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Toxic School Lunches are finally being addressed:
We all assume that those feeding our children at school have their best interests at heart.
Shocker, it’s so far from true that new legislation has been introduced to address the large amount of toxins found commonly in school lunches.
Scope of the Problem
The size of the problem is staggering, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), approximately 30 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) each day. This translates to around 60 million meals served daily in schools across the United States.
If you’re thinking all schools are even similar, forget it. Take a look at the different breakfast trays served in different school districts. From tofu tocos to spaghetti and beef and then some.
What’s found in school lunches ?
Back in 2022 the Mom’s Across America took a look into what’s in school lunches. What they found is far more than unacceptable.
They tested 43 school lunch samples. The results:
- 93% of the school lunch items contained carcinogenic, endocrine disrupting, and liver disease-causing glyphosate.
- 74% of the samples contained at least one of 29 harmful pesticides.
- 4 Veterinary drugs and hormones were found in 9 school lunch samples at levels up to 130.76 ng/g.
- 100% of the school lunch samples contained heavy metals at levels up to 6,293 X higher than the EPA’s maximum levels allowed in drinking water.
- The majority of the samples were abysmally low in nutrients.
You might be saying that this is a one-off finding. How about this November 2023 publication, “Phthalates, adipates, BPA, and pesticides in school meals“. Their findings were only slightly less concerning. One adipate, DEHA, (a plasticiser) was detected in 42% of samples (range 0.08 mg/kg – 50.39 mg/kg). Among the prepackaged foods, DEHA was detected in 86% of samples, which also contained the highest average concentrations among all the samples tested. The phthalate Diisononyl phthalate (DINP) was detected in only one sample, and BPA was not detected in any of the samples tested. Pesticides were detected in 64% of produce and 27% of entrées, and this is an incomplete overview of their findings.
What about the nutritional value of the meals ? Take a look at these findings from a March 2024 article, “Daily Saturated Fat and Sodium Content of Elementary School Meals in a Large Sample of 128 Geographically Diverse School Systems in the United States”. Their findings, “The prevalence of elementary breakfast and lunch meal combinations that were high in sodium was on average 11% and 12.4%, respectively, and for saturated fat was 10.6% and 34%, respectively. Concluding this finding is their statement: “Daily thresholds, in addition to weekly nutrient thresholds, as well as limits on sodium and saturated fat for entrées, may therefore be needed to prevent daily excess intake of saturated fat and sodium among elementary students.”
Legislation: New Safe School Meals Act Aims to Protect Students from Toxic Food Contaminants
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) has introduced the Safe School Meals Act (SSMA), a groundbreaking bill aimed at protecting students from toxic food contaminants in school meals. The legislation seeks to ensure that school meals are free from harmful chemicals, heavy metals, and pesticides, promoting a healthier and safer environment for students.
What in the Safe School Meals Act?
The Safe School Meals Act (SSMA) requires schools to:
- Test for toxic contaminants: Schools would be required to test their food supplies for toxic contaminants, such as lead, mercury, and pesticides, and report the results to parents and the public.
- Implement safe food handling practices: Schools would be required to implement safe food handling practices, such as proper food storage, handling, and disposal, to prevent contamination.
- Provide safe food options: Schools must provide safe food options for students with food allergies and intolerances and to accommodate students with special dietary needs.
- Increase transparency: Schools must disclose the ingredients and nutritional information of all meals served, allowing parents and students to make informed choices.
- Directing the FDA to set safe limits for heavy metals in school meals. The limits would be based on a threshold of reasonable certainty of no harm to school-age children from aggregate exposure. If the agencies fail to set these limits within two years, the limits will automatically be set to non-detectable until the agencies can determine a safe level of exposure.
- Banning glyphosate, paraquat, and organophosphate pesticide residues in school meals. Certified organic farms would automatically meet this requirement.
- Banning PFAS, phthalates, lead, and bisphenols in food packaging in school meals.
- Directing the FDA to reevaluate food additives with known carcinogenic, reproductive, or developmental health harms, such as artificial food dyes, and ban their use in school meals before the completion of the FDA’s analysis.
Health Concerns: Why is the Safe School Meals Act important?
- Toxic contaminants in school meals can have serious health consequences for students, including developmental delays, learning disabilities, and even cancer.
- Many schools lack the resources and expertise to test for and remove toxic contaminants from their food supplies.
- The SSMA would help to ensure that schools are providing safe and healthy meals for students, promoting a healthier and safer environment for learning.
What can you do to support the Safe School Meals Act?
You can support the Safe School Meals Act by:
- Contacting your local representatives and expressing your support for the bill.
- Sharing information about the SSMA on social media using the hashtag #SafeSchoolMeals.
- Encouraging your school district to implement safe food handling practices and testing for toxic contaminants.
Read the full text of the Safe School Meals Act:
You can read the full text of the Safe School Meals Act on the website of Senator Cory Booker’s office: www.booker.senate.gov.
Learn more about the Safe School Meals Act:
For more information about the Safe School Meals Act, including FAQs and resources, visit the website of the National Resources Defense Council: www.nrdc.org.
Take Aways:
Avoid School lunches, pack a lunch for your kids
Emphasis on non-processed foods
Keep tabs on the salt content, add up all the sauces and condiments
Focus on nutrient density, avoid junk foods
