Bill to relax lunch regs advances in Congress

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday adopted a GOP amendment that would provide schools flexibility in meeting Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules for serving whole-grain products and reducing sodium levels.

The amendment from Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) was adopted in a voice vote during the markup of a bill that would fund the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the next fiscal year.

“It addresses both the whole-grains requirement for cereal grain products, bread products and then also the sodium issue,” Hoeven said.

Under his proposal, if schools have trouble meeting the requirement that 100 percent of cereal grain products be whole-grain enriched, they can obtain a waiver so that they only have a 50 percent requirement.