School Canteens Asked to Comply with DepEd’s ‘Green, Yellow, Red’ Food Guidelines

Operators of school cafeterias have been reminded to follow the green-yellow-red food guidelines set by the Department of Education (DepEd) in preparing meals for students.

In an interview with reporters Thursday, a health department official stressed the importance of following DepEd Order No. 13 on the guidelines on offering healthy food and beverage choices in schools to develop healthy eating habits among students.

Supervising health program officer of the Department of Health (DOH), Luz Tagunicar, noted that “green” food and drinks — those that contain a wide range of nutrients and are low in saturated and trans fats, sugar, and salt — should always be available in the school canteen.

“Yellow” food and beverages — those that contain some nutrients but have large amounts of saturated and trans fats, sugar, and salt — may be served once or twice a week in small servings, Tagunicar said.

Meanwhile, ”red” food and drinks — those with high amounts of saturated fat, sugar, and salt — should not be served at all to students.

“We are doing this for the children,” Tagunicar said, explaining that the order aims to keep the children from early exposure to unhealthy food that would make them overweight, which could result in various health problems as they grow older.

DepEd, she said, is in the process of orienting school officials, personnel, nutritionists, and dieticians regarding the green-yellow-red food guidelines.

Later on, operators of school cafeterias will be given two to three months to clear their stocks of unhealthy food and drinks, as well as facilitate the return of any refrigerator or freezer provided by suppliers of sugary beverages, such as soft drinks, Tagunicar said. (Leilani S. Junio/PNA)