Fruit Smash is officially healthy says NSW School Canteens Association

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2008

Kidscare Fruit Smash has received an official green tick under the New South Wales Health Department's School Canteens program. School canteens are one of the major take away food markets, and in NSW alone, 2700 schools provide a canteen service for close to one million students. A child who regularly purchases breakfast, snacks and lunch from the school canteen consumes a substantial portion of their daily intake from this source, highlighting the need for that provision to be nutritious.

The impetus for the NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy came from the NSW Government Childhood Obesity Summit held in 2002, aiming to ensure that no canteen sell high fat or high sugar food or drinks. The NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy now categorises food into three groupings:

Red 'Occasional' foods:

Do not sell these on more than two occasions per term. Red foods are considered treats due to their low nutritional value.

Amber 'Select Carefully' foods:

Do not let these foods dominate the menu and avoid large servings. Best reserved for 'sometimes' instead of frequently.

Green 'Fill the Menu' foods:

Encourage and promote these foods in the canteen and allow to be consumed every day. These foods have no added nasties and include components necessary for life such as whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables etc.

Under this spectrum, Kidscare Fruit Smash has been categorised 'green', and therefore the best option, encouraged to be eaten daily. As the goals of the NSW School Canteen Association are to support school communities wishing to operate nutrient-orientated canteens, and to increase the number of nutritious foods available, Fruit Smash will now be part of regularly offered fare.