Dubai launches ‘My School Food’ platform to upgrade student nutrition

Dubai Municipality has launched the “My School Food” platform to improve the quality of school meals and promote better nutritional awareness among students. The initiative is part of a broader set of new programmes and regulatory measures aimed at transforming food safety standards and nutrition systems across educational institutions in the emirate, while strengthening the resilience of food supply chains through advanced technology and artificial intelligence.

Unveiled during the 19th Dubai International Food Safety Conference, the platform targets more than 400,000 students across over 500 schools, nurseries and universities in Dubai, along with more than 50 school food suppliers. It also features an AI-powered assistant named “Ghalia”, designed to provide students and suppliers with instant answers on food safety, balanced nutrition, and reducing food waste, based on municipality-approved data and standards.

The new measures reinforce Dubai’s position as a global hub for future-ready food safety systems. They introduce stricter nutritional guidelines, including calorie calculations, portion control, age-specific meal planning, clearer labelling, and quantity regulations.

The platform also emphasises nutrient-dense foods, higher fibre intake, reduced sugar consumption, increased water intake, and regulated consumption of caffeinated drinks. Additional protocols cover hygiene standards, allergy management, and institutional food safety requirements for educational facilities.

Dubai Municipality has also activated a new partnership with Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) to streamline compliance procedures for major food companies and unify inspection processes. The collaboration aims to create more flexible supply chains, speed up the clearance of food products into the local market, and strengthen preventive public-health safeguards.

Additionally, several memoranda of understanding were signed with government bodies, private companies and academic institutions to support food security, sustainability and digital innovation within the sector.

Key agreements include an MoU with Jafza to simplify regulatory requirements for major food companies, enhance inspection efficiency, accelerate the market release of food imports and reinforce public-health protections. Another MoU with Ecolab UAE will help boost water and food safety systems and develop sustainable regulatory solutions using advanced technologies and AI.

To strengthen research and academic collaboration, the municipality also signed MoUs with Canadian University Dubai and Manipal Academy of Higher Education – Dubai to exchange expertise, undertake joint research in food safety and develop AI-driven tools for data analysis, risk assessment and regulatory enforcement. The agreements also include launching specialised training programmes for youth.