Guidelines for primary schools, secondary schools and youth

recreation centres

Good school meals

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GOOD SCHOOL MEALS

ContentsForeword ............................................................................................3

Introduction ......................................................................................4

Tasty school meals ...........................................................................7

Integrated school meals ................................................................9

Pleasant school meals ................................................................. 12

Nutritious school meals .............................................................. 14

Sustainable school meals...........................................................25

Reducing food waste ................................................................... 27

Safe school meals .........................................................................28

Good food at youth recreation centres ................................. 32

Good food in school cafeterias ................................................34

Documents which regulate school meals ............................ 35

References ....................................................................................... 37

© The National Food Agency, Sweden Uppsala, April 2013, 2nd revised editionPhotos:Jeanette Hägglund, cover, pages 2, 3, 5, 10,17, 21, 22, 28, 29 and 31Dan Pettersson, pages 9 and 23Karin Alfredsson, page 12Mats Andersson, Fridaskolan, Mölnlycke page 34Layout: Björn Lundquist, MalmöISBN: 978 91 7714 220 1

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GOOD SCHOOL MEALS

School lunches should be given every chance of being one of the highlights of the day. School meals give all students the opportunity to develop good eating habits and are a vital ele-ment in public health work. Students who eat school lunches are in better position to learn, and it is possible to use meals as an educational tool by integrating them in teaching activities.

On 1 July 2011, a new Education Act came into force which stated that school meals should be nutritions as well as free of charge. In November 2011, the National Food Agency was commissioned by the Ministry of Educa-tion and Research to work in cooperation with the Swedish National Agency for Education to support work with nutritious school meals and meal design. One element of this work involved revising the guidelines Good school meals, which was published in 2007.

These guidelines are intended to provide sup-port for efforts to produce good school meals. By illustrating various quality areas, this docu-ment can also help with policy work and pro-curement of meal services. As with all procure-ment processes, this process should only specify demands which you intend to follow up and always follow up what is demanded.

This revision of Good school meals has essen-tially involved providing a clearer description of the quality of meals from a holistic perspective and clarified how schools can assess and doc-ument nutritious school meals. The sections on allergies and hypersensitivity to foods and on sustainable school meals have also been expanded.

The National Food Agency hopes that municipalities and individual schools will use these guidelines to support them in their impor-tant public health work, promoting good eating habits among school students. Giving students a basis for good eating habits is a way of investing in the future.

Inger Andersson, Director General

Uppsala, April 2013

Foreword

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Meals are importantFood and meals are central elements in our lives: some-thing we can enjoy, a source of pleasure, a social activity and a bearer of culture. Our eating habits are also very important to health; for adults and children alike. The layout and content of meals has significance not only for health and eating habits, but also a prerequisite for well-being and learning. A good lunch at school ensures that students feel full, so promoting concentration, allowing them to learn and ensuring a good atmosphere at school.

These were just some of the reasons as to why schools began serving lunch in Swe-den more than a century ago. A nutritious lunch at school is particularly important for some students, and in this way school meals are a vital element in efforts to promote equality in terms of health. So in other words, good school meals mean better schools for everyone, and they are an impor-tant element in long-term public health work.

Opportunities for schoolsThe fact that food is crucial to the health, development and wellbeing of children is also apparent from the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that “children are entitled to receive adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water, and to have a knowledge of nutrition” (article 24, 2c and e).

Schools have unique opportunities to promote a healthy lifestyle in a positive, natural way, promoting good eating habits among students of all age, from preschool to secondary school. The basic responsibil-ity does of course rest with the child’s home and family. But the eating habits of most students are also influenced by other peo-ple as they eat many of their meals outside the home. Children pick up the habits and behaviours of adults. Good school meals in a pleasant environment give students every opportunity to eat a lunch at school every day and to adopt a positive attitude towards food and meals.

These guidelines from the National Food Agency aims to ensure that students receive good, nutritious school meals that they really enjoy. Of course, each municipality, school and staff team has to make its own decisions and plan work with school meals in detail on the basis of appli-cable legislation.

Good meals are about so much more than just food, and they do not nec-

essarily have to cost more than poor ones.

Make the most of the fan-tastic resource provided by these meals!

Children’s eating habitsThe National Food Agen-

cy’s survey of children’s eating habits shows that

most of them eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, and that they

have a satisfactory intake of most vitamins and minerals. That said, children

consume insufficient quantities of polyunsaturated fat, vitamin D and iron and too much saturated fat, sugar and salt. This is partly because they eat too little fish and oils, and too much in the way of sweets, ice cream, soft drinks and juice, snacks and pastries. Children also do not eat enough fruit and vegetables. Such eating habits increase the risk of obesity, but also of diabetes and cardiovascu-lar disease later in life. Many students eat far too little for lunch at school. If all students are to eat a whole portion of

lunch at school every day, the meals have to be good in many different ways.

Meal quality and enjoyment of foodGood school meals do not just involve the food on the plate. The perception of what makes good quality in terms of meals may differ from person to person. Ideally schools share a vision of what makes a good meal. The quality model in the form of a puzzle can

assist in setting up a vision. This model is made up of six different fields, all of which are important if diners are to benefit from their food and enjoy it.

Some fields in the model – Nutritious and Safe – are subject to requirements in legislation. Sustainable refers

Introduction

”Ideally schools share a vision of what makes a good meal. The quality model in the form of a puzzle can assist in setting up a vision.”

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“The layout and content of meals has significance not only for health and eating habits, but also a prerequisite for well-being and learning.”

to meals which take into account our environment and cli-mate. The Good and Pleasant fields are vital if diners are to enjoy the food and the meals they are eating. Integrated means that meals can act as a resource for educational

activities and form an integral part of the school day. Find out more in each individual section.

The quality fields can be used as a foundation for devel-oping a local meal policy or an objective for school meals.

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They are also intended to provide support when following up on the quality of school meals when meals are provided by the school itself or outsourced.

Responsibility for ensuring that school meals are really good rests with the school as a whole.

Systematic quality workThe Education Act states that every school organiser must carry out systematic quality work in which activities are regularly planned, followed up and developed. School meals are a part of education, so they are also covered by this requirement.

In practice, this involves having clear procedures for working with the following questions:

What was it like? Where are we today?

Where do we want to go?What should we do?

Work with these questions are continous, since the last question is also the starting point of a new one.

Systematic quality work requires shared targets and ambitions, regular quality checks and discussions on development and improvement. Set up your own targets for school meals and check quality regularly, ideally once a term. You could always set up a group to discuss the cur-rent situation and come up with suggestions for develop-ment and improvement. Remember to involve your diners in this quality work. More information on how schools can deal with systematic quality work can be found on the Swedish National Agency for Education website at www.skolverket.se.

SkolmatSverige – a tool for assessing the quality of school mealsSkolmatSverige provides an online tool developed by the Karolinska Institute and Stockholm County Council on behalf of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKL) and the Swedish National Institute for Public Health, and with assistance from the Swedish Board of Agriculture. This tool is based largely on the National Food Agency guidelines Good school meals and helps schools and municipalities to document and develop the quality of their school meals from a holistic perspec-

tive. It involves assessment of the nutritional value of the menu and may provide an alternative or a supplement to a nutritional calculation. When a school has used the tool, a results report is generated which provides a foundation for following up and improving the meals. Find out more at www.skolmatsverige.se.

The figure shows the various elements of the online tool SkolmatSverige.

GOOD PRINCIPLES FOR SCHOOL MEALS:

n The food is tasty and prepared with care. One or more cooked dishes are served daily, ideally including a vegetarian dish that everyone can enjoy.

n Meals are a vital resource in educational work. Teachers and students are involved in food related issues and meal quality work.

n Meals provide a pleasant experience in a secure environment, and they are scheduled so that all students can eat their lunch in peace and quiet.

n Decisions have been made on how meals can assist in the environmental work and sustaina-ble consumption.

n The food served is nutritious and made from good quality ingredients.

n Kitchen staff have good skills and clear proce-dures, and carry out self-inspections regularly to make sure that the food is safe, ensuring that there is no risk of diners falling ill.

Level 3Organisation

Level 2Service and pedagogyEnvironmental impact

Level 1Food choice and provision

Nutritional adequacySafe food

Staff questionnaire

Student questionnaire

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Tastier food with the right skills It is obvious if a meal has been cooked with dedication and is carefully seasoned. Cooking tasty, nutritious food which students enjoy requires both knowledge and skills. Staff in school kitchens should have some kind of res-taurant or catering training at upper secondary level as a minimum. Chefs and lunchtime assistants should regularly be offered further training. Exchange schemes with other school restau-rants are another way of coming up with new ideas, providing staff with the opportunity to develop. Chefs should have an important part to play in planning menus and devising reci-pes, even if nutritional assessment is someone else’s job. Places of work that provide oppor-tunities for professional development have more chance of attracting and retaining talented, committed staff who are proud of what they do.

The food should be of good quality no matter how the

meals are made; from raw ingredients or semi-prepared or fully prepared. A knowledge of cookery techniques and the best methods for the preparation of various dishes is necessary to ensure that the food is as tasty as possible. What people in the kitchen know about ingredients from farm to table can inspire both students and adults in school

restaurants.Special meals must also be tasty and

cooked with care. Listen attentively to stu-dents who need special meals, and find out about their views. It may give you some good ideas for improvements and recipes. Being seen as different from everyone else can be problematic, and this is why many students suffering from allergies or hypersensitivity

may find it difficult to point out their own personal needs when they are part of a larger group of students.

Pleasant, enjoyable meals affect the atmosphere in school restaurants for both students and adults.

Tasty school meals

“Cooking tasty, nutritious food which students enjoy requires both knowledge and skills.”

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Inspiring and challenging studentsGood school meals are meals which students enjoy and yet that also challenge their preferences – and their tastebuds – to an extent. School meals are a good way of giving the consumers of tomorrow a knowledge of food and meals, and can encourage their interest and curiosity.

Children like the things they recognise, and they eat the things they like. Their preferences may vary while they are growing up, and most children are naturally sceptical about new dishes, foods and flavours. However, our childhood is also the time when we have plenty of opportu-nity to extend and develop our prefer-ences in terms of flavours. Trying new foods without compulsion, and in a way which inspires inquisitiveness, is important. If, for example, students see chickpeas being served day after day at a salad bar, and adults and peers keep taking them, they might eventually decide to try them for themselves. Adults have a vital part to play as good role models.

Ideally, the school should offer a range of alternative dishes every day. This can entice more students to eat school meals and encourage them to eat sufficient of the food served.

