Composition of School Meals in Sweden, Finland, and Iceland: Official Guidelines and Comparison With Practice and Availability.

Background: Nutritious and attractive school meals can improve health equality and public health. Current official guidelines and recommendations on food and nutrient composition of school meals in 3 Nordic countries; Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, are described and compared with actual practice, ie, availability of foods and nutrients in served reference meals in 3 selected areas in each country.

Methods: A country comparison was made between official guidelines, and actual practice was studied in participating schools.