PETALING JAYA: School canteens play a significant role in providing children with their nutritional fix, and there are government guidelines on the types of food and beverages that can be sold by the operators.
However, an industry group says that despite the guidelines, some operators continue to disregard the regulations.
Malaysian School Canteen Operators Association president Khairuddin Hamzah said the Health and Education ministries have stipulated regulations prohibiting the sale of 12 types of food and beverages in school canteens.
These include sweets and chocolate, pickled food high in salt and acid, junk food, processed food, and energy, isotonic, flavoured and carbonated drinks, as well as fruit juice containing less than 35% fruit content.
“For menus prescribed by the Education Ministry, such as the Supplementary Food Programme, their nutritional content has been assessed by the Health Ministry to meet the needs of the majority of primary school pupils.
“The same applies to the NutriSel food programme in Selangor. The food provided is prepared in accordance with Health Ministry guidelines,” he said.
For food sold on a cash basis, canteen operators are free to sell any food as long as they do not breach the regulations prohibiting the sale of the 12 types of food and beverages.
“However, food and beverages that are prohibited in schools are still freely brought into some schools by other parties. Stalls outside schools are a major contributor to this problem,” he said.
Khairuddin said fast food was also being sold outside schools without proper monitoring.
“Pupils buy them, bring them into the school and consume them in the canteen. In addition, some teachers and even pupils take the opportunity to sell such food at school.
“This creates a situation where it appears as if the canteen is providing the prohibited food and beverages,” he said.
The situation is further compounded by some schools allowing their cooperatives to sell food and beverages that contravene the regulations, despite the existence of an Education Ministry circular prohibiting school cooperatives from selling any form of food and beverages since 2013.
“Although the Health Ministry and Education Ministry have established various guidelines and regulations, enforcement is focused solely on school canteens.
“District Health Office officers also only inspect the canteens even when the cooperative located next to the canteen is openly breaching various regulations,” he said.
Dr Nor Baizura Md Yusop of Universiti Putra Malaysia said the school canteen was an important component of the food environment influencing dietary choices among Malaysian schoolchildren.
“A Malaysian assessment of 568 food and beverage items available in public primary and secondary school canteens found that fruits and vegetables represented only 1% to 3% of items, while high-fat and sweet foods and sugary beverages were commonly available.
“Almost one-third (29.1%) of packaged foods and beverages were classified as high in sugar, 26.8% of all items were classified as prohibited under the Healthy School Canteen Management Guide, and only 10.2% were classified as highly recommended healthy choices,” she said.
“These findings suggest that, despite existing guidelines, healthier choices are not consistently available within the school food environment.
“Importantly, a Malaysian School Nutrition Programme involving 523 primary schoolchildren aged seven to 11 demonstrated that combining nutrition education with a supportive healthy school canteen environment improved eating behaviours, physical activity, cognitive performance and Body Mass Index-for-age outcomes,” she added.
She said improving children’s nutrition should extend beyond individual nutrition education and include increasing the availability and attractiveness of healthier canteen choices, reducing nutrient-poor options, and engaging canteen operators, schools, parents and children in creating a healthier food environment.
