U.S. agriculture officials announce new nutrition standards for school lunches that limit added sugar for the first time
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that the nation’s school lunches will be revamped under new nutritional standards that limit added sugar for the first time.
The final rule would also reduce sodium in children’s diets by 30% in 2023, although not by as much as originally proposed. It also continues to allow the use of flavored milks, such as chocolate milk with reduced sugar, rather than offering only unflavored and unflavored options. Milk for the youngest children.
The program, which costs about $22.6 billion annually and provides breakfast to more than 15 million students and lunch to nearly 30 million students each day, aims to improve nutrition and meet U.S. dietary guidelines. It is to follow.
“All of this is aimed at making sure we provide high-quality meals for our students and meeting the expectations of our parents,” Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told reporters.
Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, added sugar limits will be required from high-sugar foods such as cereals, yogurt, and flavored milk. By the fall of 2027, in addition to sugar limits in certain products, the amount of added sugar in school meals will be limited to no more than 10% of the total calories per week for breakfast and lunch.
Authorities had proposed cutting salt in school meals by up to 30% over the next few years. But after mixed public comment and direction from Congress included in the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill approved in March, the agency announced that by the 2027-2028 school year, the amount of salt allowed in breakfast would increase by 10%. %, and plans to reduce lunch by 15%.
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