BZHU famously: why do schoolchildren have junk food on their plates
Almost 60% of the free school meals in Russia have a low quality factor: they do not meet the standards for the availability of healthy animal products and fruits. At the same time, in two of the three school menus, sugar standards are exceeded by more than 50%. The thing is that six years after the introduction of free meals for all elementary school students in the country, legislation in this area has not been synchronized: some norms contradict others, and court decisions violate the logic of subsidizing this industry. Izvestia investigated why children at school are fed far from the healthiest food and it turns out to be legal, as well as how to change the situation.
What gets into the plates of schoolchildren
The study (available to Izvestia) was conducted by the CIS basic organization for student nutrition, the Institute of Industrial Nutrition. A similar analysis has been carried out since 2021. The current results, the ANO said, indicate "a systemic deterioration of the situation, despite the annual indexation of federal subsidies."
The menus in educational institutions in all regions of the Russian Federation receiving a federal subsidy for free meals for schoolchildren from 1st to 4th grade were evaluated. A total of 212 menus were analyzed, which are used by more than 20% of all primary school students in the country. A number of regions have unified menus, while in other regions of the Russian Federation, menus from three schools in regional and district centers and villages were analyzed.
The main indicator that the experts assessed was the quality coefficient of the menu, that is, the fulfillment of natural standards for animal products (meat, milk, cottage cheese) and fruits. These are the most expensive, but also the most important groups of products for health, and they are often skimped on, the Institute of Industrial Nutrition explains.
Another indicator is the adequacy ratio, which shows the ratio of the actual cost of products to the estimated cost of a set of products according to established standards.
According to these indicators, the authors of the study consider a coefficient greater than or equal to 80% acceptable.
The main conclusion of the analysis is that the quality of the dishes is gradually decreasing. The share of menus with a coefficient below 80% increased to 59.2% in 2026 from 40.2% in 2023. The average quality index in the country decreased by 19%. In some regions, the rates of compliance with natural standards were lower than in 2013 (the first study was conducted then, even before the introduction of federal funding).
What shortcomings have been identified? This is a deficiency of protein and trace elements — facts of non-compliance with standards for meat products, fruits, fish and cottage cheese have been found, which leads to a lack of heme iron, calcium, omega-3 and other micronutrients. There is an excess of empty calories: the norms for sugar, salt, bread and cereals are exceeded. These foods increase the risk of nutritional-related diseases: obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic disorders. Another key conclusion is that food operators substitute concepts by offering dishes with a minimum content of animal proteins instead of meat and fish: macaroni and cheese, cereal casseroles. Fruits are replaced with dried fruits.
There is insufficient cottage cheese in 81% of all school menus (43% have a decrease of more than 50% relative to the norm), 43% have a shortage of meat, 89% have a shortage of fish, 77% have vegetables and herbs, 71% have fresh fruits. At the same time, in 67% of school menus, the amount of sugar exceeds the norm by 50% or more. For confectionery products, the same problem was noted in 25% of cases.
The document claims that the federal subsidy does not reach the purchase of products in full.
Another problem pointed out by the study is a significant gap in the quality of nutrition even within one subject of the Russian Federation. In regions with a single standard menu, there are usually no problems with this. However, in other regions, there are situations when children do not receive even the basic 100 grams of fruit or a proper portion of meat every day.
— Six years ago, there was a quiet revolution in the school plate: the federal law on free meals for schoolchildren from grades 1 to 4 was adopted and significant funds were allocated from the federal budget - more than 80 billion rubles a year. It would seem that we can only rejoice, but in our opinion, there has not been a real reform in this matter," stated Vladimir Chernigov, President of the Institute of Industrial Nutrition.
Why is such a meal legal
The experts, evaluating the school menus, relied on the provisions of the "Methodological recommendations on the organization of the implementation <...> of the requirements of regulatory legal acts in the provision and organization of meals in educational institutions," which are contained in a letter from the Ministry of Education dated January 26, 2026. Their execution is required by Federal Law No. 29-FZ "On the quality and safety of food products." In educational institutions, natural nutrition standards must be observed, that is, a specific amount of meat, fish, cottage cheese, fruits, milk, etc.
However, operators violate this rule en masse, and they do it, oddly enough, legally. According to experts, this is possible due to a loophole in the SanPiN. 2.3/2.4.3590-20 about the requirements for the organization of public catering for the population, which allows the replacement of products taking into account national, demographic and territorial characteristics "subject to compliance with the standards for proteins, fats and carbohydrates (BZHU) and caloric content."