Tempting the sensesServing food beautifully and making it smell irresistible are important ways of giving students an appetite and arousing their interest. Fresh spices to top off the food are just one example of an element which contributes to the overall experience. Freshly baked bread smells wonderful, and it can often be smelt outside school restaurants. You can add spice to your menu with inspi-ration from a wide variety of culinary cultures.

Having lots of different colours and shapes to choose from encourages to take more. Offer a varied salad buffet with at least five different kinds of veg-etable or mixtures of vegetables. One handy trick for encouraging students to eat their greens is to position the salad buffet so that students take vegetables before their hot meals.

There are a number of examples nowadays of schools building open kitchens, where the food is served directly from the kitchen across a coun-ter. This makes it easier to keep the serving area clean and tidy, and allows diners to meet the people who actually prepare the food.

“Adults have a vital part to play as good role models.”

“Children like the things they recog-nize, and they eat the things they like.”

PREREQUISITES FOR TASTY SCHOOL MEALS:

n The school restaurant have committed, well trained staff who are good at preparing tasty food.

n The school restaurant chooses food stuff of good quality.

n The school restaurant offers one or more alternative dishes every day.

n The ideas and opinions of diners are taken into account.

n Students’ curiosity is aroused by allowing them to try out new flavours and dishes with-out compulsion.

n Student’s senses are tempted with delicious scents, a varity of colours and a nice serving arrangement.

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A prerequisite for learningNo matter what resources schools invest in talented teach-ers and excellent teaching aids, learning things is hard for a hungry student.

A good lunch at school ensures that students are full, so giving them more chance of staying focused. This may also help them remain calm in and between lessons. Students and adults enjoying good meals together promotes well- being and give them time for social inter-action.

An opportunity to learnSchool meals are part of the education. They can be used as an educational tool as well as giving students energy and nourishing them. Schools are meant to give students a knowledge of a sustainable lifestyle, and school meals assist with that as well. Educational meals

are intended to give adults and children the opportunity to spend time together. They help to give children a positive perception of meals and a natural attitude towards food.

Children need adults as role models to provide them with support. Sitting at the same table, eating the same food, is important.

Teachers can encourage students to investigate flavours, smells, colours and consistencies, new foods or differ-ent culinary cultures. Discussions at the table might also look at where our food comes from and what happens to it inside our bodies, why we need dif-ferent kinds of food, the environmental

impact of food and proportions of food on the plate. But no matter what you talk about, spending some pleasant time chatting at the dining table – and perhaps even spending a little longer there than is strictly timetabled – is maybe one

Integrated school meals

“But no matter what you talk about, spending some pleasant time chatting at the dining table – and perhaps even spending a little longer there than is strictly timeta-bled – is maybe one of the most important elements of any educational meal.”

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“Students and adults enjoying good meals together promotes well- being and give them time for social interaction.”

of the most important elements of any educational meal.Meals can be used for educational purposes in a wide

variety of ways. For instance, the menu might tie in with the curriculum for geography lessons, for example. Many school students are rooted in different cultures. Culinary

traditions change slowly, particularly traditions which involve celebratory dishes. But there are cultural differ-ences in eating habits even at an everyday level. Meals are the perfect tool for finding out all about other cultures and new flavours.

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Another way of integrating school meals with educa-tional activities is to invite the school chef into the class-room to talk to the students about food and ingredients. Students can measure their own consumption or the amounts of food they waste, do practical work in the school kitchen or visit a food pro-ducer with the staff who work in the school restaurants. A display plate showing the dish of the day can also be used, allowing stu-dents to see how the meal has been planned. Schools can also present the nutritional con-tent of the food, or maybe its environmental impact, thereby allowing students to apply in practice the theoretical knowledge they have amassed in class. There are also advantages if school restaurants and teachers working together in home economics classes, as the mealstaff and teacher can complement one another.

The interaction between students and staff in school res-taurants influence the meal experience. It is important that the staff are welcoming, and treat their diners in a respect-ful way. Meeting the mealstaff and getting to know them will give students an insight into the job and allow them to get to know a professional within the food business.

Scheduled lunchtimesSome schools have switched to scheduled lunchtimes in order to reduce stress and the risk of students not eating enough. With these arrangements, teachers accompany their classes to the restaurant and have lunch. When every-one has finished eating, they all head back to the classroom and continue with their lessons. Breaks for playtime and spending time outdoors are timetabled to take place before the meal or at some other point during the day. Scheduled lunches allow students to eat without stress and can help to reduce food waste.

Involvement results in dedicationAllowing students to get involved in meal-related matters as part of a school meals council, or bringing up issues in meetings of class or student councils allows students to air their views on school meals. When students are involved, schools also have the opportunity to work with students’ knowledge and values in respect of food and meals. Greater involvement can lead to students taking more responsibil-ity. As a result, school meals can be an important element of schools’ democracy work.

Many young people have definite views on what they want to eat, and why. Passing on information in an educa-tional way on the importance of food for our health and its impact on the environment, while at the same time respect-ing students’ own standpoints, requires both knowledge and understanding.

School meals are produced within specific frameworks. The budget, ingredients purchased, environmental impact and legal requirements for nutritious school meals all have to be taken into account when planning menus. It is impor-

tant for students to understand these criteria when they help to make decisions on menus and the dishes served. Not everyone can have their favourite food every day, and it is important for them to understand why.

Many schools have food councils, stu-dent councils, parent councils or other teams of people who can contribute to the work with good school meals. Specific views on the dining environment, serving times, noise levels, salad buffets, number of dishes available, the selection of dishes at the caf-

eteria, etc. are often expressed at the meetings of these councils. Most people are interested in food. As a basis for improvements the food council may carry out student sur-veys. Schools can also assess the quality of meals as a basis for discussions. SkolmatSverige is an example of an online tool which can be used to review the quality of meals in a number of fields, such as nutrition, organisation and envi-ronmental impact.

“No matter what resources schools invest in talented teachers and excel-lent teaching aids, learning things is hard for a hungry student.”

PREREQUISITES FOR INTEGRATED SCHOOL MEALS

n There is a consensus at school regarding educational meals and the role of adults during meal time.

n Students have influence over the meals.

n The school restaurant is a secure place where students can meet up and provide opportu-nities for interaction and discussion between adults and students.

n School meals are used as an educational tool in teaching and help to grow students’ curi-osity about foods.

n The skills of the mealstaff is utilised by asking them to take part in lessons on food, health and the environment, for example.

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Besides what it actually on the plate, good school meals are all about students’ interactions with staff, other students in the restaurant and the design of the room, the temperature, smells and sounds. The atmosphere created by the meal as a whole determines whether it is worth sitting down to lunch at the school and enjoying it for a while. The school meal is also a vital part of the work environment.

Encounters in school restaurantsThe behaviour of both students and adults in school res-taurants affects the atmosphere and the sense of wellbeing. Just as in ordinary restaurants, it is very important for peo-ple to really feel welcome. The school restaurant should be designed so that both students and adults find it pleasant to eat there.

Pleasant school meals

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GOOD SCHOOL MEALS

Having rules on how to behave in the school restau-rant is a good idea, and it is important to make sure that these rules are followed. The eating environment is calmer if adults eat with the students. Shy, lonely students may feel more secure, and unruly students often calm down. Having adults participate in mealtimes is valua-ble for older students as well.

One element of communi-cation with students involves allowing students to view the menu on the school website or elsewhere. Finding a “Lunch of the Day” sign in the school restaurant is also a pleasant, welcoming factor. Dishes can also be displayed at the serving counter, with signs showing the name of the dish and, ideally, the ingredients used for it as well.

TimetablingThe timetable should be set so that all students have set, regular lunchtimes at some point between 11:00 and 13:00. All students must have the opportunity to sit at the table for about 20 minutes so that they have enough time to eat, but also time to chat with their friends. Add to that the time it takes for them to get their meals and return their plates afterwards.

Layout of the premisesClean, fresh, pleasantly decorated rooms can influence appetite and well-being. Plants, screens and decent light-ing can all be used to screen off the school restaurant and make it feel a bit more homely. The amount of noise in the room also affects the whole eating experience. A wide range of soundproofing fabrics or other sound attenuat-ing materials are available nowadays which can be placed on ceilings, walls, floors, under or on tables, under chair

legs and elsewhere. The noise of clattering plates can be avoided by positioning the plate return area off to one side.

All students can stay as long as they need to if there are enough seats. Use adjacent premises if necessary.

Physical and social shortcomings make it harder for stu-dents to pick up good eating habits. Stress and noise in school restaurants, a sense of exclusion, fights and bully-ing can all result in students not wanting to eat at school. This is a work environment problem, and student safety representatives and adults at the school should deal with the situation.

In Years 7 to 9 and at upper secondary level, student safety representatives are appointed to represent students in work environment initiatives at the school. Representa-tives have to monitor students’ work environment, report on any shortcomings and pass on any views and requests to the school’s work environment officer.

“The school meal is also a vital part of the work envi-ronment. “

“All students must have the opportunity to sit at the table for about 20 minutes so that they have enough time to eat, but also time to chat with their friends.”

PREREQUISITES FOR PLEASANT SCHOOL MEALS:

n Diners and staff in school restaurants treat one another with respect.

n Students are welcomed into the school restau-rant with information on that day’s lunch.

n Lunch at school is timetabled so that:

– every student eats at the same time every day

– lunch is served between 11:00 and 13:00

– all students have about 20 minutes.

n The school restaurant is designed in a manner that appeals to students.

n Queuing times are kept as short as possible.

n Noise levels in the school restaurant is kept as low as possible.

n The school restaurant have well thought-out logistics so that diners who are sitting and eating are not disturbed by people queuing or passing by.

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Nutritional recommendationsNordic nutritional recommendations (NNR 2012) gives Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) for nutrient and energy intakes for both sexes and various age groups. These rec-ommendations are also the official national nutritional recommendations in Sweden. They have been devised so as to promote good health and reduce the risk of dietrelated illness. NNR 2012 is basad on systematic reviews of scien-tific literature, involving a large group of scientific experts. The recommendations have been revised every 8th year.

There are no major differences between nutritious food for children and nutritious food for adults, but the nutri-tional content of food is particularly important for young people who are growing and developing. Ideally, our daily food intake should be split over three main meals – break-fast, lunch and dinner – with a few snacks between meals. Breakfast should provide 20–25 per cent of the day’s energy intake, lunch 25–35 per cent and dinner 25–35 per cent. The rest can come from one to three snacks.

Energy and nutritional content of lunchOrdinary, varied food often provides a good mix of nutri-ents in the right quantities. However, it is harder to get the right amounts of some nutrients in a meal. Saturated and unsaturated fats, fibre, vitamin D and iron are just a few examples.

Nutritious school meals

“There are no major differ-ences between nutritious food for children and nutri-tious food for adults, but the nutritional content of food is particularly important for young people who are grow-ing and developing.”

