During the school year that just ended, parents reported that 352 public and private elementary schools in the state were failing to comply with the law on permitted and prohibited foods and beverages in schools in Mexico.
99.4 percent of the reports reveal that these schools sell junk food, 88.5 percent do not sell fruits and vegetables, 84.3 percent sell soft drinks, 85.1 percent lack a committee to monitor the prohibition of the sale of junk food, and 39.4 percent reported that the schools lack drinking fountains.
The research carried out on the School Food Environment, which is carried out annually by the organization My Healthy School, can be consulted online at the link https://miescuelasaludable.org/el-entorno-alimentario-escolar/?ciclo=2023-2024&entidad=8
According to published data, parents made 1,310 reports, of which 164 corresponded to schools in Juárez, 110 to Chihuahua and the rest are scattered in other municipalities.
Chihuahua corresponds to the Northwest Region, where they received 2,123 complaints in total, of which 13.74 percent came from.
Among the local schools reported are the Pan-American Bilingual School, the American School of Misiones, the Anna Freud School, the Mexico Institute of Ciudad Juarez, Fidel Avila 2323 and Mariano Matamoros, with one report each.
The Plan de Iguala elementary school, Juárez and Reforma and Eugenia Calzada Talavera, among others, received two reports, while the 28 de Octubre elementary school was one of those that received three reports and Bucareli 2031 had four.
These schools, among others, violated the law on foods and drinks allowed and not allowed in Mexican schools.
The organization Mi Escuela Saludable, which works together with students and parents, explains that there is a law that prohibits the sale of junk food in schools, since since 2014 only natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, dried legumes and plain water should be offered on demand.
The sale of junk food and sugary drinks in schools is prohibited by law, because they are harmful to the health and affect the academic performance of children and adolescents, she added.
It also states that those responsible for selling edible products in schools should be those suppliers selected after a tender, and that they should be trained by the Education and Health authorities on the types of foods that are permitted and not permitted to be sold in schools.
The School Consumption Establishment Committee (CECE) is responsible for monitoring compliance with the law. It is made up of mothers and fathers in all schools and must also coordinate training and nutritional guidance for the school community.
Parents who are dissatisfied with the products that may be available to their children on campus should go to the school’s CECE to report any problems, which in turn will have to report the complaint to the School Council for Social Participation.
Neither the Committee nor the Council can sanction violations of the law; they can only notify the principal or school authority, who is responsible for ensuring that the law is complied with.
If the school management or authority does not respond to the complaint, the Zone supervisor must be contacted and the case reported.
He also points out that there are sanctions for schools that do not comply with the law.
“All public and private schools in the country that sell and advertise food and beverages not permitted by regulations and the General Education Law will be subject to sanctions that may be administrative or economic,” it states.
The first sanction consists of the revocation of the authorization or withdrawal of the recognition of the official validity of the school’s studies, and the economic sanction involves a fine for those who provide educational services equivalent to a minimum amount of one hundred and up to a maximum of one thousand times the daily salary, which may be doubled in case of repeat offense.
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