The Star

Tuesday, 25/04/2011

15 food items to be barred from school canteens

KUALA LUMPUR: Fifteen food items deemed unhealthy for children have been proposed by the Health Ministry’s Nutrition Division to be banned in school canteens, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin.

These included instant noodles, candies, preserved food, food containing artificial flavour, processed food like burgers, and carbonated drinks.

Rosnah said in-line with the proposal, which would be finalised next month, the ministry had also identified 60 types of healthy food like fried rice, kuey teow soup and noodle soup to be sold by canteen operators.

She said this at a press conference after opening the 1st Conference of the Association of Science Officers of the Ministry of Health (ASOMH) here yesterday.

Almost 250 science officers from the ministry, universities and private sector are taking part in the two-day conference aimed at encouraging innovation and knowledge sharing.

Rosnah said the proposal on the sale of healthy food was vital as the research conducted by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia revealed that in 2000, the obesity rate among children aged between seven and 12 was 9.7%, while in 2008, it had risen to 13.7%. – Bernama