Kazakhstan cracks down on junk food in schools with stricter nutrition rules

In Kazakh schools, starting from the new academic year, an updated nutrition standard is in effect. Vice-President of the Kazakh Academy of Nutrition, Akkumys Salhanova, explained what the new rules are for school meals, as reported by our website's correspondent.

The typical standard menu in schools where hot food can be prepared should consist of: **vegetable salad, hot dish, dairy product, drink, and fruit**.

"One-time meals are provided for all Kazakh schools for students from 1st to 4th grades. There are small schools without facilities for preparing hot food. For them, two menu options are prepared: lunch pack - a hot sandwich with a drink, fruit, and dairy product; the second option is for schools without facilities for preparing food. For children in such schools, packaged products are distributed: cookies, drinks, fruits, and dairy products," Akkumys Salhanova said at a briefing at the SЦK.

The menu for schoolchildren should not include harmful products, fast food, including sausages in dough, pizza, bread, and hot dogs. Moreover, according to officials, there is significantly less salt and sugar in the prepared dishes now.

What if they don't follow the rules?

Despite the changed diet, parents of Kazakh schoolchildren complain on social media that children are still being sold "banned" items, such as sweet pastries and mini-pizzas.

Our website's correspondent asked at the briefing why suppliers continue to feed children according to the old rules and who is responsible for this.

Gulsharat Kojatova, head of the control department for education and upbringing objects of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health, replied that "hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, and all sorts of chips" were banned not with the introduction of the new standard, but much earlier - by sanitary rules that apply in schools.

"I think this (ensuring children's nutrition - ed.) is the responsibility of each entrepreneur, especially since they know. This is not a new requirement. Our state control oversight - we can't go to the objects every day. According to the requirements of the Entrepreneurial Code, they must be notified 30 days in advance for a planned inspection, and one day for an unscheduled inspection. Therefore, we also can't see the true picture, possibly," said Gulsharat Kojatova.

According to her, the school's parent council and the tasting commission are obliged to check the kitchen block, including the menu composition, product quality, document availability, storage terms, and conditions. According to Bakhytzhan Mukhamadiyeva, head of the epidemiological surveillance department of the Almaty Public Health Center, school meal suppliers are selected through competitive procedures on the state procurement website. They are checked for all necessary documents, compliance with sanitary requirements, and integrity. Afterwards, a contract is signed between the educational organization and the enterprise. 'Why, despite strict selection, are banned products found? This is, of course, the responsibility of suppliers and negligence in their work. Also, this service is checked by the school's monitoring commission, with the responsibility lying on the head of the educational organization,' added Bakhytzhan Mukhamadiyeva. If an educational organization is not satisfied with the quality of the services provided, it can file a complaint with the court, which will determine if the school meal supplier is honest or not. Such entrepreneurs may also face a fine under Article 425 of the Code of Administrative Offenses - from 30 to 1,600 MCI (117,900 to 6,200,000 tenge in 2025). This year, the rules for school meals in Kazakhstan have been changed. This is now monitored by the Ministry of Health, which in March approved the updated order containing norms for nutrition in healthcare and educational organizations. In the new standard, special attention is paid to the quality of products and their storage. GMOs, products with expired shelf life, without labeling or with storage violations are prohibited. The diet includes 75% of plant-based products, limited salt and sugar content, and the use of iodized salt. For meat dishes, horse, beef, chicken, and turkey without skin are allowed. Beverages include non-carbonated water, dairy products, compotes, and fruit teas. Read also: ****'Children were fed with waste': how the scandal in Almaty school ended***'