More salt and less whole grains: new standards for school nutrition

Фото: Depositphotos

The Trump administration got to school lunches, loosening control over the standards of healthy eating in schools that Michelle Obama introduced.

Minister of Agriculture Sonny Perdue postponed the introduction of restrictions on the content of salt in food, softened the requirements for whole-grain products, and also allowed the inclusion of sweetened milk in the menu.

He writes about it USA Today.

Schools have long been obliged to abide by government food regulations if they receive federal compensation for free food and low-cost meals for low-income students, but the Obama administration's standards have been more stringent.

US Department of Agriculture officials said the rules announced on Monday were designed to offer schools greater flexibility in how they prepare meals, taking into account the changes that industry leaders and Republicans have long sought.

Perdue 'will make school lunches great again,' headline says Press Release on the site of the department.

“If children refuse food and it goes into the trash, they are not receiving nutrients, thereby defeating the purpose of the program,” said the official, who took over as minister a week ago, on April 25.

Agriculture Minister Sonny Purdue in the school cafeteria. Photo: usda.gov

The School Food Association (SNA) has long stated that many of Obama's administrative standards are inoperable, which leads to increased costs and reduced student enrollment.

The association has often come across Obama's policies, which gradually introduced healthier rules for school meals starting in the 2012 year. Michelle Obama made these changes as part of her campaign to combat childhood obesity.

SNA lobbied for the return of the rules and stated the need to change the requirements for whole grains and salt. It was pointed out that it is difficult to prepare dishes that the children would like, but at the same time contain whole grains and a fairly low level of salt. They also advocated greater flexibility in the rules that require children to eat fruits and vegetables, saying that children often throw them away.

Critics were quick to react to this change. Ken Cook, president of the D.C.-based advocacy group Environmental Working Group, said in a statement: “Just because kids choose to eat salty, processed foods at school doesn't mean they should eat them. The President's passion for Big Macs and KFC well known but we must not allow Colonel Sanders and McDonald's We launched a school canteen.”

The federal law on healthy eating in schools was signed by President Barack Obama in 2010.

According to the document, the government agreed to finance the purchase of free lunches only if they met the requirements for the content of calories, salt and trans fats. There should also have been more fruits, vegetables and whole grains on the menu.

More than 30 million American children, mostly from poor families, eat meals at schools from the federal budget, reports Air force.

Every fifth American child suffers from obesity, follows from state statistics.

In 2012, children began to eat 16% more compared to 2011 year, although schoolchildren threw out about 40% of fruit produced by them (the same amount was before the adoption of the law), a study by Harvard University showed.

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