Summary of nutritional guidelines or standards for the school meal programme 

• Menu guidance for preschool canteens 

• Menu guidance for primary school canteens  

• Menu guidance for secondary school canteens, youth and adults 

The menu options and how the menu cycles were calculated using the food exchange lists for each of the meals provided in school canteens are described below: 

Breakfast menu options 

Breakfast options include a drink with milk and an accompaniment based on preparations that combine starches with legumes or meat. Considering the cultural patterns of this mealtime, the drink may either be a cup of milk with several flavour options, alternating with sweet water or “agua dulce”, which is also a culturally-acceptable drink. These drinks may be offered either hot or cold.

In the case of breakfast for primary schoolchildren, the combinations of options contribute an average of 15% of the total energy value, as shown below. 

Example of the calculation of exchanges for the breakfast options used in the primary menu 

 In the case of breakfast for secondary schoolchildren, youth and adults, combinations of options contribute an average of 25% of the total energy value as shown below. 

Example of the calculation of exchanges for the breakfast options used in the secondary school, youth and adult menu 

 Description of menu options for morning or afternoon supplementary meals 

For the supplementary meal, the menu cycle’s 25 options are based on a combination of protein with carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables (as shown in Figure 1). 

 Figure 1 

To define the combinations of the dishes, the following menu option was used: main dish, rice, beans, salad, dressing, fruit and drink. The combination of elements depends specifically on the recipe and on the culturally acceptable components that are served with each dish. The distribution of food exchanges is shown in the following table.

Calculation of exchanges for the lunch or dinner options used in the menu by beneficiary group.

Tuck shops (“Servicios de Sodas”)

A summary of the criteria and nutritional standards of the tuck shops regulation is described below:

Food procurement

1. In the tuck shops or food outlets within public educational institutions, foods that promote a healthy diet must be sold following the provisions of the Costa Rican Food Guidelines.
2. In all tuck shops, there must be a daily supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, as a basic component of the diet offered to the educational community.
3. All pre-packaged foods used as raw material in food preparation and those that are sold in tuck shops must have the Sanitary Registry of the Ministry of Health.

Food preparation

For the preparation of food in tuck shops or food outlets in public educational centers, the following criteria must be used:

1. For drinks prepared in tuck shops, sugar or sweetener can be used. A maximum of two teaspoons (10 gm) of sugar or its sweetener equivalent can be used for every 250 ml of soft drink or shake.
2. Deep frying or immersion cooking (“deep fried”) is prohibited.
3. If oil, mayonnaise, cream cheese, custard, or sauces are to be added as seasonings to food, a maximum of two teaspoons (10 gm) should be used per serving.
4. If you want to add margarine or butter, you can use one teaspoon (5 gm) per serving.
5. For cooking food, only oils free of trans fats should be used.
6. Fat spreads or dressings should be free of trans fats.
7. The sausages used in the preparations must be "light". Those that have a maximum of 25 gm of fat per 100 gm of product are considered “light”.
8. The bread to be used for the preparation of sandwiches or snacks must meet the requirement of not containing more than 10 gm of total fat, 5 gm of saturated fat, more than 20 gm of sugar or its equivalent in sweetener, more than 500 mg of sodium or more than 400 kcal, per 100 gm of bread.

On the sale of pre-packaged food

The following types of food products may not be offered in the tuck shops or food outlets of public educational institutions:

1. Pre-packaged drinks and snacks whose list of ingredients on the general labelling indicates as the first ingredient: sugar or sugars (syrup, sweet top, corn syrup, etc.) or fat (oil, vegetable or lard).
2. Beverages and other foods prepared with sweetened pulps and artificial concentrates, containing more than 15 gm of sugar or its equivalent in another sweetener per 250 ml.
3. Carbonated drinks, even “light” or “diet” ones.
4. Energy drinks (as defined in Executive Decree No. 36134-S Regulation RTCR 436:2009 Dietary Supplements, Sanitary Registration Requirements, Import, Clearance, Labeling and Verification of May 10, 2010, and its amendments).
5. Foods prepared with partially hydrogenated butter, oils, or margarine that do not state on the label that they are free of trans fats.
6. Pre-packaged food product that does not have a label that indicates the nutritional content.
7. Prepackaged food product (not beverage) that, based on the label declaration, a 100-gm serving of that product can be estimated to contain more than 12 gm of total fat, 6 gm of saturated fat, more than 20 gm of sugar or its sweetener equivalent, more than 400 mg of sodium or more than 400 kcal.
8. Pre-packaged non-dairy beverage that, based on the label claim, a 100 ml serving of that beverage can be estimated to contain more than 2 gm of total fat, more than 1 gm of saturated fat, more than 6 gm of sugar or its sweetener equivalent, more than 50 mg of sugar, or more than 60 kcal.
9. Pre-packaged dairy beverages (including milk, flavoured milk, and yoghurt) that, based on the label claim, a 100 ml serving of that beverage can be estimated to contain more than 2 gm of total fat, more than 1.3 gm of saturated fat, more than 6 gm of sugar or its sweetener equivalent, 70 mg of sodium or more than 70 kcal.
10. 100% natural drinks without added sugars or sweeteners are excluded from this regulation.