen services. "Free education as guaranteed by the Constitution has been thrown in the bin," said a post on the CaroMensa a Torino Facebook group.