From Deseret News archives:
Is junk-food ban in California schools half-baked?
But don't call the food police. All three districts are in compliance with the state law that requires snacks and individual entrees sold on campus to contain fewer calories and less fat and sugar.
It seems that while kids were preparing to go back to school this fall, food manufacturers were busy re-creating their products — shrinking portions, eliminating trans fats and baking instead of frying — to make them meet the requirements of the Food Nutrition Standards Bill by July 1.
The statute is intended to improve students' diets by nudging them into eating a well-rounded healthful lunch. But so far that goal has proved elusive. Some campuses, such as Piedmont Middle School, appear to be ignoring the regulations altogether. And others let kids make a meal of revamped snack foods.
According to food-industry statistics, in the past year more than 10,000 products have been either introduced or reformulated to contain less fat and sugar. Now, snacks such as Nutter Butters, Rice Krispies Treats, nacho-flavored Baked Doritos and barbecue Corn Nuts comply with the school-nutrition standards.
Although these products meet the letter of the law, do they meet the spirit?
"Taking away a little fat and a little sugar does not convert highly processed foods into healthful foods," said Marion Nestle, professor of food studies and public health at New York University and author of "What to Eat." "The kids are still eating junk foods."
The legislation, passed in 2005, was carried by former Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Montebello, and sponsored by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California School Boards Association. It was intended to reduce childhood obesity and diseases associated with poor nutrition by ridding schools of empty-calorie snacks and fattening entrees.
No longer, officials hoped, would kids be able to make a lunch out of a bag or two of Doritos from a campus vending machine or a couple of cookies from the snack cart. Ideally, officials anticipated that the snack bars on campus would be shuttered. The idea was that, without junk food, students would be lured into the cafeteria, where a full meal approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture awaited.
But Bay Area kids are still making lunches out of pizza, cookies and chips — albeit mostly baked ones — because those items continue to be sold.