The composition and nutritional content of meals varies from meal to meal and from day to day. It is appropriate for an average school lunch to provide around 30 per cent of students’ reference value for energy intake and DRVs of vitamins and minerals. The average should include all lunches at schools over at least four consecutive weeks.

Some nutrients are particularly important to school-age children and should therefore be included in the assessment of the nutritional content of school meals. Reference values corresponding to approximately 30 per cent of the DRVs for these nutrients are shown in Table 1. These reference values are produced at group level, and the actual energy requirement differs from individual to individual. The refer-ence values may need to be adapted if many of the students at the school are particularly active or particularly inactive.

Based on the energy content in a portion of lunch for 10 to 12-year olds, the portion size for other age groups is cal-culated using conversion factors of 0.8 for 6 to 9-year-olds, 1.1 for 13 to 15-year-olds and 1.2 for 16 to 18-year-olds.

Nutritional aspects of particular significanceCarbohydrate qualityCarbohydrates in food should be of good quality; or, in other words, come from foods which provide energy but other important nutrients as well. Whole meal bread, root vegetables, vegetables and fruit are good sources of carbo-hydrates as they provide fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals as well as energy. Wholegrain is found in grain products and can be both wholegrains and grains that have been crushed or milled to make wholegrain flour. The important thing is to make sure that the grain is included; endosperm, germ and bran. Research has shown that peo-ple who eat a lot of wholegrain run less risk of cardiovas-cular disease, diabetes, obesity, and possibly also cancer. Foods which are rich in sugar, such as soft drinks and sweets, give you a lot of energy but few nutrients. Particu-larly sweet drinks (soft drinks, juice, energy drinks, drinks served with meals) may contribute to the development of obesity. Sugar and grazing on snacks also increase the risk of tooth decay.

Many children in Sweden eat too much sugar and not

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enough fibre and wholegrain. This

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is why it is a good thing if schools can give students the opportunity to learn to enjoy wholegrain products. Schools should not provide confectionery of any kind, but should instead make it easy for students to make healthy choices. That said, however, a well planned menu may include ketchup or preserves as side dishes with meals such as meat-balls and black pudding.

Foods sweetened using sweeteners provide no sugar based energy, but they frequently fail to pro-vide nutrients either. It is unnecessary for children to get used to sweet flavours, whether they are derived from sweeteners or from sugar.

Fat qualityFat is needed to help our bodies absorb cer-tain vitamins and for our food to give us sufficient energy. It can also highlight many flavours and affect the texture of our food. Fats are normally divided into saturated fat and unsaturated fat. Unsaturated fats include monoun-saturated fat and polyunsaturated fat.

Polyunsaturated fats are essential, which means that we have to get them from food as our bodies are unable to manufacture them. Research has shown that switching to more polyunsaturated fat and less saturated fat in our food reduces the riskfactors of cardiovascular disease.

Swedish children do not eat enough polyunsaturated fat and eat more saturated fat than recommended. This is why it is important for school lunches to be of good fat quality. Good fat quality means more unsaturated fat (particularly polyunsaturated fat) and less saturated fat.

Common sources of polyunsaturated fat are oily fish (such as salmon, mackerel and herring), oils and liquid and

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spreadable fats based on rapeseed, maize or sunflower oil, for example.

Sausage, minced meat products, cheese, butter and other fatty dairy products. are common sources of saturated fat.

To increase our intake of polyunsaturated fat, it is a good idea to serve oily fish frequently and to use fats containing a large proportion of oil in our food and on our bread. You can also make your own dips with oil to have with bread. Why not try making a chickpea dip? Salad buffets also provide good opportunities for encouraging people to eat more unsaturated fat in the form of oil in dressings and

pickles, for example. Oil or good quality liquid fats are recommended for cooking, especially those which

meet the criteria for the Keyhole symbol.Skimmed milk, skimmed sour milk and low-fat

yogurt are recommended as a way of reducing our intake of saturated fat, instead of fattier dairy products. When cooking, some of the cream can be replaced with milk. If fattier milk is served and/

or more saturated fat is used in cooking and as a spead, this can be compensated in a varity of ways. For instance, one sausage dish per month can be swapped for oily fish and more sauces based on vegetables and oil, such as tomato sauce, can be served instead of sauces and dishes made with cream and cheese.

Table 1. Age-specific reference values for energy and nutritional content in the average school lunch, equivalent to 30 per cent of the recom-mended daily intake (RI) in accordance with Nordic  nutritional recommendations 2012.

Age (years) 6–9 10–12 13–15 16–18

Energy per portion (MJ) 30 % (25–35 %)

2.1 (1.7–2.4) 2.7 (2.2–3.1) 3.1 (2.5–3.6) 3.3 (2.7–3.8)

Energy per portion (kcal) 30 % (25–35 %)

500 (415–580)

645 (535–750)

735 (610–855)

790 (655–920)

Fat (25–40 E%) (g) 14–22 18–29 21–33 22–36

Saturated fat (10 E%) (g) Max. 6 7 8 9

Polyunsaturated fat (5–10 E%) (g) 3–6 4–7 4–8 4–9

Carbohydrates (45–60 E%) (g) 55–73 71–95 81–108 87–116

Protein (10–20 E%) (g) 12–24 16–32 18–36 19–39

Fibre (g) 6 8 9 10

Vitamin D (µg) 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0

Vitamin C (mg) 12 15 23 23

Folate (µg) 39 60 90 120

Iron (mg) 2.7 3.3 4.5 4.5

Salt (g) Max. 1.2* 1.8* 1.8* 1.8*

* Should be used as a long-term target as this may be difficult to achieve in practice at present. 1.8 g of salt is equivalent to 0.7 g of sodium.

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FolateFolate (or folic acid) is needed for cell metabolism and the formation of red blood cells. A shortage of folate leads to anaemia. Dark green leafy vegetables and various kinds

of cabbage, beans, chickpeas, lentils, fruits and berries are the best sources of

folate. Wholegrain products, sour milk and yoghurt also contain

a relatively large amount of folate. Folate is susceptible to heat and does not tolerate warming particularly well. There is a risk that children and adults who eat too few

vegetables will not get enough folate.

If school lunches include at least 100 grams of vegetables and wholegrain

products and milk products as well, this will gen-erally supply sufficient amounts of folate.

Vitamin DVitamin D has many important functions in the body, among them helping to strengthen the skeleton. Many children do not get enough vitamin D, and it can be dif-ficult to make school lunches sufficiently rich in vitamin D. This is particularly true of menus which do not include fish.

Oily fish such as herring, salmon and mackerel are very rich in vitamin D, but this vitamin can also be found in lean fish, poultry and eggs. Other very important sources are liquid and spreadable fats enriched with vitamin D and enriched milk. For a menu to provide sufficient vitamin D, it is important to choose enriched foods when cooking and as accompaniments to meals. Fat-free, skimmed and semi-skimmed milk (fat content of up to 1.5 per cent) is always enriched with vitamin D. All alternatives to milk (such as oatmilk or soya drink) should be enriched with calcium, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin D.

CalciumCalcium is needed to build a strong skeleton and teeth. Nearly all Swedish children get enough calcium. For children aged over six, half a litre of milk, sour milk and yoghurt per day is enough to meet their need for calcium. Milk, cheese and other dairy products in their food are also included. One or two slices of cheese gives about as much calcium as one decilitre of milk. Leafy greens such as broccoli and spinach are also rich in calcium. The leaner hard cheese is, the higher its calcium content. All alterna-tives to milk (such as oat or soya drink) should be enriched with calcium, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin D.

IronOne of the functions of iron is to make sure that the red blood cells can transport oxygen around the body to the brain and muscles. In studies, iron deficiency has shown links with poorer performance at school. Good sources of iron are offal such as liver and black pudding, meat (especially beef and lamb), eggs, beans, wholemeal bread, wholemeal rice, mil-let, fortified cereals and most dark green leafy vegetables (such as broccoli, kale and spinach). There is also a kind of traditional crispbread “paltbröd” with a good iron con-tent since it has blood as an ingredient.

“Many children do not get enough vitamin D, and it can be difficult to make school lunches sufficiently rich in vitamin D.”

STUDENTS FROM THE AGE OF 10 AND ADULTS are recommended to consume at least 500 grams of fruit and vegetables per day (5 to 10-year-olds: 400 grams). Most people eat less than this. To increase the intake of fruit and vegetables at lunch, a varied

and inviting salad buffet can be placed first in the serving line, and fruit, vegetables and pulses can be included in the cooked food as well. Teachers may also have an important part to play in making stu-dents more interested in fruit and vegetables.

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In any vegetarian diet, it is important to have iron-rich sources of protein such as beans, peas and lentils. Milk and cheese are rich in protein and nutrients but contain very little iron. Phytic acid is a mineral binding compound found in most iron-rich vegetables which inhibits the absorp-tion of iron. Phytic acid can be broken down by long-term proving of bread, e.g. sourdough, or by soaking and germi-nation of legumes and pulses. Vitamin C from fresh fruit and vegetables, for example, increases the body’s absorp-tion of iron from vegetable sources. Traditional vegetarian diets also include lacto-fermented vegetables, which may improve iron absorption.

SaltChildren and adults consume more salt than is good for them. This is why it is a good idea to get children used to having less salt in their diet right from their earliest years. The national target for salt intake among adults is six grams of salt per day. This is equiva-lent to around one teaspoonful of salt per day, or around two grams of salt in a lunch. Most of the sale in our diets comes from processed meats, bread, cheese and ready meals. The best thing to do is choose foods with a lower salt content. The criteria for labelling with the Keyhole symbol include a limited salt content.

It is also important only to add moderate amounts of salt when cooking, and the salt used should be enriched with iodine. Soy sauces, mixed spices and broths contain a lot of salt. Use low-salt broths.

Fresh herbs, garlic, ginger, chilli, lemon and lime are examples of flavour enhancers which can be used to par-tially replace salt. To reduce students’ salt intake, it is a good idea not to have salt and spice blends containing salt available in the school restaurant.

Menu planningThe lunchtime selection of dishes should include the fol-lowing every day:

l one or more cooked dishes, ideally including a vegetar-ian dish that everyone can enjoy

l a salad buffet containing at least five different varietiesl bread and spreadable fatl milk and water

To be able to offer meals which are both nutritious and tasty and which students like, menus should be planned in close cooperation with the staff who are to prepare the

food, and also with the assistance of the people who serve or eat with the children every day.

Different meals provide different types of nutrients. Previous guidelines used to include serving frequencies for all kinds of dishes, but in order to encourage more vegetar-ian dishes and people’s own choice of meat varieties, Table 2 shows only the serving frequencies for the dishes with the most nutritional importance: fish, sausage and black pudding/liver.

