Bagged juice no longer to be sold at public schools

Effective this September the State-run Nutrition Products Limited (NPL) will no longer supply bagged juices to public schools.
  
This was confirmed on Monday afternoon by Education Minister Senator Ruel Reid.

"They are not going to be permitted to produce, package and deliver bagged juice to the schools that they currently supply. That is in keeping with the policy directive that the prime minister has activated and our nutritional policy that we will deliver to the school system ahead of the start of the new school year," said Senator Reid.
  
The announcement follows last week's disclosure by Prime Minister Andrew Holness that the Government will seek to discourage the over-consumption of sweetened drinks.

During his Budget Presentation on March 21, the prime minister noted that more than half of the population is overweight and the consumption of sweetened, carbonated soft drinks by young people is too high.  
  
He said instructions had been given to the education and health ministers to examine ways in which sugar could be reduced or removed from meals served by the Government in public education institutions.