KEY POINTS:
Deep-fried foods, chocolates and sweets will disappear from school tuckshops under new guidelines to be launched today.
But some pies have gained a stay of execution from the Ministry of Health's food and beverage classification system.
The system classifies food into three broad categories: "everyday", "sometimes" and "occasional" foods.
Occasional foods include most pies, confectionery, chocolate, deep-fried food, full-sugar fizzy drinks and high-fat pastry products, which will be limited to only one occasion a term.
While officials claim it is not a ban, the ministry's own information brochures say occasional foods are "not for provision".
And while health officials claim schools and early childhood centres are not required to comply with the new rules, the system itself falls under the National Administration Guidelines for schools overseen by the Ministry of Education. These require that only "healthy" food and beverages be sold on school premises and come into effect next June.
"Our education colleagues have said the [Education Review Office] will not be checking whether the actual guidelines are being used at all, but they will test whether [schools] understand and whether policies and procedures are in place," said Debbie Ryan, the health ministry's chief adviser on Pacific health.
Dr Ryan said the classification system was only intended as a tool.
"There is no sense at all that this is going to be a stick that is going to be used on schools. The Ministry of Health, however, will be monitoring, through surveys, the effectiveness and uptake of the tool."
Dale Burden, headmaster of Mt Albert Grammar School in Auckland, cannot see the point of the system.
"I don't think you can legislate away people's ability to make decisions, otherwise we'd be reaching for manuals every time it comes to making a lifestyle decision.
"For many people these days it's common sense because the education's out there about food. It's taught quite well in schools so kids have a pretty good idea of what's good for them, what's not and why.
"I'm not a great fan of being told how often we're allowed to let kids eat certain types of food."
Mt Albert's canteen serves a wide range of food, Mr Burden said. "Yes we do have pies and no we don't monitor whether people eat a pie a day.
"From the anecdotal information that we obtain from our canteen, that education's working pretty well because we don't sell that many pies. In summer we actually sell more water than we do soft drink.
"Bringing in a rule like that - which we'll probably ignore anyway - isn't going to achieve a lot."
The Ministry of Health's 2002 National Children's Survey showed just over half of 5- to 14-year-olds surveyed bought at least some of their food from the school canteen and 5 per cent bought most of it there.
Most chose what they bought based on taste, what their peers were having, and what was on offer.
Pies survive officialdom
Health officials had intended stripping pies off the lunchtime menu, but were lobbied by food manufacturers to include some pies with less fat and salt under the "sometime" category.
Goodtime Foods, which in April had received the Heart Tick for its range of pies, had faced the prospect of losing a significant market.
Chief executive Phil Pollett said the change had proved "the pie was not the bad guy". But he remained convinced that the only way to really improve children's diets was education, exercise and changes in attitude starting at home - not through removing food from school canteens.
"I realise the Government needed to start somewhere and as food manufacturers, the industry also needed to listen and make improvements.
"But I do not believe legislation is the answer. I am very concerned at the pressure placed on schools to enforce rules and change eating habits."
Jesters NZ sales and marketing director Mark Gumbrell said it was a good compromise.
"It's showing the schools, and it's showing the kids that it's not the pies that are bad for you. It's actually certain types of pies."
Information packs on the new classification system will be sent out to schools and early childhood centres at the end of the month.
Canteen staff will later this year also receive a food and drinks catalogue listing everyday and sometimes foods.
