2. Tools for Monitoring the Eating Environment at School

School ‘NutriAgent’ Handbook

2. Tools for monitoring the eating environment at school

To help schoolchildren form good eating habits at school, we encourage lunch suppliers, tuck shop operators, parents, and school personnel to cultivate an environment conducive to healthy eating at school through close cooperation.

For those playing important roles in promoting healthy eating among school children, we recommend they use the surveillance forms in this chapter to monitor the lunch and snack quality taken by students. Schools or representatives of parents’ associations may use these forms as tools in monitoring the pace of healthy eating promotion at school.

2.1 Surveillance tool for school lunch –Nutritional Quality Evaluation Form of School Lunch

Lunch quality will be monitored every month. The school may appoint two teachers or parents to take this responsibility. Lunch quality should be evaluated in five consecutive days of one week each month selected by the person in charge. Materials required are:

Categorization of Lunch Food Item (Page 22 of this section);
Nutritional Quality Evaluation Form of School Lunch (Page 23 of this section); and
Lunches of the week

2.2 Surveillance tool for monitoring school snacks – School Snacks Monitoring Checklist

Monitoring will be carried out every month. The school may appoint two teachers or parents to take this responsibility. Materials required are:

Categorization of Snacks (Page 31 of this section)
School Snacks Monitoring Checklist (Page 32 of this section)and
Record of snacks and beverages supplied at school of the month (via tuck shops and vending machines).

School ‘NutriAgent’ Handbook

Categorisation of Lunch Food Item

Encouraged Food Items
(ALL of the following food categories should be included in AT LEAST ONE menu choice
on ALL school days) / Limited Food Items
(ANY of the following items should not be served on more than 2 school days per week) / Strongly Discouraged Food Items
(The following items should not be included in ALL menu choices)
Whole grains (e.g. red rice, rice mixed with vegetables or corn kernels, whole-grain or whole-wheat bread)
Low-fat dairy products or other calcium-rich food items (e.g. tofu、dried bean curd, soy milk with calcium fortified, broccoli, spinach, Pok Choy, Choy Sum, Chinese Spinach, dace, white bait, black fungus, almonds, nuts without added salt, black and white sesame) / Grains and cereals with added fat, oil or sauce(e.g. fried rice, fried noodles、baked rice or noodles with sauce)
Fatty cut of meat and poultry with skin(e.g. ox belly, spare ribs, chicken wings, chicken, duck or goose with skin)
Whole fat dairy products(whole fat milk, regular cheese, yoghurt, etc.)
Processed or preserved meat, egg and vegetable products (e.g. BBQ pork, bacon, ham, sausages, preserved mustard green, pickled cucumber)
Sauce or gravy with high salt or fat content *(e.g. black bean sauce, black pepper sauce, Thousand Island sauce and preserved soybean curd paste) / Deep-fried food items (e.g. deep-fried pork chop, French fries, deep-fried chicken leg, spring roll, curry dumpling)
Food items with added animal fat, plant–based saturated fat and hydrogenated fat(e.g. butter, lard, margarine, palm oil, coconut oil)
Desserts or beverages with more than 10 grams or 2 teaspoons of added sugar in each serving(e.g. cartoned drinks, soda or sweetened green tea)
Items with very high salt content(e.g. salted fish, salted egg)

*It is recommended that sauce or gravy with high salt or fat content should be served sparingly and separately.

Source: Nutritional Guidelines on School Lunch for Primary School Students, Department of Health

School ‘NutriAgent’ Handbook

(Name of School) Nutritional Quality Evaluation Form of School Lunch Month／Year ／
Name of lunch supplier: / Name of evaluator: / Contact phone number:

Please refer to the example of food items in Annex II of Nutritional Guidelines on School Lunch for Primary School Students, or Page 22 of this handbook, to evaluate the lunches provided by the lunch supplier in one week. First list all the lunch names in the week, then check () the appropriate box if any groups of food items are found in the lunches (multiple choices allowed).

Date / Lunch Name / 3:2:1 / Fruit / Vegetables / Encouraged Food Items / Limited
Food Items / Strongly Discouraged Food Items / SeniorJunior / Number of students ordering lunch / Remark
High fibre grains / Low fat, calcium rich
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Number of “”marks
Percentage (%)

School ‘NutriAgent’ Handbook

Guidance on the Use of “Nutritional Quality Evaluation Form of School Lunch”

The school will select one week with five consecutive school days as the evaluation week, and appoint two teachers or parents to take the responsibility of evaluating all lunches provided during this week.
The two evaluators fill in the evaluation form individuallywith reference to Nutritional Guidelines on School Lunch for Primary School Students or the Categorisation of Lunch Food Itemon page 22 of this section.
Fill in information including school name, month of evaluation, name of lunch supplier, and name of evaluator.
Figure 1 is an application example of Nutritional Quality Evaluation Form of School Lunch:

