Jelly beans and chocolate toast are on sale! There is no standard in the canteen

KÜBRA KÖKLÜ / İSTANBUL - The food they eat is as important as the safety of students. For this reason, the Ministries of National Education, Health, Agriculture and Forestry started a new era in school canteens. With the new regulation, the use of melted cheese in toasts, as well as chips, carbonated and flavored drinks, creamy chocolate, filled packaged foods, french fries and candies, is banned, and at least 20 grams of cheese in toasts is mandatory. In line with the decisions taken jointly by the three ministries, candies, chocolates and high-calorie snacks were limited in canteen establishments, while the 200-calorie upper limit rule began to be applied for packaged products. In addition, the use of melted cheese, also known as cream cheese, in making toast is strictly prohibited.

There are prohibited products

We visited schools to examine prices and products and received information from students. There is no standard between schools for both the cheddar cheese used and the fees. For example, while toast and ayran are sold for 130 TL in a public school in Istanbul, the price of a toast goes up to 250 TL in private schools. In the canteen of a private school in Istanbul, everything from patso to chocolate, jelly beans to chocolate toast is sold. Cereal chips are also on the shelves in the canteen, where chocolate toast is sold for 150 TL and turtledove for 250 TL.

Another private school was observed to comply with all prohibitions. In the canteen, where not even chocolate is sold, there are no sandwiches, and croissants are sold for 165 TL.

Price schedule

The price tariffs and weights of the Turkish Canteen Operators Federation for the first semester of the 2026-2027 academic year are as follows:

■ Soup: 80 TL

■ Open 65 grams: 35 TL

■ Plain pastry 65 grams: 30 TL

■ Chicken sandwich (whole wheat) 120 grams: 100 TL

■ Ready sandwich with cheese (whole wheat) 120 grams: 100 TL

■ White cheese sandwich and cheddar cheese sandwich 100 grams: 105 TL

■ Mixed large cold sandwich 100 grams: 125 TL

■ In the hot sandwiches category, potato sandwich (baked) 100 grams: 90 TL

■ Cheddar cheese toast 100 grams: 100 TL

■ Sausage toast 100 grams: 100 TL

■ Mixed toast (kasar-sucuk) 100 grams: 120 TL

■ Hot dog 100 grams: 90 TL

■ Hamburger (red meat) 115 grams: 160 TL

■ Hamburger (White meat) 115 grams: 120 TL

■ Chicken nugget 180 grams: 120 TL

■ Meatballs (Red Meat) 165 grams: 180 TL

■ Chicken doner 70 grams: 145 TL

■ Water: 15 TL

■ Fruit juice: 30 TL

■ Plain mineral water: 25 TL

■ Small buttermilk: 30 TL

THERE IS A HYGIENE PROBLEM