“New school lunch guidelines from USDA are aimed at reducing added sugars in students’ diets. For the sugar industry, the guidelines are a ‘mixed bag,” Courtney Gaine, of the Sugar Association, says.
…Courtney Gaine, a registered dietician who is president of the Sugar Association — which describes itself as the scientific voice of the U.S. sugar industry and supports scientific research and shares knowledge the role of sugar in the diet — called the change in the USDA school lunch rules addressing added sugars a “mixed bag.”
She applauded USDA’s commitment to make school lunches healthier but expressed concern about how meals would be reformulated to meet the requirements to reduce added sugars.
Managers of the school lunch programs will need to find a way to continue to make their foods palatable while reducing the sugar, which may result in reformulating them to include low- and no-calorie sweeteners, which Gaine does not believe is a healthy alternative to added sugars.
“When you put a limit of 6 grams of cereal on added sugars and there’s 8 grams of sugar, that will come from somewhere else,” Gaine said, noting that will also occur with yogurt and flavored milk.
Gaine is concerned that USDA didn’t put a limit on the use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners, which she doesn’t believe are healthy alternatives to added sugars.
However, the American Academy of Pediatrics has been critical of the addition of low and no-calorie sweeteners to children’s foods, Gaine said.”
Read the full article here: https://www.agweek.com/news/sugarbeet/new-school-lunch-sugar-rules-are-a-mixed-bag-to-the-sugar-industry
March 22, 2026
"The Feeding the Economy report affirms the vital role food and agriculture play in our nation’s economic resilience and food security. Commercial bakers have long been proud partners to American agriculture, sourcing 85 percent of their core ingredients from domestic farmers....Sponsoring organizations from the food and agriculture industries, who helped make the 2026 study possible, provided commentary on this year’s findings. The full list of sponsoring organizations includes: ...The Sugar Association"
March 10, 2026
"Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, a scientific body that supports the U.S. sugar industry, told the USDA Outlook Forum that the school meal standards taking effect next year might prohibit added sugars in kindergarten meals and could significantly restrict them in other grades. That change alone would cut sugar demand by over 130,000 short tons. The industry faces additional pressure from rising GLP-1 weight-loss drug usage, which jumped from 12% in May 2024 to 18% in November 2025, though Gaine cautioned it remains "premature to assess the impact."
March 3, 2026
"Gaine added, "There is no data to support all this." She said the focus on added sugar is often politically motivated, but food groups have not pushed back on the MAHA pressure. There is a lot of fear of retaliation, and for good reason they have not wanted to push back publicly," Gaine said. "I think it’s going to demand a coordinated, really coordinated, pushing back. Any effort up (until) now has been to go along to get along, and I don’t know if that’s going to work."
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