New legislation to regulate meals served at schools is needed, the Taiwan Dietitian Association and other non-governmental organizations said on Thursday.
The association, the Douceur Network, the Junior-High Union of Parents’ Associations in Taipei City, the Cancer Care Foundation and a national federation of suppliers of boxed meals told a news conference in Taipei that they are joining forces to advocate for a “school meals provision act.”
Nearly 1.78 million elementary and junior-high students eat meals at school, the groups said.
However, complaints from students and parents, food-safety incidents and struggles among caterers to provide meals this year due to a water shortage point to long-standing problems with school meal programs, including a lack of professionals and resources, they said.
The groups said that along with attorney Hsieh Meng-yu (謝孟羽), who is a member of the Taipei Bar Association’s public service committee, and Hsu Han-yun (許菡芸), director of Taipei City Councilor Chiu Wei-chieh’s (邱威傑) office, they have drafted regulations based on legislation in Japan and South Korea, as well as first-hand experience at schools.
One of the major aims of the proposed legislation would be to ensure that there are enough professionals at schools to ensure the health of students, Hsieh said.
Authorities should be allowed to carry out inspections and penalties should be set to ensure that the proposed regulations are enforced, he said.
There is only one nutritionist for almost every 1,200 students in the nation, far lower than the ratios in Japan and South Korea, Taiwan Dietitian Association president Linda Chin (金惠民) said.
Teachers might not be able to tell whether students are eating enough, she said, adding that every school should be required to hire at least one nutritionist.
Guaranteeing the safety of school meals by enacting dedicated laws would be “the best Mother’s Day gift,” Junior-High Union of Parents’ Associations in Taipei City president Sung Chuan-chuan (宋全娟) said.
Schools should extend lunchtime by 10 minutes to allow time for a more complete dietary education, Sung said.
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