Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The Ministry of Education is considering setting up a catering company for running 33,000 school cafeterias all over the Kingdom, according to informed sources. The company's performance will be supervised by Tatweer Education Holding Company (THC), a public company established according to a royal decree, to oversee educational projects. It is in charge of implementing King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Project for Development of Public Education, the sources said. The THC is planning to provide all schools with vending machines to reduce crowding in canteens. During this school year, a number of Saudi companies will run these canteens. The THC asked these companies to have a nutritionist and well-trained staff, and provide students with high-quality, healthy meals. Staff should maintain high-level of hygiene when they prepare sandwiches. Canteens are required to make sandwiches on the same day, wrap them in plastic, and fix a label on them showing their ingredients and expiry date. Meanwhile, Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Turki, chairman of the Diabetes and Endocrinology Association, Eastern Province, has warned students against consuming certain meals sold by school canteens. He called upon canteen managers not to serve unhealthy food, claiming that most canteens failed to comply with the association's previous recommendations.
