The Ministry of Education has directed that all school canteens should have a proper license as per laws of Fiji.
In a memo sent to all schools, the Ministry says any school which doesn’t adhere to this will see the closure of their canteen.
The Education Ministry says if the owner or operator of the school canteen is selling food, then a license to operate a food establishment is required the Food and Safety Regulations of 2009.
The Ministry is asking all school heads to ensure canteen operators are compliant with this law.
All school heads are also being directed to ensure that anything sold from the canteens are within the Fiji School Health Policy 2016 where only healthy snacks that provide vitamins, minerals, protein and calories are sold.
The Ministry says adherence to all these laws and policies are important measures that ensures the health of students isn’t compromised.