The Ministry of Health has provided details of food items banned under the newly unveiled “Guidelines on Healthy School Canteens”, aimed at creating student‑friendly canteens that provide affordable, safe, and nutritious meals.
The guidelines call for maintaining a clean, safe, and easily accessible environment free from disease‑carrying vectors, continuous supervision of canteen operations, and awareness among food handlers about personal hygiene and responsibilities.
Food menus are to be introduced with attention to children’s preferences, nutritional value, and local food culture.
Under the prohibited list, the Health Ministry has prohibited:
- Processed meats such as sausages, meatballs, bacon, ham, and foods prepared with them (burgers, hot dogs, pizza).
- Flour and sugar‑rich foods including pastries, donuts, eclairs, biscuits, and cakes.
- Instant foods and flavorings such as instant noodles, soup cubes, seasoning powders, and canned pickles.
- Sugar‑rich sweets including chewing gum, toffee, lollipops, puddings, ice cream, and processed desserts.
- Salt‑rich snacks like boondi, muscat, dodol, murukku, and extruded snacks (Tipi Tip).
- Unhealthy beverages such as carbonated drinks, high‑sugar drinks, flavored milk and yogurt drinks, energy drinks, and instant tea/coffee.
The Health Ministry said the measures are designed to promote healthier eating habits among schoolchildren while reducing exposure to foods linked to non‑communicable diseases. (Newswire)
