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Akbar Novruz

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Azerbaijan is moving to modernize the nutritional standards applied in state-run institutions, including medical facilities, schools, and social care institutions. A new legislative initiative aims to align these standards with the country’s minimum consumption basket for food products, Azernews reports.

The draft amendments to the law “On the Subsistence Minimum” were submitted for discussion at today’s session of the Milli Majlis Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship. The proposed changes are designed to create a legal framework for updating food norms across institutional settings.

At present, nutritional standards in these institutions are regulated by a Cabinet of Ministers decision dating back to March 9, 1994. Despite the passage of over three decades, these standards have remained largely unchanged, failing to reflect advancements in nutrition science, evolving dietary needs, and treatment-based food requirements in healthcare.

The proposed amendments would empower a body designated by the relevant executive authority to set new nutritional norms based on the updated composition of the minimum consumption basket. These updated standards are expected to better serve the needs of patients, students, and social care recipients, taking into account modern dietary recommendations and treatment-specific food protocols in medical institutions.

Once adopted, the law will pave the way for more adequate and health-oriented food provisions in Azerbaijan’s public institutions.