Good food choicesThese suggestions for food choices have been produced to assist with the planning and preparation of nutritious school meals and are shown in Table 2. Children´s nutri-tional habits and preferences have been taken into account to make it easier to cook meals that are accepted and appreciated. It is possible to comply with nutritional rec-ommendations in other ways as well, and all schools are free to use these guidelines to whatever extent they prefer. The food choices are linked with one another as different foods can be sources of the same nutrients. Find out more in the section entitled Nutritional aspects of particular significance.

“Fresh herbs, garlic, ginger, chilli, lemon and lime are examples of flavour enhanc-ers which can be used to partially replace salt.”

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Table 2. Suggestions for good choices of foods when planning nutritious school menus.

Food group Recommendation

Vegetables, root vegetables and fruit

l At least 100 g of vegetables, legumes and fruit per lunch (in the food and as an accompaniment)

l Serve cooked, raw and pickled vegetables.l The salad buffet should have at least five different varieties of vegeta-

bles, legumes, vegetable combinations or fruitl Most of the vegetables should be “coarse” vegetables, such as root

vegetables, cabbage, onions, cauliflower and /or broccolil It is a good idea to choose “coarse” vegetables from an environmental

perspective

Legumes (lentils, beans, peas, soya products, tofu)

l Serve daily with the salad buffet, ideally marinatedl Should be included in most of the vegetarian dishesl From an environmental perspective, it is good to replace some of the

meat with legumes in dishes such as Bolognese sauce and burgers

Potatoes, pasta, rice, bread and other cereals

l Most of the bread should meet the Keyhole symbol criteria, and ideally offer several different kinds

l Alternate with whole meal variants of for example pasta and ricel From an environmental perspective, it is good to serve potatoes, pasta

and other cereals (such as wheatberry, oats, bulgur and quinoa) more often than rice

Fish l Fish dishes at least once per weekl Oily fish (e.g. salmon, mackerel and herring) at least twice every four

weeksl Herring from the Baltic Sea, including the Gulf of Bothnia, should not

be served at schools*l Serve oily fish as an accompaniment, e.g. pickled herring, smoked or

canned mackerel, sardines, smoked herring pâtél From an environmental perspective, it is good to vary fish varieties

and choose fish that is compliant with the criteria for MSC or the KRAV ecolabel

Meat and minced beef, pork, chicken

l Choose minced meat with a low fat content, around 10-15 % fat l If semi-prepared or fully prepared products are used, choose by prefer-

ence alternatives which meet Keyhole symbol criteria (low fat, salt and sugar content)

l From an environmental perspective, it is good to limit the meat consumption and increase the quantity of vegetables, and also to choose meat which has as little impact as possible on the environment

Black pudding or beef liver/chicken liver

l Serve once a monthl Chickpea or lentil patties, or another meat dish, are iron-rich alterna-

tives

* Some fish contain large amounts of dioxins and PCBs, such as herring from the Baltic Sea in the Gulf of Bothnia. Children and women of childbearing age should not consume such fish more than two to three times a year. Schools should not serve Baltic herring. Detailed advice on fish consumption can be found on the National Food Agency website.

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Food group Recommendation

Sausage and processed meats

l Sausage with a fat content of more than 10 % no more than once every four weeks, or sausage with a fat content of up to 10 % no more than three times every four weeks

l Ideally, choose products which are compliant with Keyhole symbol criteria (high meat content, low fat, salt and sugar content)

Fat for cooking l Oil or liquid fat with good fat quality**, ideally products which meet Keyhole symbol criteria

l Fats enriched with vitamin D

Cream, crème fraiche, cream cheese and milk for cooking

l Limited amounts of dairy products besides milk (particularly ones with a fat content in excess of 30 %) in cooking

l Milk enriched with vitamin D (mandatory enrichment for milk with a fat content of up to 1.5 %)

Salt, broth, soya, herb salt

l Use as little salt and as few spices containing salt, such as broth, soya and herb salt, as possible

l Use only iodised saltl Do not make salt and spice blends containing salt available in the

school restaurant

Cheese l Most of the cheese used (in the food and as an accompaniment) should meet the Keyhole symbol criteria (max. 17 % fat and 0.5 g sodium/100 g)

Sandwich spreads l Spreadable fat with good fat quality**, ideally products which meet Keyhole symbol criteria

l Fats enriched with vitamin Dl Other spreads containing oil, such as chickpea dip, lentil pâté, pesto or

mayonnaisel Pâté of oily fish such as salmon or mackerel

Dressings for the salad buffet

l Dressing based on oil with good fat quality** every day. Ideally also pesto and other dips containing oil

l Dressings based on dairy products (crème fraiche, sour cream) should not contain more than 15% fat

Drinks served with meals

l Milk and water should be offered every dayl Skimmed milk (0.5 % fat content)l Milk enriched with vitamin D (mandatory enrichment for milk with a

fat content of up to 1.5 %)l No sweet drinks containing sugar or sweetener, e.g. drinks served with

meals, nectar, juice, soft drinks

** A higher proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids and a lower proportion of saturated fatty acids in total fat content.

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The Keyhole symbolThe Keyhole symbol is a practical aid when it comes to choosing food. The Keyhole is the symbol of the National Food Agency, making it easier to make healthy choices. Food bearing the Keyhole symbol is suitable for all healthy people who want to eat healthily, from the age of two upwards. The Keyhole represents:

l less and/or healthier fatl less sugarl less saltl more dietary fibre and wholegrain

Foods labbeled with the Keyhole symbol must meet one or more of the above criteria. The Keyhole is a voluntary label, and there may be foods which meet these criteria but which are not labelled with the Keyhole symbol. Find out more about the criteria in the regulation LIVSFS 2009:6, the Key-hole symbol.

Nutritious cookingIt is important for catering teams to follow the designated recipes when they offer menus for which the nutritional content has been calculated. You can often season food and make other small adjustments without affecting the nutritional content, but it is important to check additions and changes with the person who carried out the calcu-lations. Details such as the choice of cooking fat and the amount of salt in a meal are of significance to the nutri-tional content of the meal, and in this instance the catering team should follow the recipe’s instructions. It is important to maintain good lines of communication and cooperation between the person who plans the menu and the people who prepare the food.

The nutritional content is affected not only by the ingre-dients used, but also by how they are prepared. Nutrients are lost for a variety of reasons. Minerals are not destroyed, but they may leach out into the water in which the food is being prepared. Vitamins are destroyed and leach out of the food, but to differing extents depending on the vitamin in question. The amount of vita-mins and minerals that leach out is slightly higher when boiling a food which was pre-viously deep-frozen as the cell walls have already broken down to some extent. That said, the energy-giving nutrients fat, protein and carbohydrates are not destroyed during normal cooking. The content of water-soluble vitamins in particular is gradually reduced when the food is kept warm. Therefore, food should be kept warm for as short a time as possible. The appearance,

flavour and smell of food are also affected by keeping it warm. To ensure that food contains sufficient nutrients and still smells, tastes and looks good, the National Food Agency recommends that potatoes should be kept warm for no more than one hour, and two hours for other foods. A minimum temperature of 60°C should be maintained when keeping food warm, for reasons of hygiene.

The cooking techniques common in school kitchens, such as roasting and steaming, are often gentle and help to minimize nutrient losses. When baking bread, a long prov-ing time and, in particular, sourdough baking are positive as these decrease the amount of phytines in the bread, which means that the body can absorb more of the iron in the bread.

The Plate modelThe Plate model can be used to achieve a correct balance of nutrients in meals. It shows appropriate proportions between the various elements of the meal. The Plate model is divided into three sections, two larger, one slightly smaller. One of the larger sections is filled with vegetables and root vegetables, and the other is filled with potatoes, pasta, rice or other cereals. Meat, fish, egg or beans and lentils are placed in the smaller section.

Set out a plate containing the lunch for that day as per the Plate model to show students how their meals are planned. All adults participating in the meal can help stu-dents to learn to take the correct proportions and make good choices in the school restaurant.

Soup, porridge, sour milk and sandwichesA nutritious soup should include potatoes, rice, pasta or another carbohydrate-rich component plus a source of protein (or alternatively, a protein-rich spread for sand-wiches such as a chickpea dip, cheese or meat). If a soup has a good energy and nutrient content, in practice it will be a thick, almost casserole-like soup. Extra slices of bread

“The nutritional content is affected not only by the ingredients used, but also by how they are prepared.”

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and spreads also need to be served with the soup, and/or a dessert such as pancakes. A salad buffet should also be served with soups.

Porridge, sour milk and sandwiches are best eaten at breakfast and as snacks. They often provide insufficient amounts of energy and nutrition to be served for lunch. However, there may be good reason to serve these types of meals on certain occasions, such as the traditional Swedish rice pudding at Christmas.

Accompaniments to mealsThe salad buffet, bread, milk and spreads all make a pos-itive contribution to the nutritional content of the meal.

l The salad buffet should be made up of at least five dif-ferent components (vegetables, vegetable combinations or fruit). Of these, at least three should be of the type “fibre-rich vegetables and root vegetables”, at least one type based on legumes and at least one type in the form of either a salad vegetable or a fruit. It is good if the lunch provides at least 100 grams of vegetables, legumes and fruit, includ-ing prepared vegetables: see Table 3.l The bread types should be varied, and more than half of the bread served should meet the Keyhole symbol criteria.l The sandwich spread should meet Keyhole symbol crite-ria, with a high proportion of polyunsaturated fat and a low proportion of saturated fat. In this case, it is an important source of polyunsaturated fat and provides greater scope for saturated fat to be included in cooking from sources such as cream, sausage and cheese.l The dressing should be based on an oil which meets the Keyhole symbol criteria, such as rapeseed oil or olive oil.l Other accompaniments which can be offered on a daily basis include pasta salad, potato salad and quinoa salad, tuna, herring, mackerel or egg so that students can put together their own meals. Here, too, it is important to encourage students to put together their meals according to the Plate model.l Drinks with meals Milk and water should be offered every day. Milk provides lots of important nutrients, but school lunches should be nutritious even without milk as

many students are not used to drinking milk with their meals. Milk should nevertheless be offered to all students every day as it may be an important supplement to their food, particularly if they do not eat a whole portion of lunch at school. The milk should meet the Keyhole symbol criteria so as to provide maximum scope for saturated fat in the prepared food, and be enriched with vitamin D.

Various versions of vegetarian Many vegetarians are lacto-ovo vegetarians, i.e. they do not eat meat and fish, but they do eat milk and eggs. Lac-tovegetarians do not eat eggs either. It is easy to introduce sufficient quantities of protein in a lacto-ovo vegetarian menu, but it can be difficult to include sufficient quantities of iron and vitamin D. It is important to replace the meat with foods which provide both protein and iron. Beans, lentils, peas, soya products (such as soya mince and tofu) and eggs are examples of such foods.

