Secondary school canteens in Australia: analysis of canteen menus from a repeated cross-sectional national survey

Abstract

Objective: The current study aimed to assess the nutritional quality of Australian secondary school canteen menus. Design: Stratified national samples of schools provided canteen menus in 2012–2013 and 2018, which were systematically assessed against a ‘traffic light’ classification system according to the National Healthy School Canteen Guidelines. Items were classified as green (healthiest and recommended to dominate canteen menus), amber (select carefully) or red (low nutritional quality, should not appear on canteen menus), and pricing and promotional strategies were recorded. Setting: Australia. Participants: Canteen menus from 244 secondary schools (2012–2013 n 148, 2018 n 96). Results: A total of 21 501 menu items were classified. Forty-nine percent of canteen menus contained at least 50 % green items; however, nearly all (98·5 %) offered at least one red item and therefore did not comply with national recommendations. Snacks and drinks had the least healthy profile of all product sectors, and a large proportion of schools supplied products typically of poor nutritional quality (meat pies and savoury pastries 91·8 %, sugary drinks 89·5 %, sweet baked goods 71·5 %, ice creams 64·1 % and potato chips 44·0 %). Red items were significantly cheaper than green items on average, and many schools promoted the purchase of red items on canteen menus (52·8 %). There were few differences between survey waves. Conclusions: There is considerable room for improvement in the nutritional quality of canteen menus in Australian secondary schools, including in the availability, pricing and promotion of healthier options. Additional resources and services to support implementation of national guidelines would be beneficial.

The healthiness of New Zealand school food environments: a national survey

“…Despite the ‘Nutrition standards for foods provided and sold’ policy domain being most addressed, there was no relationship between these policies and the likelihood of healthier items in the food service or fundraising activities. School‐FERST found the most popular items sold were primarily unhealthy, similar to previous New Zealand 12 and Australian 30 research. More than half of all schools reported contracting out the school food service.…”

“…The New Zealand situation is similar to Australia, where there is no national policy on healthy food in schools. Likewise, in Australia, a national survey found that only 1.5% of Australian secondary schools served only healthy ‘green’ items 30 . Other Australian research also cites a low level of compliance to national canteen guidelines particularly in the absence of monitoring or enforcement 31…”

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Nutritional Quality of New South Wales High School Student Food and Drink Purchases Made via an Online Canteen Ordering System

“…To increase the nutritional quality of food and drinks available in school settings, many government education departments around the world have developed policies to guide schools in the types of products, and relative proportions of products, that should be available [40,41]. However, the implementation of healthy canteen policies and guidelines, within high schools is often suboptimal [17,42,43]. For example, one Australian study found that, out of 53 high school canteens, only 6% of canteen menus met the criteria of having more than 75% of menu items being 'Everyday' items [42].…”

Informatization Management as a Tool to Improve Internal School Control Systems in the Russian Federation (Using Catering as an Example)

“…The development of a web-based program for parents designed to prevent weight gain in children and loss of parental control [58]; • Online checking of school menus (Australia), taking into account the regulatory requirements (National Healthy School Canteen Guidelines) [59,60].…”