FG unveils healthy food rules for schools, hospitals

… NHF says policy will reduce hypertension, diabetes, obesity … Sugary drinks, processed meat among foods to be phased out By Chioma Obinna The Federal Government has unveiled national guidelines that will ban the procurement and sale of sugar-sweetened beverages, processed meats, deep-fried snacks, and other unhealthy foods in schools, hospitals, correctional centres, NYSC camps, and other public institutions, as part of efforts to curb Nigeria’s growing burden of non-communicable diseases.

Under the new National Guidelines for Public Procurement of Food and Related Services, government institutions will no longer be permitted to procure or serve sugary drinks, sausages, canned meats, instant noodles, ultra-processed snacks, doughnuts, cakes, packaged biscuits and foods containing industrial trans fats or excessive sodium and sugar.

He noted that unhealthy diets remain one of the leading drivers of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes and obesity, stressing that Nigeria had, until now, lacked a comprehensive national framework for healthy public food procurement.