The Jeddah Education Directorate has shut down cafeterias at 15 boys schools for providing unhealthy food and flouting hygiene regulations.

Abdul Majid Al-Ghamdi, spokesman for the school health section at the directorate, told Arab News that the food and beverages sold at the cafeterias lacked nutritional value. These cafeterias also violated basic health requirements.

Al-Ghamdi said the food was hazardous for young, growing children. He said the inspection team found that the juices and food sold at these cafeterias “are woefully deficient in nutritional value.”

“Low quality French fries and popcorn topped the sales at these schools,” he said.

Khalid Al-Otaibi, director of school health in Jeddah, said the department oversees cafeterias at schools. “We have special committees that tour all the schools and monitor these cafeterias. If health violations are found, or if expired items are still on the shelves, we shut down the facility,” he said.

“We routinely check to verify the safety of the building in which the cafeteria is housed, make sure the equipment, supplies, and the refrigerators are maintained, and that the premises are clean and kept in a good hygienic condition,” he said.

Al-Otaibi said the education department has banned school cafeterias from selling sweets or food containing coloring agents or artificial flavors. They are also forbidden from selling any gaseous beverages or juice with less than 30 percent fruit content, he said.



Husain Al-Jahni, a student counselor at King Abdul Aziz Elementary, said: “Unfortunately, a considerable part of the blame must fall on the parents, since they do not tell their kids to have breakfast at home before they leave for school. This results in students eating the food at the school cafeterias, which lack the basic health requirements, not to mention the very poor quality.”