Chocolate milk, along with strawberry milk, is back on the menus of American schools.
The US dairy industry has ‘applauded’ the decision by the new secretary of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Sonny Perdue, to reintroduce low-fat flavoured milk as a beverage option in American schools.
In one of his first moves since taking office, Purdue paved the way to allow school districts to offer 1% flavoured milk as an option in school meals and a la carte programmes, having previously been removed from school menus.
Perdue, a former governor of Georgia, was confirmed as the new head of the USDA last week more than three months after the departure of Tom Vilsack.
Leaders in the dairy industry have responded by ‘thanking’ Perdue for ‘recognising the important role school milk plays in ensuring school-aged children get the nutrition they need’.
But fears about the level of added sugar in flavoured milks, which prompted them to fall out of favour with the previous administration, appear to have been overlooked. It marks a more lenient approach from President Trump towards regulating high-fat and high-sugar foods.
Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, claimed that the previous tactic raised concerns about children’s nutrition.
“In just the first two years after low-fat flavoured milk was removed from the programme, 1.1 million fewer school students drank milk with their lunch,” Mulhern said. “Secretary Perdue’s action today recognises that a variety of milks and other healthy dairy foods are integral to child nutrition programmes in schools.”
J David Carlin, senior vice president of legislative affairs and economic policy for the International Dairy Foods Association, added: “Today Secretary Perdue took an important step toward bringing back lunchroom favourites – low-fat chocolate and strawberry milk – that students have been missing. When kids don’t drink milk, it’s extremely difficult for them to get the proper amounts of calcium, potassium, vitamin D and other nutrients that dairy foods supply.”
The USDA secretary announced the policy change in a visit to an elementary school in Leesburg, Virginia.
The department will publish an interim rule to cover the regulatory changes needed to allow low-fat flavoured milk in schools. It is unclear when the change will be implemented.
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