School meals will soon contain less salt and sugar, but can still include chocolate milk, per new nutrition guidelines released by the Biden administration.
The Agriculture Department on Wednesday finalized the regulation it initially proposed in February 2023, having weakened several provisions following feedback from food companies, school nutrition professionals and more than 136,000 comments from the public.
“All of this is designed to ensure that students receive quality meals and that we meet parents’ expectations that their children receive healthy, nutritious meals at school,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday , during a call to journalists.
The new guidelines, which aim to better align school meals with federal food standards, builds on a 2010 law aimed at making cafeteria breakfasts and lunches healthier. This law, championed by Michelle Obama when she was first lady, was almost immediately drawn into the political debate. The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to lower nutrition standards, and the Biden administration has relaxed some provisions to provide more flexibility during the coronavirus pandemic.
When the Department of Agriculture proposed updates to the standards last year, school nutrition professionals called the guidelines unrealistic to enforce and dairy groups expressed concerns over what they got. called pressure to limit milk.
The final rule reflects some of these concerns.
Under this rule, schools will have to limit the amount of added sugars in cereals and yogurts starting in the 2025-2026 school year and gradually accelerate the reduction of other foods.
Added sugars currently provide about 17 percent of calories in school breakfasts and 11 percent in school meals on average, according to a government report from May 2022. Federal Dietary Guidelines recommend that no more than 10 percent of daily calories come from added sugars.
Schools will be required to reduce sodium in lunches by 15 percent from current levels and in breakfasts by 10 percent by the 2027-2028 school year. This amount was reduced from a proposed 30 percent reduction by the 2029-30 school year. Mr Vilsack said the Agriculture Ministry was unable to reduce salt more significantly because it was essentially handcuffed by a policy rider in a spending package approved by Congress in March limit sodium reduction in school meals.
Current standards limit sodium for students in grades K-5, at 1,650 milligrams for breakfast and lunch combined, and the policy rider essentially capped the level at 1,420 milligrams. Federal dietary guidelines recommend consuming no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day for children ages 4 to 8.
Dairy products were also spared from further reductions. Students can still drink chocolate, strawberry, and other flavored milks under the final rule, as long as the drinks meet the added sugar limit.
Flavored milk was the main source of added sugars in school meals, according to the 2022 government report. The Ministry of Agriculture had…
