Serve fruits and vegetables at meetings rather chocolate and pastries, the office of the Norwegian prime minister has told ministries.
"The prime minister's chief-of-staff has told the front offices of the ministries to have fruit and vegetables rather than cookies and cakes available (at gatherings)," Trude Maaseide, spokeswoman for the Norwegian prime minister's office, told AFP on Monday.
"During a stressful day it is easy to grab the first thing available. (Staff) should make sure that a healthy alternative is on option," she explained, adding that the request was a "reminder" rather than an "obligation".
The request was made a few days ago.
Some ministers had mixed feelings about the instruction.
"It's not very good for people like me who like chocolate," Agriculture Minister Terje Riis Johansen told the Norwegian daily Dagbladet.
But, he added, "the lives we lead are very unstructured when it comes to food, so it would be nice to have a bit more healthy food."
Riis Johansen cited as an example his birthday, celebrated last Thursday.
"I started the day with ice cream and cake at 8:00 am. It's not very good," he said.