Table 3. Suggestions for what could be included in a salad buffet.

Fibre-rich vegetables and root vegetables

Legumes Salad vegetables FruitEither salad or fruit

At least three different ones every day

At least one every day At least one every day

E.g. carrot, turnip, parsnip, celeriac, beetroot, cabbage, red cabbage, kale, Chinese lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, corn

E.g. green beans, peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, chickpea dip, lentil dip

E.g. tomato, lettuce leaves (romaine, green, iceberg, rucola), spinach, cucumber, pepper

E.g. apples, pears, plums, citrus fruits, nectarines

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Many vegetable affect absorption of iron in particular. A number of factors stimulate absorption, such as vitamin C, which can be found in fresh vegetables, root vegetables, fruit and berries.

Other factors also inhibit absorption, such as phytic acid and tannins, which can be found in wholegrain, tea and coffee. Foods rich in vitamin C should be included with every meal, specifically for the purposes of iron absorp-tion. Sourdough baking, a long proving time and lactic proving of vegetables can increase the body’s absorption of iron in vegetarian food.

Vegetarian food should also have good fat quality, i.e. more unsaturated fat (particularly polyunsaturated fat) and less saturated fat. In a menu that does not include fish, oils and liquid spread-able fats containing polyunsaturated fats are important, particularly the types rich in omega 3 fatty acids such as rapeseed oil.

To ensure that vegetarian food provides as much vita-min D as possible, it is very important for the milk and fats used to be enriched with vitamin D. In addition, it may be necessary to supplement the cooked food with a glass of milk or an enriched vegetable drink such as an oat drink.

Vegetarian food is sometimes low in energy. It is good to offer both cooked and raw vegetables and make sure that the food is not too low on fat so as to ensure that portions do not have to be too large.

Vegan foodVegan food includes only vegetables and so does not include meat, fish, eggs or dietary products of any kind. Vegan food is entirely lacking in vitamin B12, which is found only in foods of animal origin. A vegan menu also includes less protein, calcium, riboflavin (B2) and vita-min D than a menu which includes meat and fish, and it is considerably harder for the body to utilise the iron in vegetables. Vegan food requires careful planning, and also supplements of at least vitamin B12 and vitamin D to make it sufficiently nutritious. Although a vegan menu can never be made entirely nutritious, it is important for students who choose to eat a vegan diet to have a diet which is as well thought-out possible, allowing them to make the best possible choices in the school restaurant. Legumes in par-ticular, in some form, should always be included in cooked food and/or the salad buffet.

The National Food Agency website includes informa-tion on what should be considered when planning vegan menus for school restaurants. Students and carers should be informed of the fact that vegan food in schools often provides insufficient nutrition, and if possible they should

also be given advice on how to supplement this diet, ideally in cooperation with the student health service.

Meals for students with special dietary requirementsThe requirements of the Education Act in terms of nutri-tious school meals also include special diets. Students who suffer from allergies and hypersensitivity are also entitled to receive nutritious food which they can eat safely with-out running the risk of falling ill. Schools must have pro-cedures to ensure that such food is available to them, and ideally work in cooperation with the student health ser-vice with regard to students who suffer from allergies and hypersensitivity. It is important for students who suffer from allergies or hypersensitivity to have been diagnosed correctly so that they can avoid certain foods. Find out more in the section on Safe school meals. It is important for good replacement products to be used in food for stu-dents who suffer from allergies or hypersensitivity so that their diets are as nutritious as the diets of other students:

l Gluten intolerance – offer varied, fibre-rich, gluten-free bread and pasta, sauces prepared using gluten-free flour.

l Milk protein allergy – use completely milk-free foods (such as oat or soya drinks) enriched with calcium, ribo-flavin and vitamin D.

l Lactose intolerance – use lactose-free milk products or entirely milk-free foods (such as oat or soya drinks) enriched with calcium, riboflavin and vitamin D.

l Eggs and soya – if the protein-rich component, such as burgers, are replaced, it is important to replace it with a food offering equivalent nutrition (particularly as regards iron, salt, saturated fat and vitamin D). Such as a minced meat product which contains no egg or soya, or a vegetarian burger made with legumes.

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l Fish allergy – this allergy often results in insufficient quantities of polyunsaturated fat (particularly omega 3 fatty acids) and vitamin D. Use good quality oils (particularly rapeseed oil, which has a high content of omega 3 fatty acids), milk products, eggs and fats enriched with vitamin D.

Avoid cooking the same dish for all students who suffer from allergies and hypersensitivity: lactose-intolerant stu-dents do not need egg-free food, for example. It can be difficult to make these dishes nutritious, and they are not always all that tasty. On the other hand, it is wise to make sure that thickening agents, seasonings, broths and fats do not contain unnecessary allergens.

Students suffering from diabetes will receive personal-ised dietary guidelines from their dieticians at the health-care service. It is important for the school kitchen to main-tain contact with the carer so that the student can make good choices in the school restaurant.

Some students may need menus suited to their needs and capabilities if they are disabled. Schools should also take into account religious demands in terms of food and ingre-dients as far as possible.

Special dietsSpecial diets such as LCHF (low-carbohydrate, high-fat), Atkins and Montignac are not recommended in schools as they are often devised as weight loss diets which are not appropriate for healthy, growing individuals. Many of these diets involve excluding certain foods to a lesser or greater extent. This can result in a one-sided diet which makes it more difficult for students to get all the nutrients they need. Students with obesity problems should receive personalised advice from the health service.

DocumentationThe Education Act states that every principal and pre-school/school must carry out systematic quality work in which activities are regularly planned, followed up and developed. School meals are a part of education, so they are also covered by this requirement. Feedback on the doc-umentation must also be provided to organisational level, i.e. the responsible committee or board.

The content of the food served needs to be assessed or calculated so as to ascertain whether it does actually con-tain the right amounts of energy and nutrition. Either the nutritional content can be calculated in detail, or a simple assessment of the nutritional content can be carried out using the online tool SkolmatSverige. The SkolmatSverige assessment is best used in school restaurants which largely follow the advice given in these guidelines. Calculations of nutritional content allow greater freedom when plan-ning menus, but university-level expertise in nutrition is required to evaluate them.

However, no matter how nutritious a meal is, it has to be eaten before it can do any good. This is why schools should also follow up regularly to see how many students choose to eat in the school restaurant and how many eat a whole portion of the food served. It may also be a good idea to document other aspects of meal quality, such as the dining environment and time available for eating.

This can be done using the online tool SkolmatSverige or your own assessments and student questionnaires.

Calculation of nutritional contentA nutrition calculation programme, access to nutrition data and a person skilled in the field of nutrition are needed in order to calculate nutritional content. Calculations of nutritional content must include everything offered to students: food, sauces, fruit, vegetables, dressings, bread,

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spreadable fat and drinks with their meals. However, it is recommended that the meals are compliant with the nutri-tional recommendations both with and without milk to drink. Calculations of nutritional content should be car-ried out for all dishes served for at least four weeks. Special diets often do not need to be calculated separately if the foods excluded are replaced with foods with equivalent nutritional content: see the section on Meals for students with special dietary requirements. The exception to this is when the protein source (e.g. fish, eggs, meat) is left out entirely or replaced with something completely different. In this case, a separate calculation of nutritional content is recommended.

For the calculation of nutritional content to provide reli-able results, the following aspects are important.

1 The calculation must take place over at least four con-secutive weeks and to show the average energy and nutritional content of lunches.

2 The nutritional content must be calculated for at least the nutrients specified in Table 1.

3 The nutritional value of ingredients must be taken from the National Food Agency Foods database in the first instance. All composite ingredients (semi-pre-pared and fully prepared) should have product-spe-cific indications of nutritional content (for at least the ones listed in Table 1).

4 The nutritional content must also be calculated for alternative dishes.

5 The nutritional content of special diets need only be calculated separately if the protein source (e.g. fish, eggs or meat) is left out entirely or replaced with some-thing completely different (or if individual ingredients are left out without replacing them with equivalent ones).

6 The programme should take into account nutritional changes when food is prepared, or include ingredients in the quantities in question when prepared.

7 The calculation must include everything offered to students, including accompaniments to the meal. However, it is recommended that the meals are com-pliant with nutritional recommendations both with and without milk to drink.

7 Procedures exist for ensuring that the menu and rec-ipes calculated are the same as the ones served at school.

The food served should be the same as the food in the menu for which the nutritional content has been calculated, in terms of both ingredients used and quantities prepared. It is important for the people who are to prepare the food to take part in planning menus and devising recipes, as they can put their creativity and professional knowledge to good

use and help devise really tasty, nutritious meals which stu-dents enjoy, but also so as to ensure that the recipes calcu-lated are actually followed and used when catering.

Assessment of nutritional content with SkolmatSverigeAs an alternative or complement to calculation of nutri-tional content, the nutritional content of school meals can be assessed using the online tool SkolmatSverige at www.skolmatsverige.se. This assessment can be carried out by anyone, even people who have no expertise in nutrition. This tool performs a simple assessment of the nutritional content of the menu and the school receives a report on the results by way of documentation. Menus and recipes should be documented for this type of assessment as well.

SkolmatSverige also includes an option for schools to document other areas relating to meal quality, such as safe food, the dining environment and educational aspects.

PREREQUISITES FOR NUTRITIOUS SCHOOL MEALS:

n Serve a complete school meal every day; – one or more cooked dishes, ideally including a

vegetarian dish that everyone can enjoy – a salad buffet containing at least five different

varieties – bread and spreadable fat – milk and water.

n The dishes prepared are planned and presented to diners as per the Plate model.

n School lunches (including alternative dishes and special diets) provide, on average, around 30 per cent of students’ recommended energy and nutrient intake.

n Caterers can show that the food served is nutritious by:

– showing that they are following a menu which has undergone calculation of nutritional content , and/or

– having an up-to-date SkolmatSverige report.

n If the nutritional content of a menu is calculated centrally, it is produced in close cooperation with the people who will be preparing the food.

n Schools regularly follow up on how many people attend the school restaurant and how many people eat a whole portion of lunch at school.

n No sweet drinks (juice, cordial, soft drinks, energy drinks) are served at school.

n Pastries, ice cream and sweets are not provided by the school.

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Our food affects our environment due to greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication, overfishing and the use of pes-ticides. However, food can also have a positive impact on farmland and biodiversity, for example. Some food has a major impact on the environment, some less. Therefore, there is a lot that can be done to decrease the negative enviromental impact of school meals.

