Dubai has already publicly rolled out one of the most modern school-nutrition trackers in the world – a robust AI-assisted online platform that safeguards, observes, and enhances what students consume daily. The new system is called My School Food and utilizes technology and real-time data to make sure student meals are safer, healthier, and in line with the long-term vision of child well-being that the UAE has.
The platform was revealed during the 19th Dubai International Food Safety Conference and is a significant milestone in the process of creating a unified, transparent, and smart food governance in the city. It will track student meals in over 500 schools, nurseries, and universities and affect over 400,000 students, in addition to organizing 50+ food suppliers around a single, highly controlled digital ecosystem.
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A Digital Ecosystem for Healthier School Meals
‘My School Food’ is not just another online menu-checking application. According to Dubai Municipality, it is an ecosystem in its entirety, where nutrition instructions, food-safety certification, training of suppliers and monitors, and e-learning tools were incorporated into a single platform that is not independent of each other.
Ghalia is one of the most innovative elements that is an AI-based virtual assistant designed in such a way that it can answer questions immediately when posed by students, parents, teachers, and suppliers. Since Ghalia is trained on nutrition and safety data approved by the municipality only, it assists users in comprehending:
- What a balanced school meal looks like
- How to choose healthier food options
- Safe food-handling practices
- Ways to reduce food waste
The easily available nutrition tips promote informed decision-making by the students through interactive learning modules. Recipes, tips, and guidance for parents can be used to strengthen the good eating habits at home, and suppliers can do mandatory training and certification through the platform.
The system has a direct connection with the real-time food-safety monitoring network of Dubai Municipality, whereby an inspector has the ability to review and approve menus daily, a level of control that introduces unparalleled consistency to school nutrition.
Stricter Nutrition Rules and a New Safety Framework
As well as the AI platform, one of the most extensive systems of nutrition regulations has been rolled out in Dubai.
The city’s updated nutrition rules include:
- Mandatory calorie calculations
- Age-specific portion control
- Clearer ingredient and allergen labelling
- Stricter hygiene and food-handling requirements
One of the most important features is the colour-coded Smart Food Choices System, which has categorized all the canteen items into four groups:
- Green (Encouraged Daily) – fruits, vegetables, whole grains, water, low-fat dairy
- Yellow (Allowed Occasionally) – foods permitted only with portion limits
- Red (Restricted)—high-sugar or high-fat items allowed rarely
- Black (Banned) – deep-fried foods, highly processed snacks, sugary drinks
To strengthen adherence, each school should have a Nutrition in Charge (NIC) just like the Person in Charge (PIC) in food safety. Schools and food suppliers, as well, are supposed to have monthly audits with the help of NutriCheck, which is a self-monitoring tool that was introduced by Dubai Municipality.
Strategic Partnerships for a Future-Ready Food System
Dubai is supporting the My School Food initiative through effective inter-agency coordination. Key partnerships include:
- Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza)—to streamline inspections, streamline the regulatory procedures of large food companies, and accelerate the process of clearing food imports.
- Ecolab UAE—to come up with hi-tech water-safety and environment-friendly food-management systems.
- Canadian University Dubai & Manipal Academy of Higher Education—Dubai—to fund research, AI to analyze food risks, and specific training to be offered to those students joining the food-safety sector.
These partnerships are designed to create a more reliable, data-driven, and globally integrated food ecosystem in the city.
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A Long-Term Nutrition Transformation
Although the My School Food system is already in place in most institutions, the most stringent healthy eating balances, particularly the entire colour coded approach, will not be introduced at once and may be gradually introduced over the academic year 2025-26. According to the officials, this gradual process will be a smooth formation, and the schools and suppliers will have the time to adjust.
The plan of Dubai is in line with the international discourse on the issue of child obesity, the prevalence of lifestyle diseases among young children, and the influence of nutrition on educational attainment. The emirate wants to place long-term cognitive and health development of students first by establishing new standards of school meals.
Setting a New Global Standard for Student Wellness
My School Food is a pioneering example of the potential approach to enhancing the nutrition of students in Dubai with the help of AI-driven tools, real-time monitoring, rigorous compliance structures, and multi-agency collaboration.
The initiative puts children at the heart of a smarter, healthier future by reevaluating all things, including what gets on school menus and the training of suppliers.
The message of Dubai is simple: the city invests in smart systems to feed students; it is investing in the growth of smarter, healthier generations in the future.