Tuck shop upgrade at Guzeppi Despott Boys' Junior Lyceum

Guzeppi Despott Boys' Junior Lyceum, Hamrun, under the headship of Joe Huber, has undertaken the task of upgrading its school tuck shop.

It was decided that to run the tuck shop using members of the school staff, introduce healthy food and to eliminate the problem of students buying from the tuck shop in between lessons. I accepted the task of implementing this initiative, for it was closely linked to my role as Health and Safety teacher.

My first priority was to organise the tuck shop premises in order to create a cleaner and safer environment. This meant even working during the summer holidays to install all the necessary equipment, including buying brand new white goods.

Eventually, after consulting the food and drink standards, I drew up a list of food and drink items that were to be (and not to be) on sale at the tuck shop.

The first items to be struck off the list were packed savoury snacks, fried foods and puff pastry items, such as sausage rolls and oil-oozing pizza. This was in line with attempts to combat the serious problems of obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes in Malta.

Most students do not realise the side effects of a high intake of hidden salts and fats that constitute a major contribution to high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems due to bad eating habits that accumulate from young age.

According to the British Heart Foundation, a 35-gram bag of crisps contains 2.5 teaspoons of oil. In a larger bag it rises to 3.5 teaspoons. Quoting Professor Weissberg of the BHF: "Having a daily dose of such a high-fat, nutritionally poor product is a threat to children's long-term health". From a BHF survey it resulted that a packet-of-crisps-a-day habit is equivalent to the consumption of five litres of cooking oil a year.

At our tuck shop the main servings are hobz biz-zejt, baguettes, daily freshly baked pizza with only mozzarella, tuna and olives, and warm chicken steak rolls that are grilled and not fried.

Apart from these we also sell cereal bars, nuts, dried fruit, cereal biscuits, cereal snacks, plain muffins and currant buns. When we have the occasional 'hot dog day' we boil the sausages instead of frying or grilling them, thus reducing the fat content.

Of course, all this meant that our students had to change their eating habits while at school.

Quite a number of students are interested in remaining fit so they end up discussing with me what they should eat. However, there are still a number of students who on their way to school, or after school, buy a lot of junk food and end up facing the consequences, such as tooth decay and increased weight.

Shops close to school premises should also be involved in the selling and displaying of healthy food and drinks. It is important that parents do not give their children soft drinks and unhealthy food just to keep them quiet.

As educators we all would like to see our students eating more salads, fruit and drinking water and natural juices. It is therefore of paramount importance that parents should be made aware of these bad eating habits, because even if we try our best, all these efforts would be lost if parents do not co-operate.

The investment being made at Guzeppi Despott JL by all the teachers involved in the running of the tuck shop will eventually mean healthier citizens who will also in the future instil good eating habits in their children.

The Education Department through various circulars constantly keeps us informed of permissible and non-permissible food and drinks in view of national and international research being carried out.

I have been Health and Safety teacher since 2003. The role of health and safety officers within the schools is becoming more essential as we are doing our utmost to promote health and safety practices among our students through the organisation of various activities and displays. The Health and Safety Week has become part of the school calendar and highlights the importance of our role.

Regular meetings are also organised by Philip Bonello, Education Officer for Health and Safety teachers. In this way we are kept updated about health and safety issues. This theme is also constantly discussed during our internal school development plan meetings.