Mexico City – While the country is trying to address one of the world’s worst obesity and diabetes outbreaks, the state -backed junk food ban in Mexico schools entered into force on Saturday.
First of all, the health directives published in the autumn last autumnMake a direct shot to Salt and sweet processed products that have become a basis for school children for schools such as sugary fruit drinks, packaged chips, artificial pig shells and soy -coated pepper flavored peanuts.
The Mexican Ministry of Education announced that the ban has become a law on X: “Farewell, Junk food!” Parents encouraged to support the government’s Crusader by cooking healthy meals for their children.
Public Health Secretary Mario Delgado said, one of the basic principles of the new Mexican school system, healthy life, ”he said. “Parents have a high level of acceptance of this policy.”
Reorganizing Mexico’s Food Culture and re -programming attempt to re -programming new generation consumers, governments are a tide Global Obesity epidemic.
In the United StatesFor example, the health secretary of the Trump administration, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.and promised to increase the country’s food system and ” Make America again healthy “By targeting ultra -processed foods Obesity and disease.
Under Mexico’s new order, schools should exhibit all kinds of food and drinks. Even a black warning logo To mark high in terms of salt, sugar, calories and fat. Mexico applied this Mandatory Package Labeling System in 2020.
On Monday morning, the junk food ban, which has been implemented since the beginning of the school week, requires schools to offer more nutritious alternatives to junk food such as beans tacho and offer flat drinking water.
“A bean taco eat a bag of potato chips better,” he said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaumdefending the ban.
According to UNICEF, Mexico’s children consume more junk food than other places in Latin America. The agency, sugary drinks and high -processed foods make up 40% of the total calories consumed in one day.
“In my daughter’s school, they told us that future activities would not be sugar and that it would be completely different with fruits, vegetables and other foods that are healthy for children,” he said. “It will help us a lot.”
According to government statistics, one -third of Mexican children is already considered overweight or obese.
School administrators faced harsh fines ranging from $ 545 to $ 5,450 with a violation of the order.
However, the execution constitutes a challenge in a country. Previous junk food prohibitions They struggled to win traction, and watching was loose at Mexico’s 255,000 schools, most of them do not have water fountains – even reliable internet and electricity.
It was not immediately clear how the government would have banned the sale of junk food on the sidewalks outside the school campuses where street vendors received sugar, chips, nachos and ice cream to children after the graduation and after the school day was finished.
“This will be difficult,” said Children’s Therapist Abril Geraldine Rose de León. “But it will be achieved in the long run.”
