There will be no more fattening snacks such as potato chips, candy bars, and doughnuts in school cafeterias and vendo machines around the United States at the start of the 2014-2015 school year. This will be the new reality as the federal government has introduced the "Smart Snacks in School" standard on Thursday.
In an effort to encourage the younger generations to eat healthy, the students will have healthier options in schools that will set limits to the intake of sodium, sugar, fat and calories.
The Department of Agriculture announced the new nutrition standards following the mandate of the "Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
The "Smart Snacks in School" took into consideration suggestions from ordinary citizens and experts to help promote a healthier diet among students by giving them healthy food and drink options and less of the foods deemed to be avoided.
"Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our children. Parents and schools work hard to give our youngsters the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong, and providing healthy options throughout school cafeterias, vending machines, and snack bars will support their great efforts," said Secretary Tom Vilsack of the USDA in a press statement.
"USDA is focused on improving childhood nutrition and empowering families to make healthier food choices by providing science-based information and advice, while expanding the availability of healthy food," the official news release stated.
According to a report on USA Today, the new standards will require competitive foods, those that are not part of the regular meals in school, to have calories not going over 350 for entrees and 200 for side dishes and snacks.
The competitive foods should not contain trans fats and meet the requirements for sugar content as well. They should also be dairy products, protein-rich or whole-grain-rich foods.
When it comes to drinks, schools may sell fat-free milk, unflavored low-fat milk, and juice made 100 percent from vegetables or fruits.
The size of food servings and beverages will also vary depending on the age of the students.
According to an article on CNN, kids in kindergartens will be served 550 to 650 calories maximum for every meal. Children in ninth to 12th grades will be limited to a maximum of 850 calories during lunch time.
The new nutrition standards will be evaluated and tweaked as necessary, according to the USDA.
