By Melissa Rollock
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (GIS) – Local manufacturers are coming on board with the School Nutrition Policy by reformulating products which target children. Acting deputy chief medical officer, Dr Arthur Phillips, said this is one ‘win’ in the fight against unhealthy snacks and non-communicable diseases.
Speaking at a recent press briefing, which gave updates on the policy and doubled as the launch of its digital communication campaign, Dr Phillips disclosed that local companies were also seeking to be compliant with the policy by importing healthier food items. The briefing was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Health and Wellness; the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training (METVT); the Barbados Childhood Obesity Coalition; the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados; and BIDC/Export Barbados.
“The private sector plays a key role in food production and distribution. I am pleased to report that we are seeing progress being made in this area. The policy is not simply about restricting unhealthy choices, it’s also about catalysing healthy choices, reformulation, innovation.
“Reformulation, we are talking about making foods healthier, reducing added sugar, unhealthy fats, and excessive sodium while maintaining quality and taste. What we’ve been seeing is that local manufacturers are responding by adjusting their product offerings to align with the policy’s nutritional standards. So, better local offerings and better imports provide our students with better snack and beverage options that are in line with the School Nutrition Policy. And, I see this as a major victory. This shift demonstrates that healthier options are not only possible, but they can increasingly become the norm,” the acting deputy emphasised. The School Nutrition Policy was established in 2022 and targets both primary and secondary school children.
Dr Phillips said while there was more work to be done, it was “heartening” to see the progress that was being made by local manufacturers in such a short space of time. He also acknowledged that product reformulation required investment, time, money, development, and consumer education but pointed out the benefits were worth it because it was about investing in the future of the nation.
Also present at the press briefing was co-chair of the Barbados Childhood Obesity Coalition and Lead of the Sub-committee on the Compliant List, Nicole Griffith, who shared that increasingly more companies were seeking to get on the compliant list. Additionally, she added that the Coalition and the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Alternative Snacks and Beverage Committee was willing to work with companies which were interested in either reformulating their products or importing healthier options.
“That is something we would definitely be interested in so that we can have a compliant list that is in the same alignment as the European compliant list, which is very good on the nutritional facts panel…. This year, we restricted [products] down to 10 grammes of added sugar for snacks, and for beverages, we continued on the no added sugar and 100 percent juice or water. We saw companies which were not originally on the list in the beginning, meaning they would’ve had to have a very high sugar or sodium content, now able to get on the list,” Griffith stated.
Education Officer (Food and Nutrition) with the ministry of education, technological and vocational training, Hedda Phillips-Boyce, said since the policy was established, school canteen concessionaires have supported the policy’s objectives.
Phillips-Boyce added the National Nutrition Centre has also been working with the School Meals Department to ensure that meals meet one-third of the daily nutritional requirements. However, pointed out that vendors selling outside schools continue to pose a problem to the policy’s objectives since the METVT could not control what products they sold to children.
Phillips-Boyce further noted that a key pillar of the policy, the recognition pillar, would be rolled out this school year, rewarding schools and various stakeholders for their initiatives to foster healthier school environments.
The policy’s digital communication campaign, Feeding Healthy Futures, will be launched on Monday, February 17, on social media platforms. It will target students, parents, guardians, canteen concessionaires, teachers, vendors, technocrats, policymakers, and the general public. The campaign aims to tackle childhood obesity by promoting healthy eating, active lifestyles, and overall wellness.
The post Healthier products on market due to nutrition policy appeared first on Caribbean News Global.