Fill in all lunch names of the week.
Observe the lunch content of the day, determine the group of each food item according to the categorization by Nutritional Guidelines on School Lunch for Primary School Students, and then check () the appropriate box. One lunch may have more check marks as it may contain different groups of food items. However, for example, if more than one kind of limited food items are served in the same lunch, the “Limited Food Items” only needs to be checked once.
3:2:1：Examine each lunch choice every day to see if grains and cereals (e.g. rice and pasta), vegetables, and meat (and their substitutes) show a 3:2:1 presence in lunch boxes. That is, divide a lunch box into 6 parts, grains and cereals should take up 3 parts, and vegetables and meat should take up 2 parts and 1 part respectively. Thus, grains and cereals, vegetables and meat are served in the ratio of 3:2:1.
Fruit: See if there are visible fruit provided in the lunch, including fruit in the lunch box or whole fruits, fruit salad, and 100% fruit juice served with the meal.
Vegetables: See if there are visible vegetables in the lunch, excluding toppings e.g. chopped spring union, blended vegetable gravy, and onion slices in onion sauce.
Encouraged Food Items – High fibre grains: See if whole wheat or high fibre grains, e.g. whole wheat bread, red rice, brown rice, and rice mixed with vegetables are served.
Encouraged Food Items – Low fat, calcium-rich: See if low fat dairy products or other calcium-rich food items are served, such as low fat cheese, yoghurt and milk, dark green vegetables (e.g. broccoli and spinach), tofu (excluding egg tofu), dried bean curd, soy milk with calcium fortified, white bait and black fungus.
Limited Food Items: See if one of the following items is served - grains and cereals with added fat or oil, fatty meat or poultry with skin, whole fat diary products, processed or preserved food, sauce or gravy with high salt or fat content, e.g. fried rice, spare ribs, chicken wings, whole fat cheese and milk, BBQ pork, ham, preserved mustard green, and oyster sauce.
Strongly Discouraged Food Items: See if one of the following items is served - deep-fried food items, food items with added animal fat, plant-based saturated fat and hydrogenated fat, desserts or drinks with very high sugar content, food items with very high salt content, e.g. deep-fried pork chop, deep-fried chicken leg, rice with chicken oil, salted egg, coconut curry sauce, cookies, and cheese cake.
SeniorJunior: See if the food quantity, e.g. the serving size of meat and grains in lunch for senior primary schoolstudents (Primary 4 to 6) is larger than that for junior primary school students (Primary 1 to 3).

On completion of the evaluation, the two evaluators may compare their results. If their opinions differ, they should seek an agreed result through discussion. If they fail to reach a common ground, they may consult the professional team of the Department of Health.
Finally, the evaluators may record the ordering number of students for each lunch choice and put down opinions on the lunches in order to observe the changes in students’ taste and reflect aspects to be improved to lunch suppliers.
The teacher or parent in charge may enter the final result into a calculation form (e.g. Excel file) for future analysis and evaluation.

How to process data using an Excel file:

To facilitate future analysis and evaluation, the teacher or parent in charge may enter the results into an Excel file for monitoring the quality of lunch supplied by lunch suppliers.
Figure 2 shows the record of school lunch quality evaluation:

The first row records the year and month of the evaluation. The first column records the evaluating items.
Enter the monthly result from the evaluation form in a corresponding place.
Calculate the percentage of each item of the total with an equation. For example:

Vegetables (%) = vegetables (number of  marks) ÷ Total number of lunches of the week)  x 100%
i.e. key in “=b7/b4*100” in B16

Then the computer will calculate the percentage automatically.

The school can monitor lunch supply conditions and changes according to the percentage taken by each group.
The school can also discuss improvement measures with suppliers using the statistical results to provide healthier and more nutritional lunch choices.

School ‘NutriAgent’ Handbook

Figure 1. Example of Nutritional Quality Evaluation Form of School Lunch

School ‘NutriAgent’ Handbook

Figure 2. Record of School Lunch Quality Evaluation

School ‘NutriAgent’ Handbook

Categorisation of Snacks

Food Group / Snacks to Choose More
(Green Light Snacks) / Snacks to Choose in Moderation
(Yellow Light Snacks) / Snacks to Choose Less
(Red Light Snacks)
Grains /

White bread, whole wheat bread, including whole wheat bread, whole meal bread with added nuts and raisin bread
Unsweetened or low-sugar breakfast cereals and cereal bars
Hi-fibre or plain biscuits and crackers
Boiled corn or corn kernels
Unsweetened or low-sugar oat drinks

Refined breakfast cereals with added sugars or processed vegetable oil
(e.g. cocoa bubbles and frosted cornflakes)
Plain sponge cake

Biscuits coated with chocolate or sandwich biscuits
Cream-filled buns, cakes
Chocolate muffins, pastry, cookies
Instant noodles
French fries, deep fried sweet potatoes
Crisps and chips

