New rules would limit sugar in school meals for first time

FILE – Second-grade students select their meals during lunch break in the cafeteria at an elementary school in Scottsdale, Ariz., Dec. 12, 2022. On Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, U.S. agriculture officials proposed new nutrition standards for school meals, including the first-ever limits on added sugars, with a focus on sweetened foods such as cereals, yogurt, flavored milk and breakfast pastries. (AP Photo/Alberto Mariani, File)

U.S. Agriculture officials have proposed new nutrition standards for school meals, including the first limits on added sugars. The proposed change would focus on sweetened foods such as cereals, yogurt, flavored milk and breakfast pastries. The plan would also dramatically cut sodium in meals served to the nation’s schoolkids by 2029, while boosting flexibility for foods made with whole grains. The proposal released Friday drew mixed reactions. Some school nutrition experts praised it as a way to improve children’s health, but others said new regulations would be a burden.