New rules for food offered in childcare institutions took effect last September, with a one‑year transition period. At the start of this school year, all changes entered into force, and they now apply not only to school cafeterias but also to food sold in school snack bars.

The Health Development Institute (TAI) guidelines (link in Estonian) require that at least 80 percent of items offered in school snack bars must be health‑supporting — high‑fiber products with low added sugars, salt, and saturated fats.

Examples include fruits and vegetables, porridges, high‑fiber bread and rolls, kama, unprocessed fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, cold cuts, nuts, seeds, pesto, and hummus. The guidelines also consider unsweetened dairy products, cheeses, and plant‑based drinks used as milk alternatives to be healthy options.

Up to 20 percent of the selection may consist of "conditionally suitable" products — foods with added sugar, honey, syrup, jam, or similar ingredients. This group includes juices, smoothies, galettes, muesli and muesli bars, sweetened dairy products, salad dressings, red meat, canned fish, ham, dumplings, pâté, and sausages.

Most highly processed foods — such as sweet and salty snacks and sweetened drinks — are considered unsuitable. Deep‑fried foods, instant noodles, powdered mashed potatoes, and foods containing certain colorants or sweeteners are also prohibited.

Children go to shops instead of the school snack bar

Baltic Restaurants Estonia CEO Aaro Lode said that of course school snack bars should offer healthier options, but the real question is whether the new rules change children's behavior — or simply change where they buy their snacks.

"If we restrict the snack bar's assortment but purchases simply move outside the school building, the child's diet does not become healthier. Shifting the problem is not solving the problem," Lode said, adding that the success of the change should not be measured by formal compliance alone.

P. Dussmann Eesti also highlights this risk. The company's catering development manager, Inga Paenurm, raised concerns with TAI, several ministries, and other relevant institutions, arguing that the situation has become the opposite of what the guidelines intended.

"Students leave the school and buy products from nearby shops that are not sold inside the school," Paenurm said, adding that the child's food choices do not change — only the place where they buy food.

Lode emphasized that he does not oppose the guideline's goals and agrees that children should have healthy options at school. However, Baltic Restaurants' experience does not show that removing certain products from the snack bar automatically leads children to choose healthier alternatives.

He added that many healthy options — fruits, vegetables, nuts, and sometimes unsweetened dairy products — are already available for free as part of school meals. Therefore, it is difficult to assume that children will start buying items from the snack bar that they already receive at no cost.

Rules alone are not enough

Dussmann wants TAI to provide guidelines with precise examples of affordable products available on the market. Paenurm stressed the need for national communication, as each new requirement means concrete changes in ingredients, preparation, workflow, staffing, and ultimately price. Students also need education to understand why the offerings are changing.

Lode agrees that simply introducing a new rule is not enough: schools, parents, contracting authorities, and caterers must understand why the change is being made and what it aims to achieve.

"If adults themselves do not understand why the rule exists, unrealistic expectations and conflicts arise quickly, and the caterer is left alone to explain why something has changed," Lode said.

He added that discussions often focus on whether today's food tastes bland, but far less on how many healthy years of life children gain from proper eating habits.

Paenurm said that for children and parents, the most important questions are simple: *What can I buy? How much does it cost? Is it appealing?*

"If these aspects are not explained, the snack bar's selection may become healthier according to the guidelines, but students simply will not buy these products," she said. This, in turn, increases food waste — contradicting environmental and climate goals.

Baltic Restaurants' experience has not yet shown that the new guidelines have increased food waste or made food significantly more expensive, Lode said, but these risks exist and should be monitored.

"What the guidelines need is clear logic. For example, it must be obvious how the 80/20 ratio is calculated and what to do when healthy products run out during the day," Lode said. "Our goal is not to defend any specific product on the snack bar shelf. The goal should be that children actually make healthier choices."

Ministry: Responsibility lies with all adults

Ingrid Põldsaar, adviser at the Ministry of Social Affairs' public health department, said that TAI's guidelines focus on the basics of healthy eating, and these principles have not changed over the years.

"It is important that what children learn about healthy eating — both in human studies classes and elsewhere — aligns with what is actually offered at school. Ensuring this is a shared responsibility of all adults," Põldsaar said.

According to her, a more health‑supporting school environment does not necessarily mean that students will start going to shops more often instead of staying at school.

"Although we cannot influence the choices children make outside of school, we can shape the school environment so that healthy choices are as easy and accessible as possible," Põldsaar said, adding that behavioral sciences show people often choose the options that require the least effort and are supported by their surroundings.

"If healthy food is easily accessible and well presented at school, children are more likely to choose it," she added.

Equally important, in Põldsaar's view, is the school's role in shaping habits and attitudes, because school is a social environment where children learn and develop shared routines. She noted that some schools have agreed on common principles — for example, that students stay on school grounds during breaks and do not leave the premises.

"If students want to leave school to buy sweets and soda from a shop, the solution is not to make those same products more easily available at school. Instead, attention should be paid to what influences those choices and how students' eating habits develop," the adviser said. "The choices adults offer children — and the example they set — also shape children's eating habits."

Therefore, both the home and school environments should support what children are taught about healthy eating. Põldsaar added that there is no reason to assume that all students will start buying food outside school because of the new requirements.

"Previous studies show that the vast majority of students eat school lunch. Some students may buy food elsewhere, but that does not diminish the school's role in creating a health‑supporting food environment. The school can give every child the opportunity to make a healthy choice as easily as possible and help develop good eating habits," she said.

Healthy does not have to be expensive

Põldsaar noted that the requirement for food to meet children's energy and nutrient needs, be health‑supporting and varied, and be prepared from minimally processed ingredients already existed before. Healthier food should not necessarily mean higher prices for school snack bars, she said.

"Micronutrient requirements were previously described in detail, but there was no clarity on how to meet them in everyday catering. Now the emphasis is more on practical dietary principles and balance between food groups. Childcare and educational institutions that already met earlier requirements and provided health‑supporting food can generally meet the new requirements with existing resources, without needing significant additional costs," she said.

At the same time, she acknowledged that food and service prices have risen significantly since 2022. According to Põldsaar, this was taken into account when drafting the regulation, and the requirements were designed so that existing catering practices could continue without unjustified extra costs, avoiding price pressure on caterers.

"For example, more expensive food groups — such as nuts and seeds — were left out of the regulation because they would have increased catering costs. Requirements for fish were also eased. Previously, only fresh fish could be used, but now frozen fish is allowed as well. It is nutritionally valuable, often cheaper, and more accessible," she said.

Health Board will focus first on guidance

A separate question is how the ministry will monitor compliance with the requirements in schools.

Olga Gurjanova, head of the Health Board's education and social services health safety division, said the school year has only just begun and everyday practices related to the new requirements are still developing. Therefore, at this stage, the agency considers cooperation and clarification of requirements to be most important.

"The Health Board supervises compliance with the requirements, but for now the main focus is on advising and cooperating to support schools in developing suitable practices. If necessary, the Health Board will also use appropriate supervisory measures," Gurjanova said.

The school principal has the authority to decide what food is offered in the snack bar, but must follow the requirements.

"The school community can also contribute to shaping the selection. The school board has the right to make proposals to the principal about the snack bar's offerings, based on the recommendations in the guidelines," Gurjanova noted.

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