Activity

Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools

Type:

Consensus Study

Topic(s):

Children, Youth and Families, Environmental Health, Food and Nutrition, Global Health, Public Health, Select Populations and Health Disparities

Board(s):

Food and Nutrition Board

Activity Description

A multidisciplinary committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) was convened to review and make recommendations regarding appropriate nutrition standards for the availability, sale, content, and consumption of foods and beverages at school, with attention given to foods and beverages offered in competition with federally-reimbursable meals and snacks. Specifically, the committee:

• Drew on literature regarding the availability, nutritional profile, and risks (including substitution) of school foods and beverages, including recent work by the General Accountability Office, as appropriate;
• Synthesized lessons learned from relevant research, development of federal nutrition standards for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, and experience from the development of state- and local-based standards for foods and beverages offered outside federally-reimbursable meals and snacks;
• Considered whether a single set of nutrition standards is appropriate for elementary, middle, and high schools, or if more than one set is needed;
• Developed nutrition standards, based on nutritional science, for foods and beverages offered in school, with a focus on foods and beverages offered outside federally-reimbursable meals and snacks;
• Considered how to assure that foods and beverages offered in schools contribute to an overall healthful eating environment; and
• Developed benchmarks to guide future evaluation studies of the application of the standards.