That is why food operators can legitimately exclude animal products and fresh fruits from the menu, replacing them with pasta, flour, etc. Formally, the student's diet meets the requirements for BZHU, but they do not receive healthy food.
The SanPiN will be updated on September 1, but in fact in the same form as it was — the loophole could have been closed during the review of the new document, but Rospotrebnadzor retained it: sanitary rules still allow taking into account BZHU, and not natural norms.
— The issues have been raised in the Public Council of Rospotrebnadzor for a long time. Each time we came to the conclusion that it was necessary to monitor not proteins, fats and carbohydrates, but natural nutrition standards. However, the changes have not been adopted," Sergey Maslov, Vice president of the Institute of Industrial Nutrition, a member of the Rosselkhoznadzor Public Council, told Izvestia.
He stressed that if we count proteins, fats and carbohydrates, then we need to evaluate other micro- and macronutrients. Because now, he noted, it is more like the WHO norm for the poorest countries, where it is necessary to meet the norm for BZHU somehow - and it is replenished only with flour, vegetable oil and legumes. In reality, it is necessary to evaluate at least 26 micro- and macronutrients, the expert is sure. They are taken into account in natural norms, but not in SanPiN, where there are only three.
— Why did only calories, proteins, fats and carbohydrates appear at all? Because this is an approach to determining the minimum consumer basket," added Lilia Ovcharova, Director of the HSE Institute for Social Policy. — And she ignores at least two important parameters — vitamins and minerals, which are achieved precisely at the expense of those most expensive products that we are talking about.
In its response to Izvestia, Rospotrebnadzor also referred to the SanPiN and Law No. 29-FZ, confirming that it states that dishes must correspond to daily food sets and calorie content for each age group, taking into account seasonality and national traditions.
"Replacement of food products is possible in exceptional cases, such as refusal to accept food products due to the lack of documents confirming their origin, quality and safety, delivery of substandard goods, emergency situations," the ministry stressed.
Moreover, Rospotrebnadzor stated that during the control measures, the menu is evaluated according to all indicators provided for by mandatory requirements, "including the compliance of food substances, energy, vitamins and minerals."
The agency noted that non-compliance with nutrition standards for the main food groups in schools in the Russian Federation for six years, from 2020/2021 to 2025/2026 academic years, decreased from 1.6% to 1.4%. At the same time, meat decreased from 2.3% to 1.1%, fish — from 2.3% to 1.7%, butter — from 1.5% to 0.7%, juices — from 1.4% to 1.2%, vegetables — from 1.1% to 1%.
As for the request of the Institute of Industrial Nutrition regarding compliance with nutrition standards and the replacement of food and dishes in organized nutrition, Rospotrebnadzor stated that they had responded to it.
"In particular, the response noted the lack of indication of the sources of the data provided on non-compliance with nutrition standards and specific information on institutions, which makes it impossible to assess the reliability of this information," the department said.
We emphasize that the agency sent the response to the Institute of Industrial Nutrition before the publication of the study described in this article.
The court decision is not in favor of the plate
Another problem voiced by experts, which is why schoolchildren don't have what they should have on their plates, is the dispute over exactly how the federal subsidy for food should be spent.
Now it is calculated based on what foods should be on each student's plate. However, in February, a municipal catering operator from Murmansk actually obtained permission through the court to spend some of this money not on food, but on wages, dishes and household needs. The Arbitration Court of the North-Western District ruled in his favor, rejecting the claim of the Federal Treasury Department demanding the return of more than 66 million rubles of subsidies.
In fact, food service operators have been given the opportunity to "save on a plate." Experts compared this decision to the effect of a bombshell for the industry. It hasn't happened yet, but it's possible.
Experts told Izvestia that the government promised to think about changing legislation to eliminate the problem of misuse of federal subsidies, however, it is still unclear when and how this will happen.
In response to a request from Izvestia, the Ministry of Finance stated that the rules for granting subsidies for the organization of free hot meals were approved within the framework of the state program of the Russian Federation "Development of Education", and the Ministry of Education is the main administrator of funds and responsible for the conditions of their provision. Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.
It should be noted that a draft law on social nutrition is also being developed, which could resolve the situation. State Duma deputy Tatyana Butskaya said that 73 regions of Russia supported the concept of the law. However, it is still far from being adopted: there is no document even in the form of an official draft law.
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