Meat has the greatest environmental impact. Therefore, it is a good idea to cut back on meat and increase the quan-tities of vegetables consumed (such as vegetables, legumes, potatoes and cereals). Choose fish which has been fished or grown sustainably, choose more coarse vegetables (root vegetables, cabbage and onion), buy foods which are in season and use more organic foods. All food production

has an environmental impact, so it is also important to reduce the amount of food wasted.

There are a number of ways in which school restau-rants can be eco-smart, besides choosing the right foods. Coordinating transport to and from the kitchen, reducing energy consumption in the kitchen and sorting waste at source are just a few example.

Eco-smart menu planningGood choices of foods can help to reduce the impact of school meals on the environment. The National Food Agency has produced information on how to make eco-smart food choices:

Sustainable school meals

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l Cut back on meat and increase the quantities of vege-tables consumed instead (such as vegetables, legumes, potatoes and cereals). Schools can help reduce environ-mental impact by increasing the proportion of vegeta-bles in meat dishes, or some-times swapping a meat dish for a vegetarian alternative.

l Choose meat which has as lit-tle adverse impact on the envi-ronment as possible. Different types of meat have different lev-els of impact on the environment and affect it in differ-ent ways (find out more at www.livsmedelsverket.se).

l Choose fish which meets the criteria for MSC or KRAV labelling. This guarantees that the fish comes from sta-ble stocks which are caught or farmed in a way that has as little impact as possible on the environment. Serve different kinds of fish to reduce pressure on just a few species. To find out which stocks are stable, check the Swedish Environmental Management Council’s fish list. This can be found at www.msr.se.

l Choose fruit and vegetables which can be stored, such as coarse vegetables (root vegetables, cabbage, cauliflower

and onions), and choose delicate fruit and vegetables which are in season. Coarse vegetables are often grown in open fields and so have less impact on our climate than vegetables grown in greenhouses. Using vegetables which can be stored may help to reduce waste.

l Rice has more of an impact on the environment than cereals and potatoes due to high levels of greenhouse gas emissions during cultiration. Choose potatoes in the first instance, or cereal-based foods (such as pasta), and serve rice less often.

l Choose foods produced with restricted use of pesticides, or indeed none at all, e.g. organic foods. This reduces the environmental impact caused by chemical pesti-cides. That said, there is nothing to indicate that there is any difference in the nutritional content of organic foods and foods produced conventionally.

l Do not serve sweets, soft drinks or pastries. Producing sweet items like these also impacts on the environment. This is why it is a good idea, as regards the environ-ment, to also consume fewer foods which are not neces-sary from a nutritional standpoint.

l Choose liquid and spreadable fats containing a large proportion of vegetable oils. Rapeseed oil and olive oil,

“Meat has the greatest e nvironmental impact.”

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The Nordic Council of Ministers has produced a guide on eco-friendly catering which includes practi-cal tips on how catering teams can reduce waste:

l Set specific targets for reducing food waste, and work tenaciously to reach these targets.l Involve staff and students. Train them and motivate them.l Plan purchases when planning the menu, and create good ordering procedures.l Keep track of what you already have in the refrig-erator, freezer and cupboards. Store all foods by date.l Food will keep for longer if you lower the temper-ature in the refrigerators. It is also important not to break the cold chain. Foods can be used after they are past their best-before date, but smell and taste them first.l Products which are past their use-by date must not be used unless they have undergone some kind of treatment that can make them last longer, e.g. cook-

ing them and refrigerating them safely or freezing them before their use-by date.l If you have prepared too much food, you can use it later if you refrigerate or freeze it. Refrigeration should be started as soon as possible after heat treat-ment. Remember that the hazardous temperature range for bacterial growth (which can lead to food poisoning) is between about +8°C and +60°C. Rapid growth takes place at temperatures between +20°C and +40°C, and so it is important for the food to be refrigerated quickly and safely to below +8°C.l Refrigerated leftovers which have been handled safely can be reheated or turned into a new dish. Spend some time developing good procedures for serving buffets. Consider how much food you should set out at any one time. Food which has been left out at the serving counter should not be reused.

Source: Nordic Council of Ministers

PREREQUISITES FOR SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL MEALS:

n School restaurants work to reduce waste in the kitchen at the serving counter and plate waste as much as possible.

n Schools strive to reduce meat consumption and promote the consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruit and cereals.

n Environmental requirements are specified in connection with the purchasing of foods (see the sustainable food procurement tool provided by the Swedish Environmental Management Council).

n Food are choosen which have as little environ-mental impact as possible.

n Transports to and from the kitchen is coordi-nated and minimised.

n The amount of energy used in the kitchen is reduced to a minimum.

n Waste is sorted at source.

for example, result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions than butter. Avoid using palm oil, which is often grown on land which used to be rainforest. This has an adverse impact on both the climate and plant and animal life. There are now a number of accredited oil palm planta-tions where cultivation takes place in a more sustaina-ble way, but there are still not many of them.

Support for the specification of environmental and animal welfare requirements when purchasing foods can be found on the Swedish Environmental Management Council web-site at www.msr.se.

Reducing food wasteProducing food impacts on both the climate and the envi-ronmental effect, and this environmental impact has been to no effect if the food is then thrown away. Surveys have shown that around 20 per cent of all school meals are thrown away, half in the form of leftovers (plate waste) and half from preparation and serving. This waste is thought to be due to kitchen organisation, poor planning and communication, a lack of knowledge on how to deal with leftovers, rules being interpreted incorrectly, and lack of peace and quiet for students to enjoy their food. Pleas-ant and tasty schoolmeals increases the chances of the food being eaten instead of ending up in the waste.

Reducing food waste

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Safe school meals

Anyone serving food to others is responsible by law for ensuring that the food is safe. Primary responsibility for food safety rests with the food business operator. Such companies may be private or public and be run with or without profits. Find out more about the rules and dis-tribution of responsibilities in the section entitled Docu-ments which regulate school meals.

The industry guideline Handbok för säker mat i vård, skola och omsorg [The safe food handbook for health, education and care], published by the Swedish Associa-tion of Local Authorities and Regions, has been produced to make it easier for comply with food legislation. Every-one working with school meals should be aware of and apply the industry guidelines in ways appropriate to their own activities. A few examples of areas referred to in the industry guidelines are as follows:

l Schools must have procedures on how to deal with, pre-vent and address risks, and on how all this is to be doc-umented.

l Everyone working in the kitchens or serving foods, stu-dents and adults alike, must be healthy and wear cloth-ing appropriate for the task. Just as it is important for adults, it is important for students to learn procedures such as hand hygiene. Everyone present in the kitchen must have a reason for being there, and running around unnecessarily must be avoided. Food business operators are responsible for ensuring that food is safe, whether it is prepared by the kitchen staff or supplied by another company.

l Food prepared should be kept warm at temperatures of at least + 60°C in accordance with the guidelines to the Hygiene Ordinance. The storage time, temperature and cooling process are crucial to safety and hygiene. Besides which, the nutritional value and palatability of the food are reduced while it is being kept warm. Pre-paring/heating food to temperatures of around 70°C is an effective way of killing most bacteria.

l If students eat in the classroom, it is important to bear in mind hygiene procedures at mealtimes, e.g. by wiping down tables before and after meals using appropriate equipment.

Students in the kitchenInvolving students in meal-related activities and food preparation at school is a positive thing, provided that there are clear procedures and systems for such things. Of

course, students who help out in the kitchen are subject to the same requirements as regular staff in terms of hygiene and protective clothing, for example. The most important thing is to make sure that everyone involved knows the rules and knows what is required to make the food safe.

Trips and preparing food outdoorsStudents on trips should be given food which is every bit as good as the food they get at school. This food can be planned as part of the school’s menu and, if possible, be prepared outdoors by the school’s kitchen staff or other staff who have been given clear instructions. Food taken on trips must also be safe to eat. As this food may involve dif-ferent risks to the food served in school, the self-inspection system should also include procedures for trips and pre-paring food outdoors. Staff must feel secure in following procedures compiled in respect of safety and traceability. Food for students suffering from allergies and hypersensi-tivity should be labelled clearly so that everyone involved in preparing and serving the food are sure who should be given what. It is important to have a practical solution to allow anyone handling food to wash their hands.

Meals for students suffering from allergies and other hypersensitivityBeing allergic or hypersensitive to food means being una-ble to touch food which most other people can eat. The substances to which their bodies react are often terms allergens. The most common diagnoses can be found in the table on page 29.

It is unsafe to serve food to a hypersensitive student which contains the allergen which the student is unable to

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Type Allergens Symptoms How small a quantity can be tolerated?

Allergy Special proteins in food (e.g. in milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, soya, nuts, seeds and wheat)

The most common symptoms are stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, rash and asthma. A life-threatening condition known as anaphylaxis may occur

Some people may react to tiny quantities of the protein they are unable to tolerate. Some people may even react to proteins in the air, such as fish vapour or peanut dust

Gluten intolerance (coeliac disease)

Gluten found in wheat, rye, barley and spelt. Common oats are often contaminated with gluten (specially prepared gluten-free oats are available)

Symptoms related to malnutri-tion, such as growth inhibition and fatigue. Acute problems may include stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea

If a person who is gluten-in-tolerant consumes gluten equivalent to more than half a millilitre of wheat flour every day, this can lead to damage to the small intestine (which impairs nutrient uptake)

Lactose intolerance Lactose (milk sugar) Stomach pain, gas, diarrhoea. Lactose intolerance is rare in infants

Most people can tolerate the same amount of lactose as is found in one decilitre of milk, while this makes others feel ill

tolerate. Foods which claim to be free of certain allergens must therefore not contain such allergens in any quantity that would cause an allergic or hypersensitive person to react to them.

There are special limits for gluten-free and lactose-free foods. For more information and interpretations of the rules, please see in the National Food Agency publication Vägledning till kontrollmyndigheter m fl om livsmedel särskilt avsedda för personer med allergi eller intolerans (2012) [Guidelines for inspection authorities, etc., con-cerning foods specifically designed for people with aller-gies or intolerances (2012)].

Milk protein allergy and lactose intoleranceMilk protein allergy and lactose intolerance are two completely different things. People who are lactose-intolerant are unable to break down the carbohydrates in milk (lactose), while people who are allergic to milk protein are unable to tolerate the proteins in milk. There is hardly any lactose in hard cheese and lactose-free milk, but there is a lot of milk protein. Therefore, any-one who is allergic to milk protein must never be served lactose-free milk, cheese or any other form of milk. If an allergic person eats the thing they are allergic to, this can cause very serious symptoms and, indeed, life-threatening symp-toms.

