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Junk Food Outside of School: What the Law Requires from Your Cooperative Starting 2025

October 23, 2026 · 6 min read

Starting October 1, 2024, a new agreement between SEP and the Ministry of Health prohibits selling inside any school —public or private— foods and beverages with warning labels, and requires cooperatives, stores, and cafeterias to adjust their offerings.

What Changed and When

On October 1, 2024, the new "Agreement establishing the General Guidelines for the Preparation, Distribution, and Sale of Foods and Beverages in Schools, and for Promoting Healthy Eating Lifestyles" came into effect, published by the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) and the Ministry of Health in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) on September 30, 2024. This agreement replaces the one in effect since 2014 (which becomes null as the new one is implemented) and gave schools 180 calendar days to comply, a deadline that ended in late March 2025.

The reform did not come out of nowhere: it stems from changes made in December 2023 to Articles 75 and 75 Bis of the General Education Law, which mandated SEP to issue these guidelines with nutritional criteria set by the Ministry of Health, and to review them at least every five years.

Important for private school administrators: the agreement applies to public and private institutions with official authorization or recognition of validity of studies, at all levels —basic, upper secondary, higher education, and vocational training—. It’s not just a rule for public schools: if your institution has a cooperative, store, cafeteria, external food provider, or vending machines, the agreement applies equally.

What Can No Longer Be Sold Inside the School

The main criterion is simple to apply, even if not easy to explain: it is prohibited to sell or distribute, within school premises, any product bearing one or more warning labels or precautionary legends from the front-of-package warning label mandated by NOM-051-SCFI/SSA1-2010 (the standard that since 2020 requires labels like "excess sugars," "excess calories," or "contains caffeine, avoid in children").

In addition to the label rule, the annex of the agreement explicitly excludes:

- Bulk products with industrial ingredients high in fats, refined flours, sodium, or sugar.

- Homemade preparations where these same ingredients predominate.

- Canned, fried, or syrup-preserved vegetables and fruits.

- Box cereals with added sugar.

- Beverages with caffeine or added sweeteners.

- Any other product the health authority declares not recommended.

As a reference for what is allowed, the agreement sets limits for saturated fats (maximum 7% of daily energy), trans fats (maximum 1%), sugars (maximum 10%), and sodium (maximum 1,600 mg per day).

Advertising of low-nutrition, high-energy-density foods within the school is also prohibited: a soda ad in the cooperative or a branded refrigerator next to the checkout is no longer just a marketing detail — it’s a violation.

What Your Cooperative, Store, or Cafeteria Must Do

The agreement does not distinguish who operates the space: it applies equally whether the school directly manages the cooperative, an external supplier, or a parent association. The specific obligations are:

- Meals prepared at the school must include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, or legumes, with portions appropriate for the age of the consumers and low in fat, salt, and sugar.

- The establishment must comply with food handling hygiene standards (NOM-251-SSA1-2009) and have trained personnel in these practices.

- If there is an external supplier, they can only offer products that meet the annex of the agreement and at a price not exceeding market value.

- If the school participates in public procurement of supplies, at least 15% must go to small and medium-scale producers, according to Article 37 of the Law on Adequate and Sustainable Food.

A practical note for those who had a contract with a cooperative supplier before this reform: the agreement allows those contracts to continue under the original terms, unless the product poses a health risk — in which case, the school can modify or terminate the contract before it expires.

Who Monitors and What Happens If It’s Not Followed

Monitoring is divided into three levels:

- The school authority itself (principal, administration) disseminates the rules, verifies staff training, and can modify or terminate contracts with non-compliant suppliers.

- The educational authority (SEP and state equivalents) conducts periodic inspections and enforces sanctions according to the law.

- The health authority (COFEPRIS and state counterparts) performs direct inspections and can impose safety measures.

Sanctions are not symbolic. A school that allows the sale of prohibited products or their advertising within the premises can face violations of the General Education Law (Article 170, sections VIII and IX, with sanctions in Article 171) and the General Health Law (Article 301, with sanctions in Articles 416, 417, and 422). If any public servant is involved, administrative responsibility laws are also activated.

What Your School Can Check This Week

You don’t need to wait for an inspection to know if your cooperative, store, or cafeteria already complies. A quick review:

- Ask the supplier or person in charge of the cooperative for the full list of products they sell, and check the front labels of each: if they have warning labels, they shouldn’t be there.

- Review the current contract with the supplier: does it include permitted products? Can it be modified if something no longer complies?

- Confirm that the person preparing or handling the food has documented hygiene training.

- Check for visible food or beverage advertising inside the facilities — signs, branded refrigerators, vending machines with ads — and remove it if necessary.

- If the school receives supplies through public procurement or government programs, verify the percentage allocated to small producers.

None of these points depend on interpretation: they are listed in the annex of the agreement published in the DOF and are the same ones the educational or health authorities review during a school visit.