“The US Department of Agriculture is seeking to reduce the added sugars and further reduce the sodium formulated into school meals, according to a final rule published April 24 in the Federal Register. The agency is planning to implement a two-phase approach to lowering added sugars levels. Phase 1 will target the added sugar content of specific products and phase 2 will establish weekly limits.
“Schools have many ways to reduce the amounts of added sugars in their menus, such as using fruit as a sweetener in recipes and reducing the frequency of high-sugar items offered during the week,” according to the USDA.
“As we have repeatedly made clear, the Sugar Association supports the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendation to limit added sugars to 10% of total calories, as part of healthy dietary patterns,” said Courtney Gaine, president and chief executive officer of the Sugar Association. “While limiting added sugars to 10% of each week’s school meals menu is consistent with the DGA, applying arbitrary sugar limits to individual products like cereals and flavored dairy is certainly not.””
Read the full article here: https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/25959-new-school-meal-standards-take-aim-at-added-sugars
April 7, 2026
“In specific guidelines for certain age groups and subpopulations, the new DGA advise to “avoid added sugars during infancy and early childhood” (birth to 4 years) and say “no amount of added sugars is recommended” up to age 11. The DGA provide no evidence to support such extreme recommendations. In fact, the author of the […]
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."
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