Nine out of 10 schools are no longer selling items such as cookies, cakes and soft drinks for sale in bars following the implementation of new rules that were more difficult to apply in the case of vending machines.
The findings are based on a study by the Directorates General of Health and Education, released this Friday, that assesses compliance in 405 public school groups with food sales regulations effective in 2021.
More than 90% of school bars have stopped serving pastries, soft drinks, biscuits and biscuits, according to the report.
Among the “forbidden” foods today, the most difficult to find are fast foods, sweet desserts, sweet and savory “snacks”, sweets or sandwiches with sauces, which are available in less than 1% of schools.
On the other hand, cereal bars and ice cream are the most common, but even so, most schools comply.
Those who don’t, the report adds, “strive to provide food options that have a better nutritional profile.”
In terms of foods that have become mandatory, the main difficulty for schools appears to have been to introduce salads and soups, available in less than a third of bars.
Among the rest, the vast majority have plain milk and bread according to the norms, but there are still some bars that do not offer fresh fruit (14.4%), yogurt (13.4%) and free drinking water (10.9%).
In the group of products that, although not mandatory, can be provided, the most common options are natural juices, drinks containing at least 50% fruits or vegetables, and single doses of fruit, in addition to tisanes and herbal infusions with no added sugar.
“Overall, it was found that 29.8% of the buffets analyzed had at least one non-compliance for products that should not be available, and 27.5% of buffets had at least one non-compliance for products that should be provided. provided on a mandatory basis,” the report says.
The numbers, however, are less encouraging when looking at vending machines.
In this case, almost everyone does not produce mandatory products and about half sell products that should not be available.
About 31% of schools have these machines for students, and this is where young people have better access to non-compliant products such as biscuits and biscuits, cereal bars and chocolate, according to the study.
On the other hand, it will be very difficult to find soups, salads or fresh fruits, and about half also do not have plain milk, yogurt and bread according to certain criteria.
New rules to consider when preparing menus and selling food in bars and vending machines in public schools went into effect in the 2021-2022 school year to promote healthy eating habits.
The monitoring study was conducted from May 5 to July 15 last year.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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