Special diet provision in the services for children and adolescents within the City of Tampere

Meals provided during day care and at school and other educational institutions are designed to support the growth, development and healthy eating habits of children and pupils. If necessary, a child or a pupil will be offered a diet that is appropriate to their severe allergy or illness. The food may be different from the meals served to the others. Eating habits and possible dietary restrictions will be discussed during health examinations at maternity and child health clinics and in school and student health care. If necessary, the child or adolescent and their family will be instructed to contact their own treatment provider, who will draw up a special diet description. The guardian of a child, or a student of full age, is responsible for the accurateness of the dietary information presented.

How to inform the daycare centre, school or other educational institution of a special diet

Special diet form

A medical doctor, a nutritionist or a school nurse shall account for the child’s special diet with an e-form following the instructions below. In health care services, the e-form must also be printed for the guardian or student to take with them.

Such form should be filled out in case of a food allergy, celiac disease or some other diet for the treatment of a disease, and also for a vegan diet. Other vegetarian and lactose-free diets need not be notified.

Logging into the e-form requires a health and social services professional's card.

Special diet description (e-form)

Erityisruokavaliolomakkeen täyttöohje
(pdf) (304.29 KB)

Instructions for filling out the special diet form

In case of failing to log into the e-form, the pdf form below shall be filled in by a health care professional. The guardian, or the student who is of age, will then deliver the printed form to the daycare centre or to the school or educational institution and to the meal services

Selvitys erityisruokavaliosta
(pdf) (71.79 KB)

Special diet description

How to deliver the form on special dietary requirements

You should deliver the form to the daycare centre or school concerned as soon as you have been informed where your child will attend day care or school.

Daycare centres

The child’s guardian will receive a printed e-form from the health care services, to be taken to the personnel of the daycare centre.

Schools

The guardian or the pupil will receive a printed e-form from the health care services, to be delivered to the school personnel if necessary.

Vocational education institutions and general upper secondary school

The student will receive a printed e-form from the health care services, to be delivered to the kitchen of the educational institution concerned.

Meal services

Pirkanmaa Voimia Ltd will receive the special diet information through the electronic form filled in by the health care services. As for Vesilahti municipality and other meal service providers, the guardian or the student are in charge of delivering the printed special diet form to them.

Change of daycare centre or school

If the special diet is to be continued, the guardian must use an electronic form (see link below) to notify the meal service of the name of the new daycare centre or school. This method of notification only applies to places that can be selected in the menu on the form. In other cases, the guardian must deliver an up-to-date special diet form to the new daycare centre or school.

Change of daycare centre or school (e-form)

Changes in special diet

If there are changes to the special diet, the guardian or the student shall request an updated special diet description from the treatment provider and deliver it to the daycare centre, school or educational institution. When a special diet is no longer needed, the guardian or the student shall directly inform the kitchen of the daycare centre, school or educational institution by e-mail.

In the case of an allergy diet, the guardian must inform the daycare centre or school kitchen by e-mail of the introduction of a new foodstuf. Contact information can be found on the website of the meal service provider. New foods to be avoided cannot be introduced without a special diet description.

Diets

According to the current care guidelines for allergies applied in Finland, mild symptoms of allergy, such as a passing burning sensation, itchiness or redness of the mouth, are not treated by avoidance but by exposure and gradual desensitization. Only foods whose avoidance is justified because of significant symptoms should be excluded from the diet. The need for an allergy diet will be assessed by a medical doctor or a nutritionist.

A special dietary description is also required for periodic food breaks.

The meal service has no obligation to provide all the rare ingredients used in the child’s home, if at least one nutritionally equivalent foodstuff is available. Experimenting with new foodstuffs must be done in the home.

In a non-dairy diet, cow’s milk and foods containing it are replaced by plant-based oat or soya products.

Gluten-free food is served to those suffering from celiac disease. This diet avoids wheat, barley and rye. Foods containing gluten-free oats and gluten-free wheat starch will be used if they are not banned.

Other things to observe

Milk substitutes

The meal service provides an infant formula for children under one year of age. Special substitutes for infants and other milk drinks must be bought by the guardian, who shall bring them to the daycare centre.

Special preparations

If the child has an individual diet, it is the guardian who shall deliver the special preparations, such as nutritional supplement drinks and energy powders, to the kitchen of the daycare centre or the school. No medication therapy plan is used in such cases.

Bringing your own food

If there is a justified reason for the child to bring a packed lunch, the guardian shall agree on the practical arrangements with the early childhood education and care personnel or the basic education staff. The food service is not responsible for storing or warming up packed lunches.

Convening an individual pupil or student welfare group

Convening an individual pupil welfare group may be considered in cases where there are uncertainties concerning a diet and the related procedures.

Diabetic snacks

Fruits, bread, yoghurt, milk or juice are offered for diabetics as a snack by the kitchen of the daycare centre, school or educational institution, according to the selection available. If required, the daycare centre or the school will purchase, via the meal service’s range of sales products, juice or glucose preparations (Siripiri®) in case for a sudden drop in your child’s blood sugar levels. Such products are only sold in full sales lots, and they will be invoiced to the orderer.

The short address for this page is tampere.fi/en/specialdiets