Informal and formal food trade in the school environment in a city in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the trading of food in schools, both informally and in canteens. The study was carried out from March to May 2011, in a universe of 110 elementary and middle schools of the municipal, state and private networks of a municipality in the central region of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, of which 104 (94.5%) took part in the survey; 28.8% had a canteen, with a marked presence in the private schools. Of the schools that had no canteen, 40.4% had informal ways of food trading, mostly in the municipal schools. In the canteens there was a greater supply of fried snacks and pastries, hot dogs, pizzas, burgers, candy, chewing gum and lollipops, sodas, processed juices and water. The foods most sold in all the environments were fried goods, baked goods, hot dogs, candies, chocolates and soft drinks. In summary one can conclude that no school canteen conformed in full to current law, but the canteens of the private schools were more satisfactory than those in the other schools.