Pūnaha tūrama | Traffic Light System
The nutrition standards use a traffic light colour-coding system to classify foods based on their nutritional value. This is a practical way to identify healthier options to include in menus. The table below describes what types of foods typically fall into each colour classification. The Standards have set allowances for each colour classification to ensure that healthier menus made up of mostly green foods are offered to ākonga.
Green
Green items need to make up most of a meal.
- Good source of nutrition
- Mainly everday foods that provide essential nutrients for the body
- Generally lower in saturated fat, salt and added sugar
Amber
Amber items have a maximum weight allowance per meal (see the table below).
- Some nutritional value
- Best eaten occasionally and in smaller amounts
- Can enhance flavour and add variety to a meal and menu
- Often more processed
- Generally contains moderate amounts of saturated fat, salt and added sugar
Red
Red items cannot be included in meals.
- Poor nutritional value
- Often highly processed
- Generally high in saturated fat, salt and added sugars
Minimum weights per meal
| Year Groups | Years 0-3 | Years 4-8 | Years 9+ | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total minimum meal weightview | 180g | 240g | 300g | The total weight of each meal should exceed the minimum weight |
| Vegetablesview | 50g Cooked or 25g Salad or | 60g Cooked or 30g Salad or | 70g Cooked or 35g Salad or | The weight requirement for salad vegetables is half of that for cooked vegetables |
| Grain foods and starchy vegetablesview | 30g | 60g | 90g | Grain foods and starchy vegetables should be served with every meal |
| Protein foodsview | 45g when more than half the protein food is plant-based or 30g when more than half the protein food is animal-based or | 60g when more than half the protein food is plant-based or 40g when more than half the protein food is animal-based or | 75g when more than half the protein food is plant-based or 50g when more than half the protein food is animal-based or | Plant-based protein foods generally contain less protein than animal-based products |
| Additional food itemsview | 0gNo minimum weight | 0gNo minimum weight | 0gNo minimum weight | They do not have minimum weight requirements but count towards the total meal weight |
Maximum weight of Amber items in a meal for each year group
| Year Groups | Years 0-3 | Years 4-8 | Years 9+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Amber Allowance | 60g | 75g | 100g |
For rice, pasta, noodles and starchy vegetables, aim to use at least 50% more than the minimum weight.
Edible weights - Minimum weights include only the edible portion of food served to students, e.g. the flesh of a banana and not the skin, or the flesh of cooked chicken and not the bones
Cooked weights - If cooked food is served as part of the meal, minimum weights apply to the cooked food, not the raw ingredient e.g. the cooked potato weight in a potato salad not the raw potato weight before cooking
The following file is available for download online: Nutrition Standards 2022.pdf