The latest food list, which prohibits sales in school canteens, has been published.

With the aim of ensuring the health and safety of school children, the Ministry of Health has officially announced a new list of food items prohibited for sale in school canteens. The primary objective of this new program is to control non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, which are commonly observed among children today, and to foster a healthy future generation.

According to these new health guidelines, no food items containing excessive salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats, as well as any products made using artificial flavors, are permitted for sale within school premises. Ultra-processed foods, which lack nutritional value but are high in calories and heavily processed in factories, have also been included in this prohibited list, and health authorities point out that such foods are directly responsible for nutritional deficiencies and various health risks in children.

Commenting on this program, Dr. Monika Wijeratne, Director of the Nutrition Unit at the Ministry of Health and a Specialist Community Physician, stated that this step was taken with the aim of encouraging healthy eating habits for the long-term well-being of children. She further emphasized that by guiding students towards nutritious meals from an early age, it will significantly help prevent lifestyle-related diseases that may arise in the future. Accordingly, steps have been taken to enforce this strict set of nutritional guidelines to systematically regulate the types of food provided to students by school canteens.