Food Service Guidelines
The Healthy Meals in Preschools Programme (HMPP) guidelines have incorporated the nutrition recommendations for infants from 0 to 17 months.
Preschools that serve food to children must adhere to the HMPP guidelines as stipulated in the Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDC), Regulatory Standards (RS) and Code of Practice (COP).
These include:
Cutting down fat,
sugar and sodium
Serving wholegrain,
fruit and vegetables
Serving healthy
set meals
The guidelines aim to ensure that preschoolers receive the appropriate nutrients necessary for their growing needs and it takes into consideration the following areas:
- Wholegrains
- Fruit to be served daily (at any time of the day)
- Vegetables
- Protein
- Fats and Oils (e.g. but not limited to cooking oil, cheese, etc)
- Sauces, Spreads, Condiments and Salt (e.g. but not limited to soya sauce, jam, etc)
- For more information on the serving sizes, please click here.
- Processed food is not recommended as they are often high in sodium and an increase in sodium intake, increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases
- Fats and Oils (e.g. but not limited to cooking oil, cheese, etc)
- Sauces, Spreads, Condiments and Salt (e.g. but not limited to soya sauce, jam, etc)
- Plain water must be available at all times to encourage it as the preferred choice of beverage
- Sugar sweetened beverages are not encouraged to be served. If served, it should follow the requirements stated in the HMPP guidelines (e.g. HCS certified, No intense sweeteners, etc)
- Processed food is not recommended as they are often high in sodium and an increase in sodium intake, increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases
Preschools are evaluated by assessors commissioned by HPB. Preschools that meet the guidelines will be certified and listed on HPB’s website for easy reference. Preschools that are accredited are listed here.
For more information on these guidelines, please click
here.