November 13, 2024
Cheryl V. Jackson/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
A recent Washington Post investigation found that Lunchables met nutrition standards for free and low-cost school meals by upping protein and dietary fiber content, while simultaneously increasing already high sodium levels. Pictured here is a Lunchables vending machine on display at the 2024 National Restaurant Association Show.
Lunchables – highly-processed meal kits that are high in sodium – no longer will be on school menus around the country.
Kraft Heinz is removing its Turkey & Cheddar Cracker Stackers and Extra Cheesy Pizza meal kits from the National School Lunch Program due to low sales.
"While many school administrators were excited to have these options, the demand did not meet our targets," Kraft Heinz spokeswoman Lynsey Elve said in a statement.
Against the outcry of some consumer advocacy groups, the United States Department of Agriculture had approved the two Lunchables meal kits to be served at the start of the academic year as part of the National School Lunch Program. The program receives federal funds to serve "nutritionally balanced" low-cost or no-cost lunches to more than 30 million public and nonprofit private school students around the country.
In September, Consumer Reports and the working-class advocacy news outlet More Perfect Union called for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pull Lunchables from schools because testing found they contained high levels of sodium and heavy metal, among other potentially harmful ingredients.
"We don't think anybody should regularly eat these products, and they definitely shouldn't be considered a healthy school lunch," said Eric Boring, a Consumer Reports chemist who led the testing for the April report about contents of Lunchables and other processed meal kits.
Consumer Reports found through its testing that sodium levels in lunch and snack kits were within the range that the Food and Drug Administration allows, but that one serving contained 460 to 740 milligrams of sodium – nearly a quarter to a half of the daily recommended limit for children, depending on their age.
An investigation by the Washington Post revealed that Kraft Heinz had boosted the protein and fiber content of Lunchables to make them eligible for school lunches – but that Lunchables served in schools had approximately 25% higher sodium levels than those sold outside of schools.
Consuming too much sodium has been linked to high blood pressure in children, which may increase the risk for early development of heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association. Research also has shown children in the United States are eating increasing amounts of ultra-processed food and that the high calorie counts of ultra-processed food contribute to childhood obesity. Approximately 1 in 5 children and adolescents have obesity, which can lead to heart disease, depression and other serious medical conditions, according to the Mayo Clinic.
"We're pleased that Heinz Kraft has pulled Lunchables from the school lunch program," Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, said in a statement. "The USDA should maintain stricter eligibility standards for the school lunch programs so that the millions of kids that depend on it get the healthier options they deserve."
Kraft Heinz plans to revisit the idea of Lunchables in schools in the future, according to a statement the company emailed to CNN.
The USDA announced in April that nutrition standards for school lunches would require a reduction in added sugars and sodium over the next several years.
