Occasional food criteria – NSW

Before you can sell a pre-packaged food in your canteen, you need to know if the product meets the Fresh Tastes @ School guidelines. Fresh Tastes @ School have developed specific criteria around the kilojoules, saturated fat, sodium and fibre content of packaged foods. Depending where the levels fall, the product may or may not be allowed to be sold in the canteen.

If they meet the criteria, they are considered AMBER and may be selected carefully to be included on a schools’ menu. If they don’t meet the criteria, it is considered a RED food and should not be included on the menu on a day-to-day basis.

How do you tell?

The ‘Occasional Food Criteria’ chart (below) explains the levels of saturated fat, sodium, energy (kilojoules) and fibre that are required for the food to be classified as AMBER. To use the chart, determine which category the food falls into, then check the Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) for the specific levels of nutrients. If you need help, call us on 02 9876 1300 and we’ll assess the product for you.

The Ready Reckoner is an additional resource to help choose GREEN and AMBER foods for the menu.