Summary:
This law aims to promote adequate and healthy food in the school environment of basic education in the municipality of Ribeirão Preto, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.
Description:
General overview
To promote healthy food in public and private schools in the municipality of Ribeirão Preto, the law regulates the commercialization, distribution and marketing communication of food and beverages of basic education (Article 1).
For this purpose, this law follows the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population and the National School Meals Program [Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE)]. (Article 2)
Key highlights: how does the law promote healthy food in schools?
The law cathegorizes the food according to NOVA classification (Article 2, paragraph):
- fresh food (in portuguese, “alimentos ‘in natura'”);
- minimally processed foods (in portuguese, “alimentos minimamente processados”);
- processed foods (in portuguese, “alimentos processados”);
- ultraprocessed foods (in portuguese, “alimentos ultraprocessados”). The definition on these products is “industrial formulations made mostly or entirely from substances extracted from foods or synthesized in laboratories, using manufacturing techniques”.
In addition, it prohibits the distribution and marketing of ultraprocessed foods and drinks (Article 5 and 13). To operationalize the concept of ultra-processed foods, the law provides an illustrative list. Furthermore, it links the prohibition to the brazilian policy on front-of-pack nutritional labeling.
Moreover, the school has to include nutrition education in the teaching and learning process that runs through the school curriculum (Article 8). Finally, in case of non-compliance with the provisions of this law, an administrative offense is applied. It is subject to a fine (Article 17). The fine will be doubled for the first repeat offense and quadrupled starting from the second repeat offense.