A nonpartisan group of legislators and dietitians yesterday called for the swift passage of a comprehensive school lunch bill, as only 538 nutritionists serve the nation’s 1.8 million schoolchildren, the equivalent of one for every 3,345 students.
Ahead of Children’s Day on Sunday, legislators called a news conference to promote the passage of a “school diet and nutrition promotion act,” which would mandate the hiring of more school nutritionists and clarify their roles.
Local governments are left to create their own school lunch policy, Taiwan Dietitian Association president Chin Huei-min (金惠民) said.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
The nation should emulate Japan and South Korea, which passed national legislation in 1954 and 1981 respectively, she added.
Different localities passing their own food safety regulations creates inefficiencies and imbalances between regions, she said.
Without a reasonable pricing mechanism, schools with insufficient funding only buy the cheapest products or are unable to find vendors, Chin said.
Lack of a law also threatens children’s health, especially those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, as increasing numbers of young people are developing metabolic syndrome, she said.
Without enough experts, the nutritionist-student ratio would continue to decline, Chin added.
The School Health Act (學校衛生法) includes a brief article requiring at least one staff dietitian for schools with 40 or more classes, association director Huang Tsui-hua (黃翠華) said.
However, a dedicated law could do more to specify their function and reduce the ratio to one dietitian for every 20 classes, as well as require a full-time administrator to handle lunches, she said.
Only 17 percent of schools in the nation have 40 or more classes, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書) said.
Every day, 1.8 million school lunches are distributed nationwide, but there are only 538 school nutritionists, DPP Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) said, citing K-12 Education Administration data.
The nation cannot always rely on remedial treatment after children get older, but must ensure balanced nutrition from an early age through systematic regulation, he added.
School nutritionists not only need to create menus, but must also master their implementation, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wan Mei-ling (萬美玲) said, urging a ratio of one dietitian per 20, or even fewer, classes.
As for meal costs, Chang Liao asked what an appropriate price for ingredients would be and called for the creation of a set pricing mechanism.
About 27 percent of the nation’s schoolchildren are obese due to unhealthy diets and a lack of exercise, Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Ann Kao (高虹安) said, calling on lawmakers from all parties to support efforts to address the issue.
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