In one of the articles, we have already revealed the essence of the case (https://icsnp.org/2021/05/07/rospotrebnadzor-and-the-ban-on-sausages-for-children/), and now we are ready to talk about the situation in a little more detail.
The norms for food for children establish sanitary rules (SanPiN 2.3 / 2.4.3590-20 “Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for catering for public catering of the population”). It states that for a healthy diet for children, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of confectionery, sausages, sugar and salt.
On May 11, at a meeting of the Working Group of the Expert Council under the State Duma Committee on Education and Science, issues of nutrition for schoolchildren were discussed – the problems of using specialized meat products. The speaker from Rospotrebnadzor noted that even high-quality specialized sausages for children form incorrect stereotypes about healthy eating.
Industry experts consider the exclusion of such products unreasonable. And still one of the questions of interest to the industry remains open: why did the organizations for orphans and children left without parental care not fall under the requirements of the ban on sausages? That is, children from 7 to 18 years old in such institutions will continue to receive products that are harmful, according to Rospotrebnadzor.
Earlier, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, T.A. Golikova, noted that in school menus, the issue of sausages and confectionery products had more than halved. And the amount of fruits and vegetables increased by 30%. But basically, except for the exclusion of sausages from the food sets of schoolchildren and the decrease in the norm for salt and sugar, practically nothing has changed relative to the previous standards and requirements (SanPiN 2.4.5.2409-08 “Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for the organization of meals for students in educational institutions, institutions of primary and secondary vocational education “). The amount of fruits, vegetables and confectionery products received by children remained the same.
The main point of disagreement on this issue between industry experts and Rospotrebnadzor lies in the different ideas about sausages.
According to the agenda of the meeting on May 11, cooked sausages for baby food are allowed for children from 3 years old (GOST 31498-2012), because they have a high biological value and a low level of fat and salt. There are no harmful food additives in the composition of such products, as well as preservatives, hot spices, phosphates, and so on. That is, sausages for children are specialized food products.
In addition, before release, all products are examined by Rospotrebnadzor and are released for sale only if the product meets quality and safety standards.
Industry experts see ways to solve the problem, and it was proposed to discuss the introduction of clarifications to the SanPiN. The main idea is that sausages that fall under the “ban” do not include specialized sausages for food for children.
The material was prepared by Alexandra Goryunova