School lunch rules OK refined grains, low fat chocolate milk

Low-fat chocolate milk will also be allowed again and a goal for limiting sodium will be scrapped. Previously, only fat-free milk could be flavoured, although that rule had also been temporarily waived. (File Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

NEW YORK — The national school lunch program is making room on menus again for noodles, biscuits, tortillas and other foods made mostly of refined grains.

The Trump administration is scaling back contested school lunch standards implemented under the Obama administration including one that required only whole grains be served. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday only half the grains served will need to be whole grains, a change it said will do away with the current bureaucracy of requiring schools to obtain special waivers to serve select items made with refined grains.

Low-fat chocolate milk will also be allowed again and a goal for limiting sodium will be scrapped. Previously, only fat-free milk could be flavoured, although that rule had also been temporarily waived.

The School Nutrition Association, which represents local cafeteria operators and companies like Domino’s Pizza, Kellogg and PepsiCo, had called for the scale back of the whole grain-only requirement, saying it was too difficult for some districts to meet.

Diane Pratt-Heavner, a spokeswoman for the association, said whole-grain bread and buns generally aren’t a problem. But she said students complained about other items, in many cases because of cultural or regional preferences.

Whole-grain biscuits and grits are also a challenge in the U.S. South, she said, while tortillas are a challenge in the Southwest.

Not everyone welcomed the relaxed rules.

The American Heart Association encouraged schools to “stay the course” and commit to meeting the stricter standards that started going into effect in 2012. The Center for Science in the Public Interest also said the decision to roll back the whole-grain requirement makes no sense because most schools were already in compliance.

Those still struggling to do so would have eventually been able to comply as well, said Colin Schwartz, the centre’s deputy director of legislative affairs.

For the current school year, the USDA said 20 per cent of school food authorities were applying for exemptions to the whole-grain rule. Pasta, tortillas, biscuits and grits were the most commonly requested items for exemption, it said.

The USDA school lunch program provides low-cost or free lunches in public schools and other institutions. Last year, it served an estimated 30 million children.

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