WHO lays out framework for healthy food to be promoted in public facilities

13 Jan 2021 --- The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging governments to promote healthy food in public settings such as schools, childcare centers, nursing homes, hospitals and correctional facilities.

In its new action framework, WHO details the potential development and implementation of public food procurement, alongside proposed service policies for healthy diets.

The action framework also hopes to help prevent the eight million annual deaths caused by unhealthy diets by reducing the consumption of sodium and salt, sugars and fats – particularly trans fats – and the inadequate consumption of whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit.

Calls to lead by exampleService policies increase the availability of foods that promote healthy diets and limit the availability of foods that contribute to unhealthy diets.
“Public places that serve the entire community, including our most vulnerable populations, must be places where healthy diets are promoted, not discouraged,” says Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general. 

“Now is the time for governments to lead by example through ensuring that the food served or sold in public settings contributes to healthy diets and saves lives. No public funds should be spent on food contributing to unhealthy diets,” he continues.

WHO’s action framework lays out four sections, arranged in a cycle. These are the policy preparation, policy development, policy implementation and the monitoring, enforcement and evaluation stages. 

The need for actionable policies
Healthy public food procurement and service policies set the nutritional criteria for food served and sold in public settings.

WHO emphasizes that these policies increase the availability of foods that promote healthy diets and limit or prohibit the availability of foods that contribute to unhealthy diets. 

Policies can cover the entire process of purchase, provision, distribution, preparation, service and sale of food to ensure each step meets healthy criteria.

The new action framework is intended as a tool for governments to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate public food procurement and service policies. These should align with the core principles of healthy diets as outlined in existing WHO recommendations:

• Limit sodium consumption and ensure that salt is iodized.
• Limit the intake of free sugars.
• Shift fat consumption from saturated fats to unsaturated fats.
• Eliminate industrially-produced trans fats.
• Increase consumption of whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts and pulses.
• Ensure the availability of free, safe drinking water.

The combination of healthy public food procurement and service policies could help increase productivity and educational attainment. It can also create purchasing power that increases demand for and availability of healthier food by reducing costs.

The combination is expected to furthermore strengthen local food systems by promoting purchasing from local producers while improving health equity across populations.

Taking international inspiration
Some countries, like Brazil and Korea, have already taken steps to promote health diets in public spaces. WHO notes that some countries have already taken steps to promote healthy diets in public facilities. In Brazil, for example, the National School Feeding Program requires 30 percent of the budget to be used to purchase food from family farms. 

Additionally, menus must be based on fresh or minimally processed foods based on the region’s sustainability, seasonality and agricultural diversification.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea established Green Food Zones that regulate the food available within a 200 meter radius of schools. In these zones, businesses may not sell food that falls above a set threshold for total sugars, saturated fats and calories per serving.

“Governments worldwide have a responsibility to lead by example by serving and selling food that improve the health of their people,” says Dr. Tom Frieden, president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies. 

“This action framework is an opportunity to make healthy food choices the default choices at a large scale.”

In December, WHO pointed out the role of nutrition in helping older adults maintain vitality during the “Decade of Healthy Ageing.”

A few months prior, WHO collaborated with UNICEF on a collaborative framework to accelerate public health efforts that put marginalized and vulnerable populations – like children and mothers – first.

Edited by Katherine Durrell