In 2015, the South Australian Department of Health established a Healthy Kid’s Menu Taskforce to increase the availability of healthy children’s menu options in South Australia. Subsequently CSIRO was commissioned to develop a voluntary Healthy Kid’s Menu Code of Practice intended for wide spread statewide adoption by clubs, hotels, restaurants and cafes.
Key sources of evidence that informed the development of the Code were:
- Statistics derived from the National Nutrition Survey (2011/12) and Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (2007) to identify key nutrients of concern, and their food/beverage sources, with a focus on foods eaten ‘at place of purchase’.
- Insight from scientific and grey literature that described or evaluated similar initiatives from Australian or relevant international contexts.
- Collaboration with key industry stakeholders to ensure that the outputs were clear, achievable and practical for business owners and staff.
- Consistency with the Australian Guide To Healthy Eating.
The Healthy Kid’s Menu Code of Practice provides standards for the provision of:
- Healthy drinks,
- Nutritious main meals which include at least 1 serve of vegetables or salad, are prepared using small quantities of healthy fats and oils, and do not include any shallow or deep fried foods, processed meats or savoury pastries,
- Fruit/reduced fat yoghurt based desserts,
- Healthy meal combinations.
This Healthy Kid’s Menu Code of Practice is supported by a Guide for Business, and the program is due to be rolled out late 2016. This presentation will outline the evidence base underpinning this activity, along with a description of Code of Practice and its interpretation.