Capital’s school canteens meet world standards

School canteens in the emirate are religiously following healthy canteen guidelines, observed an expert.

On her visit to a number of schools in Abu Dhabi last week, Professor Kora Parambil, pediatrician at George Washington University and deputy director of Pediatrics at the National Hospital in Washington said that Abu Dhabi school cafeterias “meet the best international standards and practices in terms of ideal application.”

According to her, the National School Meals Programme in the US includes breakfast and lunch, serving up to 100,000 public and private schools.

“The programme provides more than 31 million students with free low-cost healthy and balanced food, with participating schools receiving awards for encouraging the initiative,” said Prof. Parambil.

In an endeavour to promote healthy eating and correct nutritional practices among its young population, Abu Dhabi last year released new school canteen guidelines, which were jointly reviewed by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) and the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD).

With the beginning of the new academic year, the ADEC selected 27 new food suppliers to provide healthier food options at its public schools.

A workshop, attended by representatives from 150 private schools was also held recently in order to fully acquaint them with the new rules related to food provided by school canteens. They were also told of the types of dietary and food items that should be available at schools based on a student’s age group.

“Studies have shown that prevention of unhealthy food at schools plays a significant role in reducing diseases across a society. The amendments to the school canteen menu will not only reduce diseases like obesity which in turn leads to diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic illnesses, but will also contribute to better school performance,” said Dr Arwa Al Midwahi, senior officer in Community Health Division at HAAD.

“Earlier we had bad food habits due to the unhealthy items that were available at school canteens. Currently, the Abu Dhabi canteen guideline prevents unhealthy food and provides alternatives that contain fruits and vegetables which children and teenagers enjoy eating. Kids nowadays do not avoid healthy food. We should encourage young generations to follow good eating habits and transfer such culture to their parents and relatives,” Dr Al Midwahi added.— olivia@khaleejtimes.com