Foodmakers Support More Control of School Food

Four major food and beverage manufacturers support legislation to control school snacks.

March 22, 2010

WASHINGTON - Four major food and beverage manufacturers announced last week support for legislation that would expand U.S. control over snacks sold at school while allowing the federal government to ban junk food from campuses, Reuters reports.

While the proposal would represent the first significant "crack down" on school snacks in the past thirty years, it stops short of calling for an outright ban on vending machines from schools, as some would have hoped.

Currently, the federal government bans the sale of junk food in school lunchrooms but does not control school stores, snack bars or vending machines.

"This really is an historic opportunity," said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), who said that the list of currently banned foods, which includes gum and flavored ices, is outdated.

Under the proposal, which is set for a Senate Agriculture Committee vote this week, the Agriculture Department would establish nutrition standards for all food sold on school grounds. Coca-Cola Co, Nestle USA, PepsiCo and Mars joined a beverage trade group, five health groups and the National Parent Teacher Association in a letter supporting the new rules.

Because snacks generate revenue for schools, the National School Boards Association said that Congress should allow local officials to decide what is permissible for sale at school. The compromise bill provides for the Agriculture Department to draft rules based on the federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans and nutrition research as well as local standards for beverages and snack foods.

The Snack Food Association said that guidelines based on an overall diet would avoid "good food/bad food" categorizations.

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