New school canteen rules for Abu Dhabi

As part of its mandate to enhance quality infrastructure in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC) has issued the second edition of Abu Dhabi’s manual for school canteens in the emirate after it was updated in collaboration with key experts and representatives of the working group Lead by Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec).

Mohammed Helal Al Balooshi, Marketing & Communications Acting Director at Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC), said: “This manual comes in line with our continuous efforts to enable the Abu Dhabi Education Council and its partners through developing and issuing the guidelines and health requirements specified by the manual.”

The updated manual outlines the rules and health requirements that are to be met by school canteens and food establishments and details the health guidelines and practices to be followed across the different stages of food sale, cooking, handling, distribution and disposal.

The manual is intended for the use of government and private schools, educational institutions, as well as relevant authorities and food establishments that cater to school canteens in Abu Dhabi.

Additionally, the manual serves as an important tool to train administrators, nutritionists, nurses and supervisors of school canteens and food establishments on appropriate handling of food items.

The manual is designed to protect the health and safety of students through the development of stringent health standards for suppliers of food items to schools in accordance with best practices. A key long-term outcome of the manual will be to reduce the potential risks of chronic diseases among students such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Al Balooshi added: “The guidelines will specifically establish an effective mechanism to ensure the quality and safety of food items supplied to schools and their appropriateness for student consumption through meeting all required specifications and standards in production, processing and storage.”

Urging those engaged in the school canteen business to adhere to instructions and requirements set forth by the manual, Al Balooshi said the recommended practices once implemented would go a long way in creating a hazard-free school environment, while preventing cases of chronic diseases among students and providing them with quality educational services.
 
On his part, Khalid Al Ansari, Director of School Services Department, Abu Dhabi Education Council, said: “The Council is keen to provide an ideal, healthy and safe environment for students, with a renewed focus on health and food safety. Our aim is to engage with students and encourage them to stay active and eat healthy while at school. As part of this priority, Adec is committed to stepping up the standards of school canteens to ensure the availability of healthy food and keep a close eye on permissible and prohibited food items in the school premises. We are also focusing on ensuring that the requirements for healthy meals are met by suppliers to school canteens.”
 
Al Ansari added: “The manual for school canteens serves as a valuable guideline for schools and parents on everything related to healthy eating. All food suppliers connected with schools are mandated to meet the requirements specified in the guide and raise awareness among the staff and students about following a proper diet. Parents will also find the resource useful while planning and packing lunch boxes for their children.”
 
Al Ansari urged parents and school principals to familiarize themselves with the manual’s standards since it contains valuable information about healthy food requirements for students during school days.
 
The first version of the school canteen manual for Abu Dhabi schools was issued in 2013, following which a working group was formed to update the manual in June 2014 at the request of Adec. Led by it, the group included all relevant stakeholders from the food, agriculture, healthcare and medicine sectors in the emirate of Abu Dhabi including Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (Adfca), Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (Haad), Department of Economic Development (DED), Institute of Applied Technology and Abu Dhabi Vocational Education and Training Institute (Adveti).
 
The group reviewed and updated the manual in line with the regulatory requirements of relevant authorities and set the conditions under which school food establishments can be supplied, managed and operated in Abu Dhabi to safeguard public safety.
 
The manual explains the necessary procedures that should be taken by school canteens or food establishments which provide their supplies to the emirate’s schools. It elaborates on the required steps for getting approvals from the related entities, and it also outlines the conditions and procedures to be taken in regards to producing, preparing, storing, and distributing food to ensure its safety and viability for consumption.

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