France Bans Ketchup In Schools

Mayonnaise is still on the menu, but hold the ketchup. This week, French elementary schools have introduced new dietary guidelines, including limiting the amount of ketchup available in cafeterias.

The Los Angeles Times explains students will be allowed to consume french fries once a week, and only then can they have their weekly dose of ketchup. They also won't be able to use ketchup on traditional French dishes.

"Canteens have a public health mission, but also an educative mission," National Association of Directors of Collective Restaurants chairman Christophe Hebert said in an interview with the Daily Mail. "We have to ensure children become familiar with French recipes so that they can hand them down to the following generation."

The Telegraph agrees that the semi-ban was designed to preserve French food culture.

The new dietary rules also specify that schools must offer four or five dishes each day, while French baguettes will be offered in unlimited quantities, reports Fox News.

France is McDonald's biggest European market along with Germany and the U.K. But perhaps that explains the motive for such a bizarre set of school cafeteria rules. Let's see if the French food police can enforce it.