Over the past few years, a great deal of attention has been paid to school meals. It seems like everyone from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to First Lady Michelle Obama has ideas on what needs to be done. But through all of these discussions and recommendations, a large unknown has been the official nutrition standards for school breakfasts and lunches that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would set. The wait is over. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack released last Thursday a proposed rule updating the nutrition standards for school meals. While this isn’t a final rule, it gives a good indication of what the final regulations will include. So, how does dairy fare in the proposal? The proposed rule sticks pretty closely to a report from an Institute of Medicine committee released in 2009, “School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children.”  Some important things won’t change from the current regulations: fluid milk is still required with every meal, and yogurt and cheese can both be included in meals as “meat alternates.” But some proposed changes could alter the types of dairy products served in schools. Fluid milk will be required to be low-fat or fat-free and flavored milk will only be allowed in fat-free versions. With concern over childhood obesity, the proposed rule also sets new limits for calories, saturated fat and sodium averaged over a week’s worth of meals. This will probably lead to schools choosing dairy products and other foods that are lower in these nutrients in order to meet the proposed limits. The deadline for comments on this proposal is April 13, 2011. Schools would start following the new nutrition standards in the 2012-2013 school year. Impact on Dairy Kids learn a lot at school, so it’s appropriate that they learn healthy eating habits through school breakfasts and lunches. It’s important that dairy foods continue to be an important part of those meals in order to provide a wide range of nutrients, as well as a healthy habit for the rest of their lives. One of the stated goals of the proposed rule is to increase children’s intake of low-fat and fat-free dairy products. However, the types of dairy products that schools buy in the future could change in order to meet new requirements. If flavored milk is only allowed in fat-free varieties, then there could be an opportunity for more flavors of fat-free milks for schools. Additionally, limits on sodium, calories and saturated fat could push schools to look at foods with lower levels of these nutrients, such as yogurt with lower sugar and calorie levels, reduced sodium cheeses, and lower-fat and lower-sodium pizzas. School purchases of dairy products with less fat, calories and sodium could increase. IDFA/Industry Actions Dairy companies have been reformulating their products and working with their customers to develop new products with a healthier nutrient profile, such as pizza with lower-sodium and lower-fat cheese and whole grain crust. If you sell to schools, or your customers sell products to schools, look at your options for great-tasting new or updated products with lower levels of calories, sodium or saturated fat. IDFA has been working with White House and USDA staff and on Capitol Hill to demonstrate how milk and dairy foods would fit into the updated school meal requirements. Last year, IDFA members donated products and conducted briefings to highlight research and development initiatives and successes in reformulating popular school items such as chocolate milk and cheese pizza. IDFA will also be submitting comments to USDA on the proposed rule by the deadline of April 13, 2011. If you’d like to be part of the group of members working on these comments, please contact me at amfoodnutrition@gmail.com. What opportunities do you see for new or reformulated products for schools?