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Planning special dietsWhen school meals are prepared, a lot of allergenic ingre-dients are handled which may cause hypersensitivity or allergic reactions. The National Food Agency recommends that nuts, almonds, peanuts and sesame seeds should not be included in school meals at all as they can cause very severe reactions in tiny quantities. Other foods containing allergens such as milk, eggs, fish, cereals containing glu-ten, etc. are important and common ingredients in school meals.

Hence it is important to have thorough procedures so as to be entire sure that all students are given the right food. It is important for the person responsible for meeting special dietary requirements to have expertise in the field and to undergo regular advanced training. Remember to involve students as well. There is a risk of students suffering from allergies and hypersensitivity to feel anxious or singled out during meals. It is important to have clear information and staff on hand who can answer questions at the serv-ing counter. Also try to serve special meals in ways which

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1. Be aware of students’ allergies and hypersen-sitivities

Updated student information (ideally with certificates)

Skills and regular training

2. Be aware of what food contains

Recipe

List of ingredients

Purchasing

Keep packaging

Label complete dishes and foods taken out of packaging

3. Keep things apart, and keep things clean

Separate storage of ingredients

Separate preparation surfaces and utensils

Clean the kitchen and machinery regularly

Hand wash

4. Serve the food correctly

Clear information for students when serving them

Staff to ask

Avoid treating students differently from the others

Avoid contamination

Avoid nuts, almonds, peanuts and sesame seeds in food

A few important pointers for planning special diets.

PREREQUISITES FOR SAFE SCHOOL MEALS:

n There is a delegation of authority which clearly indicates who is responsible for ensur-ing compliance with food safety legislation.

n The kitchen have procedures on how to deal with, prevent and address risks, and on how all this is to be documented.

n The kitchen have special procedures to ensure that students suffering from allergies and hypersensitivity are not made ill by their food.

n There is clear information at the serving counter on what meals contain.

n The school restaurants should avoid using nuts, almonds, peanuts and sesame seeds in food.

n Kitchen staff have expertise on food safety.

n All new staff receive training on the self-in-spection system.

n In the event of an incident (where a diner falls ill or receives food he/she cannot toler-ate), a report is written and procedures are reviewed, and if necessary the procedures are altered.

will give everyone the same opportunity to choose a seat and who they sit with. Students suffering from allergies and hypersensitivity have the same entitlement to positive mealtime experiences as their friends.

A few important pointers for planning special dietsBy far the most common cause of students reacting to allergens in their school meals is that something has gone wrong when the food was served. For instance, people who are allergic to milk may be served a meal containing milk or cheese. The people who prepared the food may also have failed to realise that compound foods (such as meatballs) contain a number of different ingredients, or that utensils may have not been kept separate, so resulting in contamination of the food.

If the special food served causes an allergic reaction, the manager (food business operator) must notify the relevant inspection authority and, in serious cases, the Swedish Work Environment Authority as well. The purpose of this report is to allow causes to be examined and procedures to be improved, helping to prevent the same thing happen-ing again. The problem may not have been caused by the handling of the food in the school kitchen: there may have been a problem with one of the ingredients. If the source of the allergen is not found in the lists of ingredients for the food, samples can be sent to the National Food Agency for analysis so that any incorrectly labelled foods can be identified.

Find out more in the section on Meals for students with special dietary requirements with regard to what you should consider in order to ensure that special food is nutritious.

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Nutritious snacks and breakfastsGood afternoon snacks and breakfasts provide ideal amounts of both energy and nutrition. Around 25 per cent of the recommended daily intake of energy and nutrition is enough for breakfast, with around 15–20 per cent covered by afternoon snacks. Two sandwiches, a glass of milk and a piece of fruit is an example of a good snack for Year 1–3 students. Breakfast may be slightly larger.

Breakfast and snacks should always include three build-ing blocks so as to provide sufficient nourishment:

l Milk product (or an alternative a similar nutritional content, such as an enriched oat drink)

l Bread with a filling and/or a cereal product (cornflakes, muesli)

l Fruit and vegetables

These foods make food easy to prepare and simple to vary. Ideally, use foods which meet the Keyhole symbol criteria.Snacks and breakfasts should not include sweet and/or

low-nutrient foods such as sweet fruit soups, fruit yoghurt, juice or pastries. They provide energy but too much sugar, and they rarely offer sufficient nutrition.

Youth recreation centres provide lunches during school holidays and on study days. See an earlier section in this document for more information on the planning and preparation of good lunchtime meals.

Safe breakfasts and snacksYouth recreation centres also need procedures for deal-ing with, preventing and addressing risks associated with meals. Find out more about the distribution of responsi-bilities in respect of compliance with food legislation in the section entitled Documents which regulate school meals. When food is handled at youth recreation centres, it is important to ensure that there are good procedures in place in terms of personal hygiene, and washing hands thoroughly is the most important consideration of all. It is also very important to know how foods and ingredients are to be stored so that they are not destroyed or cause

Good food at youth recreation centres

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food poisoning. The person responsible for ensuring that food is safe is also responsible for ensuring that students who are helping out learn everything they need to know to make sure the food is safe.

Everyone helping out with the handling of meals, stu-dents and adults alike, must be healthy and wear clothing appropriate for the task. Everyone present must have a rea-son for being there, and unnecessary visits to the kitchen should be avoided.

Procedures must also include food when on trips, and this applies to both hygiene and traceability. The menu and the trip as a whole must be planned so that staff can feel secure in following set procedures for safety and traceabil-ity. Everyone must also be able to maintain hand hygiene in a satisfactory manner.

There must be procedures for handling foods which can cause allergic reactions. Food should be stored in its original packaging as far as possible, but if not the new packaging must be labelled carefully. It is also crucial to be absolutely certain that no mistakes can be made when giving hyper-sensitive or allergic students their food. This is why foods prepared for people with allergies must be labelled care-fully so that veryone is sure who should be given what.

Educational breakfasts and snacksSnacks are often easy to prepare and students can help out with them. They provide a good opportunity for learning about food, hygiene and nutrients, while at the same time allowing students to practise working together and taking responsibility for others. Snacks, for many students, are the first meal that they can take responsibility for them-selves at home. Youth recreation centres have plenty of opportunities to demonstrate what good snacks look like and how they can be varied. Good role models and a posi-tive attitude towards food and meals are infectious and can encourage students to try new flavours. Have a good think about how breakfasts and snacks can be used as part of the educational activities at youth recreation centres.

Pleasant, tasty breakfasts and snacksIt is important to serve even snacks and breakfast in a pleasant way. Laying the table nicely shows that the snack is an important part of topping up on energy and sitting down for a few minutes. Breakfast and snacks are fairly alike and do not vary as much as lunch and dinner tend to do. Even so, it is possible to create all kinds of variations using different fruits, vegetables, bread varieties and sand-wich fillings. Snacks also provide opportunities for stu-dents to learn how to combine ordinary foods in new ways by taking inspiration from other cultures, for example.

“Snacks are often easy to prepare and students can help out with them.”

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A cafeteria can be an important place for students who are in their latter years at school by providing them with access to well planned snacks and per-haps even breakfast in the mornings. It is important for the range of foods on offer in the cafeteria to be healthy. It goes without saying that the school’s “sustainable lifestyle” message must be apparent in the cafeteria as well. Guidelines for the range of foods on offer in cafeterias may assist you with your work. These guidelines can be produced by the municipality or the headteacher together with school staff and students.A good range of foods on offer for a school cafeteria may include:

l Filled sandwichesl Milk, yoghurt and sour milkl Cornflakes/porridge/mueslil Vegetables, ideally cut up for

snacks or on sandwichesl Fruit, ideally fruit salad some-

times, or fruit cut up

Ideally, use foods which meet the Keyhole symbol crite-ria. There is not much scope for sugar, sweet things, sweet drinks and snacks if students are to receive the nourishment they require. Making healthy choices in the cafeteria must be easy for students. This is why the cafeteria should not provide sweets, ice cream, pastries, sweet drinks or snacks.

Cafeteria opening hoursTo ensure that as many students as possible eat a portion of lunch every day, it is inappropriate for the school cafeteria to compete for “business” at lunchtime. The best thing is to keep the cafeteria closed while lunch is being served, but opening it so that students can buy breakfast and snacks in the mornings and afternoons.

Safe school cafeteriaSchool cafeterias are also required to comply with food legislation and are responsible for ensuring that all food served is safe to eat. This means that clear procedures have to be compiled in order to identify and deal with any risks involved. Anyone working with food must be healthy, wear appropriate clothing and observe good personal hygiene procedures. Washing hands thoroughly is the most impor-tant consideration of all. It is also very important to know how foods and ingredients are to be stored so that they are not destroyed or perhaps cause food poisoning. The person responsible for ensuring that food is safe is also responsible for ensuring that students who are helping out can learn everything they need to know to make sure the food is safe.

Good food in school cafeterias

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Documents which regulate school meals

LegislationLegislation in respect of food aims to ensure that food served is safe and that no-one is misled. The rules apply to everyone who handles food all the way along the line, from farm to table. The new Education Act, which came into force on 1 July 2011, demands that school meals at com-pulsory schools must be both free of charge and nutritious.

The physical or legal entities responsible for ensuring that the requirements of the two sets of regulations are met are known as food business operators in the legislation on food and as school organisers in legislation on schools. Municipalities or independent schools adapt the distribu-tion of responsibilities according to their own organisa-tion. It is important to have a clear distribution of respon-sibilities and labour between the boards at independent schools and the party responsible for food and meals at schools, or alternatively the municipal committee, admin-istration, head of meals and headteacher, or anyone else responsible for food and meals within schools.

The food business operator/school organsier may del-egate tasks but always bears responsibility for following up on activities and ensuring that they are carried out in accordance with the provisions. Anyone who has been del-egated tasks must be aware of what they have to do and have a mandate for, knowledge of and resources to handle the task. It is important to give feedback to the relevant committee/board on the results of follow-ups of school meals.

Food legislationSafety, honesty and traceability when handling foodsThe aim of the EU’s Food Act, Regulation (EC) no. 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002, laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety, is to ensure a high level of protec-tion for human health and consumer interests in respect of food (Article 1). Safety, honesty and traceability are funda-mental concepts in this legislation.

Article 3 of the Regulation (EC) no. 178/2002 includes the following definitions:

l food business: means any undertaking whether for profit or not and whether public or private, carrying out any operation of production, processing or distri-bution of food

l food business operator: the natural or legal persons responsible for ensuring that the requirements of food law are met within the food business under their con-trol.

Article 2.1 of the Regulation (EC) no. 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs includes the following definition:

l Establishment: any unit of a food business

For a municipality, this means that one board (or more) is the food business operator and hence bears responsibility for ensuring compliance with the requirements have been met of the food legislation. Kitchens at preschools, pri-mary schools, secondary schools and youth recreation cen-tres are examples of establishments in a food business. For independent schools, the limited company, partnership or sole proprietor is the food business operator. If the food business has been procured from a contractor, the contrac-tor is often the food business operator.

