She said the levels of additives in all foods were tightly regulated so that the levels were kept very low, but to avoid them people should prepare their meals from fresh ingredients.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Additives lurk in everyday diets

"As part of the government's targets for reducing obesity levels and its aim to improve children's health through better diets and lifestyles, school meal providers are expected to prepare nutritious meals from fresh ingredients, " she said.

BBC: School kitchens left out of new building regulations

But I ate hot pot growing up in the 1970s and '80s in South Carolina, and if my mother and father could find enough ingredients there to prepare the gut-busting hot pot meals we had at our house, you can find them anywhere.

NPR: Friends, Family and a Feast: A Hot Pot How-To

Dale Rees, a spokesman for the British Dietetic Association, said the initiative was a positive step because the recipes would help those who wanted to cook but did not know the ingredients involved, the steps needed to prepare them or how to cook adhering to a budget.

BBC: Families encouraged to eat healthily on the cheap

Ever crowded, Union Square Cafe has a great take on the California approach of combining fresh market ingredients and calling on the global kitchen for ways to prepare them.

FORBES: Fact and Comment