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  Healthy Food and Drink Supply for South Australian Schools and Preschools
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BSS WEBSITE   |      HOME  ::     ::   GREEN   |   AMBER   |   RED
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SELECT CAREFULLY - the AMBER category

Selecting food and drink carefully means:

  • reducing the number of AMBER foods supplied and selecting healthier choices from this category
  • offering some of these foods only on certain days of the week
  • avoiding large serving sizes
  • serving AMBER foods with extra vegetables and fruits
  • planning ways to reduce the proportion of AMBER choices provided compared with GREEN choices.

AMBER foods are mainly those that have had some fat, sugar or salt added to them and water removed during processing.
Don't let these foods and drinks dominate

Many foods that are found in the AMBER segment of the spectrum can be convenient to offer. However they should not dominate the menu at the expense of healthier GREEN choices. A menu that consists mostly of AMBER foods will provide the student with food choices containing too many kilojoules at the expense of the fresh choices that children and students need for healthy and vitality.
Avoid large serving sizes
There is a general trend towards serving or packaging foods in larger serving sizes. For example, some meat pies are 25% bigger today than they were several years ago. Eating foods in larger serve sizes makes it easier to consume excess kilojoules. Select moderate serve sizes instead. If you are packaging and promoting foods within the canteen, consider the size of the serve.
Select healthier choices within the AMBER category
There are healthier product choices within the AMBER segment of the spectrum that contain more vegetables and fruit and reduced levels of saturated fat, salt or sugar when compared to the regualar products.