New school lunch sugar rules are a ‘mixed bag’ to the sugar industry

“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