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A balanced school lunch of high nutritional value could help children learn effectively and prevent diseases, the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health (DH), Dr Thomas Tsang said today (May 20).
He urged parents and food traders to give more thought to the choice of ingredients, their nutritional value as well as cooking method when preparing nutritious and tasty meals.
Speaking at the event entitled "Popular Lunch Box Election and Fruit Diary Promotion", he pointed out the need for schools, parents and food traders to work closely to foster healthy eating habits among children.
The event was jointly organised by DH and the Hong Kong College of Cardiology as a key initiative of the EatSmart@school.hk campaign to promote healthy eating among primary school students.
Also officiating at the event, the President of Hong Kong College of Cardiology, Professor Lau Chu Pak said the event could heighten public awareness of the health need of students and encourage the provision of healthier food choices for them.
Twenty parents and food traders participated in the final round of the Popular Lunch Box Election cooking competition. They were required to prepare and cook a healthy lunch in accordance with the standards set out in the Nutritional Guidelines for School Lunch issued by the department. A lunchbox should provide grains/cereals, vegetables and meat (and its substitute) in the ratio of 3:2:1 by volume. The meals had to be nutritious and, at the same time, appealing to children's appetites.
The finalists were among a total of 52 parent teams and 19 licensed lunch box suppliers which entered the competition earlier this year.
The contestants had moved through the first-round of adjudication based on nutritional value which was followed by on-line voting by more than 10,000 students.
The winning recipes will be compiled into a 'cook book' to be published by the department for public reference.
Officiating guests at today's event included the Chairman of the Legislative Council Panel on Health Services, Dr Joseph Lee Kok-long and TV artiste Angela Tong.
After the competition, Ms Tong was invited to make an appeal to parents to increase children's fruit intake and to sign on Department of Health's promotional kits - 'Fruit Dairy' to help remind children to consume more fruit as part of a balanced diet.
Organised by the department with the collaboration of other government departments and relevant stakeholders, the EatSmart@school.hk campaign promotes the creation of a school environment conducive to healthy eating and encourage students to make healthier food choices. A variety of programmes have been organised with active support from the community.
More information on the campaign and ideas for healthy menus can be found on the department's website (http://www.eatsmart.gov.hk).
Ends/Sunday, May 20, 2007
Issued at HKT 13:01
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