THE city released meal guidance for students of senior and junior high schools, according to the Shenzhen Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday.

The suggestions took local habits into consideration, providing a lesson for other cities across the country to form their own standards, said Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.

It is said in the guidelines that there should be at least 12 types of foods daily and 25 types over a week. Schools should provide at least four types of vegetables for students and one type of fruit each day.

Schools that only offer lunch meals should include at least three types of fresh vegetables. Vegetables and mushrooms grown in a wild environment are prohibited food ingredients.

Canteens are advised to provide fish, chicken dishes and lean meat from livestock.

Students should drink at least 300 grams of milk, or the same amount of dairy products each day, and are recommended to eat 50 to 70 grams of nuts each week.

Foods cooked with a minimum of oil and salt are recommended. The amount of oil and salt is required to be kept under 25 and 5 grams each day, respectively, according to the guidance.

Furthermore, different types of oil and food ingredients should be used. It is preferred that foods are to be steamed, stewed, and braised, rather than to be deep-fried in oil.

Raw and cold dishes, green beans, wild mushrooms, and potatoes that have sprouted are barred from meal plans.

The guidelines, which were formulated by the country’s nutritionists, also stresses training for staff working in a school canteen.

In addition, schools should hire food experts, full-time or part-time, to guide related meal planning work and help spread food knowledge to parents.

(Wang Jingli)