{"id":1886223,"date":"2023-05-16T16:08:41","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T21:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/?p=1886223"},"modified":"2024-09-26T06:05:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T11:05:11","slug":"chocolate-milk-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/chocolate-milk-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Chocolate Milk May Be Banned in Schools. Here’s Why."},"content":{"rendered":"Like many of you, I spent my school years drinking chocolate milk<\/a>. Just thinking about chocolate milk brings back the warm nostalgia of the school cafeteria. Every day, the lunch lady gave us a choice: red and white cartons of plain or brown cartons of chocolate. Pretty much every day from kindergarten through 12th grade, I chose the brown cartons. Most of my classmates made the same\u2014except for a few kids who clearly had stricter parents than mine. Now, I see that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering a chocolate milk ban as part of its new school lunch guidelines.\r\n\r\nMy first thought was: Can they be serious? We used to live in a society! My second thought, remembering how much sugar I consumed as a kid, was: Maybe they have a point.\r\n

Why Is the USDA Considering a Chocolate Milk Ban?<\/h2>\r\n\"A\r\n\r\nThe USDA is in the midst of adopting new standards for school meals, and proposed new guidelines earlier this year. The concern is over the amount of added sugars in flavored milks like chocolate or strawberry. USDA\u2019s School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study<\/a> data found that flavored milk is the leading source of added sugars in both the school lunch and breakfast programs, contributing almost half of the added sugars in lunches and about 30% of the added sugars in breakfasts.\r\n\r\nAccording to research, More than 62% of children consumed breakfasts that exceeded the recommended dietary limit of sugar. Almost half (47%) consumed lunches that exceeded the limit, according to a study in the nutrition journal Nutrients<\/a><\/em>.\r\n\r\nSo far, the USDA has made no decision on flavored milk, and is currently seeking public comment. But the agency is considering three options:\r\n