Vegetables /

Fresh vegetables (e.g. cucumbers, carrots, cherry tomatoes)
Green salad (with minimal amount of salad dressing added or substitute salad dressing with low-fat plain yoghurt)

Pickled or preserved vegetables, salted seaweeds

Salad with whole fat salad dressings

Fruit /

Fresh fruit
Dried fruit without added sugar (e.g. apricots, prunes and raisins)
Baked dried fruit chips e.g. apple chips
Fruit platter or salad (without salad dressing or with minimal amount of salad dressing)
Freshly blended fruit juice without sugar added, 100% natural fruit juice

Dried fruit with added sugar or canned fruit in syrup (even if served without syrup)
Sweetened fruit juices

Canned fruit in syrup (if served with syrup)

Meat, beans, nuts /

Canned tuna (for making sandwich) soaked in spring water without added salt, or lean fresh meat (e.g. beef, chicken breast, turkey slices)
Boiled egg
Bean curd dessert without added sugar
Unsweetened or low-sugar soy milk
Unsalted nuts or beans e.g. almonds, peanuts, cashew nuts, peas

Chicken wings
Ham, bacon and sausages
Pan-fried or steamed dumplings
Minced fish ”Siu mai”, fish ball
Salted roasted nuts and beans
Bean curd dessert with added sugar
Sweetened soy milk

All deep-fried food items (e.g. deep-fried chicken wings, fish fillets)
Beef or pork jerky

Dairy products /

Low-fat or skimmed milk
Low-fat yoghurt or cheese e.g. plain yoghurt or fruit yoghurt without added sugar, cheddar cheese

Whole fat milk, yoghurt and cheese

Ice cream, ice blocks

Food Group / Snacks to Choose Less
Food items high in oil, sugar, and salt /

Sauces e.g. curry sauce, black pepper sauce, soy sauce
Confectionery (e.g. candies, chocolate)
All sugary fizzy drinks or cartoned drinks
Cordials and 3-in-1 instant drinks

Source: Nutritional Guidelines on Snacks for Primary School Students, Department of Health

School ‘NutriAgent’ Handbook

(School name) School Snacks Monitoring Checklist
Name of snack supplier: / Month／Year: ／
Name of evaluator: / Contact phone number:

1. Snacks or drinks are sold at the following locations in school: (check the appropriate box below)

Tuck shop Vending machineBoth  Others:

2. Please fill in the names of all snacks and drinks supplied, and check () the appropriate group (one check mark for one item).

Name of Snack / Choose More / Choose in Moderation / Choose Less / Name of Snack / Choose More / Choose in Moderation / Choose Less
1 / 21
2 / 22
3 / 23
4 / 24
5 / 25
6 / 26
7 / 27
8 / 28
9 / 29
10 / 30
11 / 31
12 / 32
13 / 33
14 / 34
15 / 35
16 / 36
17 / 37
18 / 38
19 / 39
20 / 40

School ‘NutriAgent’ Handbook

Guidance on the Use of School Snacks Monitoring Checklist

The school will appoint two teachers or parents to fill in individually this monitoring form every month. Evaluators may refer to the recommendations and requirements in Nutritional Guidelines on Snacks for Primary School Students or Categorisation of Snacks on page 29 of this chapter.
Fill in information including school name, month of evaluation, name of snack supplier, and name of evaluator.
For the first question, check () the appropriate box to show the way of snack (including beverages) supply at school.
Figure 3 is an example of the School Snacks Monitoring Checklist:

Fill in all snack names, including those available at tuck shops or vending machines. List clearly the brand name of each snack item. For example, if two brands of orange juice XX and YY are available, they should be recorded in two rows.
Use the categories in Nutritional Guidelines on Snacks for Primary School Students, group the snack items as “Snacks to Choose More”, “Snacks to Choose in Moderation”, and “Snacks to Choose Less”, and check () the groups they belong to accordingly. Each snack item can only be put in one group.

On completion of the evaluation, the two evaluators may compare their results. If their opinions differ, they should seek an agreed result through discussion. If they fail to reach common ground, they may consult the professional team of the Department of Health.
The teacher or parent in charge may enter the final result into a calculation form (e.g. Excel file) for future analysis and evaluation.

How to process data using an Excel file:

To facilitate future analysis and evaluation, the teacher or parent in charge may enter the results into an Excel file for monitoring the nutritional quality of snacks available at school.
Figure 4 is an example of school snack monitoring record:

The first row shows the year and month of evaluation; the first column shows the three snack groups.
Enter the numbers of snacks of the three groups in appropriate boxes.
Calculate the percentage taken by each group, for example:

Snacks to Choose More (%) = (number of Snacks to Choose More÷ total number of snacks provided) 100%
i.e. key in“=c4/c7*100” in C9

The school can monitor snack supply conditions and changes every month according to the percentage taken by each group.
Schools can also discuss improvement measures with suppliers using the statistical results to provide healthier snack choices.

Table 2. Example of healthy snack monitoring record