The food business operator must apply to the inspec-tion authority (Environment and Health Committee or equivalent) for registration. Each establishment must have a system for self-inspection based on the hazards and risks of the business. This must be adapted to suit the nature and scope of the business and describe what is being done in order to meet the requirements laid down in the legisla-tion. Responsibilities also include ensuring that staff have the knowledge and expertise required to be able to work safely. The inspection authority’s food inspectors check that there is compliance with the legislation on food.

Find out more in the industry guideline Handbok för säker mat i vård, skola och omsorg (The safe food hand-book for health, education and care), published by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKL).

Education Act (2010:800)Education ActIn the new Education Act, the right to free lunches at school for students at compulsory schools has been supple-mented with a requirement stating that these meals must be nutritious (the Education Act 2010:800; Chap. 10 Pri-mary schools, Section 10, Special primary schools Chap. 11, Section 13, Special schools Chap. 12, Section 10, Sami schools Chap. 13, Section 10). The new legal require-ment came into force from 1 July 2011 and apply to both

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municipal schools and independent schools. The Swedish Schools Inspectorate is the supervisory authority.

The Education Act does not define the term “nutri-tious” in any detail. The government has emphasised the fact that the Swedish nutritional recommendations should form a starting point when assessing what a nutritious meal is, and that “...it may be regarded as part of the inten-tions of the curriculum to provide students with access to varied and nutritious food and to eat lunch together with other students and adults”. (Bill 2009/10:165, p. 374)

Systematic quality workAccording to the legislative history of the new Education Act, school meals are to be regarded as part of education (Bill 2009/10:165 p. 872). This means that the provisions of the Education Act in terms of systematic quality work (Chap. 4, Section 3 of the Education Act) can also be applied in respect of nutritious school meals. Each prin-cipal must work systematically and continuously at prin-cipal level to plan, follow up and develop education. The Education Act also specifies requirements stating that sys-tematic quality must also be documented (Chap. 4, Section 6). Therefore, calculation of nutritional content or another reliable assessment of the nutritional quality of the food served should constitute a part of the planning, implemen-tation and follow-up of the quality of school meals. There are also good reasons for schools to include descriptions of their work with school meals in their over all quality work.

The curriculumThe curriculum for compulsary schools (Lgr 11) states that schools must stand responsible for ensuring that on completion of primary level schooling, all students must: “have acquired a knowledge and understanding of the significance of their own lifestyles as regards health, the environment and society”. School meals can constitute a valuable educational tool in schools as regards lifestyle, the environment and health. School meals also form part

of schools’ social education as they provide time for con-versations about basic values and norms and the oppor-tunity to identify tendencies of bulliying and to make sure students thrive.

Local steering documentsThe organisation may make decisions on steering docu-ments in the fields of food and health, and the public health plan and meal policy may be important documents in this regard, if municipalities or independent schools have such plans and policies. A lot of people are affected by the issues relating to food in schools, which is why such plans have to be adapted to suit the organisation in question.

Public health plan and meal policy programmeMost municipalities describe their public health targets in long-term public health plans which are normally based on the national public health policy adopted by the Riksdag (Swedish parliament). The overarching public health tar-get in Sweden is for society to pave the way for good health on equal terms for the population as a whole.

As far as the food is concerned, target field 10 of the Public Health Bill is applicable: good eating habits and safe food. One important prerequisite for meeting this target is to ensure that many organisations participate in the efforts. Many municipalities have a meal policy pro-gramme or meal policy as a tool for working to target field 10.

The public health plan may also include municipal deci-sions on the government’s targets and points of focus for organic production and consumption, as well as measures for reducing waste and the climate impact of meals.

As well as meeting targets and complying with ambi-tions, it is important to clarify areas of responsibility and produce a plan for follow-up. A meal policy can clarify objectives in areas such as meal quality (e.g. nutritious, sus-tainable, safe, tasty, pleasant and integrated) and organisa-tion (expertise, mandates, distribution of responsibilities).

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Student participation, education and the mealtime environment

l Skolmåltiden – en viktig del av en bra skola. Stöd och inspiration till skolledare. Livsmedelsverket och Skolverket, 2013

l Ljudlig miljö att arbeta med ljudmiljö i förskolor och skolmatsalar, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, 2012 www.skl.se

l Trivsel i skolmatsalen, Stockholm County Council, 2007 www.folkhalsoguiden.se

l Bra matråd – ett verktyg för skolans matrådsarbete, Örebro County Council, 2007 www.orebroll.se

l Mat för alla sinnen – educational material according to the Sapere method at the National Food Administra-tion, www.livsmedelsverket.se

l Näringslära för högskolan, Liber 2013.

l Educational material on consumption, ethics and the environment at the Swedish Consumer Agency, www.konsumentverket.se

l Information on food production and consumption statistics at the Swedish Board of Agriculture, www.jordbruksverket.se

l Skolhälsonyckeln – support for school health work at Stockholm County Council, www.folkhalsoguiden.se

Education Act, curriculum, Convention on the Rights of the Child

l l Education Act, 2010:800.

l Curriculum for primary schools, preschools and youth recreation centres, SKOLFS 2010:37.

l Curriculum for special primary schools, SKOLFS 2010:255.

l Curriculum for special schools, SKOLFS 2010:250.

l Curriculum for Sami schools, SKOLFS 2010:251.

l General advice on systematic quality work in the school system, SKOLFS 2012:98.

l Regulations of the Swedish National Agency for Edu-cation concerning student participation in schools’ work environment work via student safety representa-tives, SKOLFS 2004:13.

l Convention on the Rights of the Child. The UN Con-vention on the Rights of the Child declares that the

best interests of children must always be given priority. All children and young people up to the age of 18 have the same rights to live and develop, grow up in safety, be protected against abuse and be respected for their views and opinions, for example. Children also have the right to receive sufficient quantities of nutritious food and clean drinking water, as well as teaching on nutrition (Article 24, 2 c and e). Available from the Ombudsman for Children in Sweden, for example: www.bo.se

Nutritious meals

l Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2012, Part 1, Summary, Principles and Use, 2013.

l Riksmaten – barn 2003. Livsmedels- och näringsintag bland barn i Sverige. Enghardt Barbieri, H, Pearson, M, Becker, W, 2006

l Hälsomålets mellanmålsguide, www.folkhalsoguiden.se

l Read about systematic quality work at the Swedish National Agency for Education website at www.skolverket.se

l Online tool for assessment of school meal quality, www.skolmatsverige.se

l Search for nutritional content in the food database, www.livsmedelsverket.se

Sustainable school meals

l Wallman, M, Berglund, M, Cederberg, C, SIK 2013. Miljöpåverkan från animalieprodukter – kött, mjölk och ägg. Livsmedelsverkets rapport nr 17, 2013.

l Förvara maten rätt så håller den längre – vetenskapligt underlag om optimal förvaring av livsmedel, Livsme-delsverkets rapport nr 20/2011.

l Livsmedelssvinn i hushåll och skolor – en kunskaps-sammanställning, Livsmedelsverkets rapport nr 4/2011.

l På väg mot miljöanpassade kostråd, Livsmedelsverkets rapport nr 9/2008.

l Klimatpåverkan och energianvändning från livs-medelsförpackningar, Livsmedelsverkets rapport nr 18/2011.

l Food and the environment, National Food Agency, www.slv.se/matomiljo

References

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l Environmental target portal relating to the 16 national environmental targets, www.miljomal.se

l Support for sustainable procurement of food from the Swedish Environmental Management Council, www.msr.se

l Environental statistics, Swedish Environmental Protec-tion Agency, www.naturvardsverket. se

l Food production environment and climate, Swedish Board of Agriculture, www.jordbruksverket.se

l Reducing food waste at the Nordic Council of Minis-ters, www.norden.org

l Guidance on eco-friendly meat choices, www.kottguiden.se

Food legislation and guidesRegulations and guides can be found at or via the National Food Agency website at www.livsmedelsverket.se.

EU Regulations relating to food

l European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) no. 178/2002 (the EU’s “Food Act”).

l European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) no. 852/2004 of 29 April 2004 on food hygiene.

l European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) no. 853/2004 of 29 april 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for foods of animal origin.

l European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) no. 882/2004 of 29 April 2004 on official controls per-formed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules

l European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) no. 854/2004 of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption.

l Commission Regulation (EC) no. 2073/2005 of 15 November 2005 on microbiological criteria for food-stuffs.

l Commission Regulation (EC) no. 41/2009 concerning the composition and labelling of foodstuffs suitable for people intolerant to gluten.

Swedish regulations

l Food Act, 2006:804.

l Food Decree, 2006:813 .

l National Food Administration regulations (LIVSFS 2004:27) on the Labelling and presentation of food-stuffs Annex 1 includes a list of the allergens which must be specified in the labelling on all packaged

foods. (This will be replaced by European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) no. 1169/2011 of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, which will come into force in Sweden on 13 December 2014.

l National Food Agency’s regulations for the labelling of “free from”: foods for particular nutritional purposes, SLVFS 2000:14.

l National Food Administration regulations, LIVSFS 2009:6 on the Keyhole symbol.

Guides on decrees and regulations

l Livsmedel särskilt avsedda för personer med allergi eller intolerans, 2012.

l Vägledning till kontrollmyndigheter m fl om risk-klassning av livsmedelsanläggningar och beräkning av kontrolltid, 2011.

l Vägledning kontrollmyndigheter m fl om offentlig kontroll av livsmedelsanläggningar, 2011.

l Vägledning kontrollmyndigheter m fl om godkän-nande och registrering av livsmedelsanläggningar, 2009.

l Vägledning till Hygienförordningen, 2006.

l Vägledning till kontrollmyndigheter m fl om livsmedel särskilt avsedda för personer med allergi eller intoler-ans, 2012.

l Kontrollhandbok för storhushåll och restaurang, Livs-medelsverket 2013.

Other information

l Handbok för säker mat i vård, skola och omsorg, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, www.skl.se

l Mat för många. Goda råd för utvecklingen av måltidsverksamheten. Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKL), 2006. www.skl.se/ fastighet

l Allergiinformation – 12 brochures about foods which can lead to hypersensitivity reactions. Ordered from the National Food Agency online store at http://web-butiken.slv.se

l Säker mat i skolan och förskolan, Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association.

Notes

LIVSMEDELSVERKET

Box 622

751 26 UPPSALA

SWEDEN

Telephone: 018-17 55 00

Fax: 018-10 58 48

E-mail: livsmedelsverket@slv.se

Webb: www.livsmedelsverket.se