tThe nation’s school meals will be revamped under new nutritional standards that limit added sugars for the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.
The final rule also cuts sodium in children’s foods, although not by 30%. first proposed in 2023. And it continues to allow flavored milks, such as chocolate milk, with less sugar, rather than adopting an option that would have offered only unflavored milk to younger children.
The goal is to improve nutrition and align with U.S. dietary guidelines in the program that provides breakfasts to more than 15 million students and lunches to nearly 30 million students every day. at the cost of about 22.6 billion dollars a year.
“All of this is designed to ensure that students have quality meals and that we meet parents’ expectations,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters.
Limits on added sugars would be required in the 2025-2026 school year, starting with high-sugar foods like cereals, yogurt and flavored milks. By fall 2027, added sugars in school meals would be limited to no more than 10% of total weekly calories for breakfasts and lunches, in addition to limits on sugar in specific products.
Authorities had proposed reducing sodium in school meals by up to 30% over the next few years. But after receiving mixed public comments and a congressional directive included in the fiscal 2024 appropriations bill passed in March, the agency will reduce allowable sodium levels in breakfasts by 10% and in lunches by 15% for the 2027-2028 school year.