USDA’s recent proposals for school nutrition and the Women, Infants and Children program addressed salt, added sugars and whole grains. International Dairy Foods Association Senior Vice President Matt Herrick said the proposal could potentially eliminate chocolate milk from elementary and middle school meals. “There’s a 60-day comment period the Department of Agriculture opened up and we’re working to make our voices heard.” Studies throughout the country have evaluated the use of low-fat flavored milk in schools. “They have low-fat flavored milk on the menu and then remove it and they measure the reaction from those kids,” explained Herrick. “What they end up seeing in those instances is there’s lower participation first (in school meals) and they see is a lot of waste. When they add low-fat, flavored milk back,kids are actually participating more in the program and they’re eating more of their meals.” Herrick said this recent proposal conflicts with USDA’s own dietary guidelines.
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