Tag: flavored milk

The Fight for Flavored Milk

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

I recently had a conversation with a concerned parent telling me that chocolate milk is “bad for you” and we should not be giving it to children in schools. I understood where the parent was coming from — parents today are bombarded with conflicting nutrition advice and wanting to limit how much sugar our kids consume is a sensible instinct. As a parent myself, I share it.

That same week, the Wall Street Journal published an article about how school districts across the country are struggling with students drinking record numbers of high-caffeine energy drinks.

I know that nutrition, especially involving American kids, is a hot button issues these days, and it’s one that people care deeply about. They deserve clear information to help them make good choices. It’s frustrating to me that flavored milk is getting a bad rap when so many children are drinking beverages with known stimulative effects, artificial additives, and minimal nutrition. So, I wanted to step back and ask a simple question: what are the facts?

It is an indisputable fact that flavored milk — at any fat level — provides the same 13 essential nutrients as unflavored white milk. Children who drink flavored milk consume more milk overall and have higher intakes of vitamin D, calcium, potassium, and other nutrients. And studies show flavored milk consumption is associated with better overall diet quality without any adverse effect on weight.

Milk is good for you.

Flavored milk is also good for you.

It seems so obvious to me.

But no matter how much we share the science backing up flavored milk, it is consistently criticized and called “unhealthy.” Why? According to critics, that’s easy: Added sugars. 

FDA says that consuming too much added sugar can make it difficult to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie limits. The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans take a more aggressive stance on limiting added sugars than in previous years, stating that each meal should contain no more than 10 grams of added sugars. And because the food served in school meals must follow the dietary guidelines, flavored milk and yogurt are at risk of being severely restricted or removed from school meals entirely.

But flavored milk contributes just four percent of added sugars in the diets of children ages 2 to 18. Moreover, dairy processors have voluntarily cut added sugars in flavored milk in schools by 57 percent since 2006. Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, 37 fluid milk processors made the Healthy School Milk Commitment, agreeing to provide flavored milk cartons with no more than 10 grams of added sugar per 8-ounce serving. Currently, flavored school milk on average has only 7 to 8 grams of added sugar per serving, lower than ever before.

This matters because of what children actually drink. Roughly seven percent of fluid milk sales in the United States is school milk, and about two-thirds of that is flavored milk. Studies have shown that food waste in schools is reduced when flavored milk is offered, and kids consistently choose flavored milk over unflavored milk. A carton of milk that gets finished delivers far more nutrition than one that ends up in the trash.

Demonizing flavored milk because of a few extra grams of added sugar is, in my book, missing the forest for the trees. The American Academy of Pediatrics has said in a policy statement: “a beverage such as flavored milk provides a good example of the balance needed to limit added sugars and yet promote nutrient-rich foods.”

And that’s the key. Balance. What the anti-added sugars argument is missing is that, unlike many other sugar sweetened beverages, flavored milk is jam-packed with nutrients that all humans, especially kids, need for growth and development.

Unfortunately, the anti-added sugars rhetoric may be winning right now in Washington.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration in July submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a proposed rule for aligning Child Nutrition Program requirements with the recommendations in the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. There is a strong chance from what we have heard that this rule will lower the added sugars limits in the school lunch and breakfast programs, including very specific limits for flavored milk and yogurt.

Currently, flavored milk in schools can have no more than 10 grams of added sugars per 8 fluid ounces. Even in the unlikely event that those limits stay the same, the aggressive stance in the new dietary guidelines of no more than 10 grams of added sugars per meal would force schools to choose between serving flavored milk and having any added sugars at all in the other foods served.

If such a reduction means that milk’s obvious nutritional benefits end up in the garbage, then we have failed at the very purpose of providing nutritional guidelines in the first place.

A chocolate milk mustache is better than no mustache at all.
 

Gregg Doud

President & CEO, NMPF

 

Milk Variety Makes Healthy Kids

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

The greater the variety of milk in schools, including whole, lower-fat and flavored varieties, the greater the benefits to students, dairy farmers are telling lawmakers as they meet them on Capitol Hill.

“I think it’s awesome that students and kids have a choice. Giving them more choices just gets more milk out there for them, and the benefits that it has, and the flavor that it has that kids enjoy,” said Lauren Schwartzbeck, a schoolteacher and dairy farmer who farms near Union Bridge, MD, and a member of Maola Local Dairies, in the latest episode of the Dairy Defined podcast, released today. “I think by giving them those choices and by providing that product to them, that can only do great things, not only just for our dairy industry, but for these kids as well.”

Schwartzbeck was joined by Prairie Farms Chairman and NMPF Executive Committee Member Frank Doll, whose dairy is near Greenville, IL, on the podcast. The two farmers discuss the benefits of adding whole milk to school meal menus as well as the value of flavored milks, which are a popular source of student nutrition. Doll also talks about some of dairy’s priorities as farmers descend on Washington next month for its annual fly-in.

To hear more Dairy Defined podcasts, you can find and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music under the podcast name “Dairy Defined.”

NMPF Thanks USDA for Keeping Low-Fat Flavored Milk in Schools, Culminating 12-Year Effort

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The National Milk Producers Federation thanked USDA for solidifying the ability of schools to offer 1% and fat-free flavored milk in school meals for children of all ages in its final school nutrition standards rule, a victory for schoolchildren that’s been 12 years in the making and will encourage consumption of the essential nutrients provided by dairy.

“This final rule helps ensure kids will be able to choose a nutritious milk they tend to prefer,” said Gregg Doud, CEO and President of NMPF. “Many children prefer low-fat flavored milk over fat-free, and flavored milk offers the same nutrients as regular milk with a minor amount of added sugar.”

NMPF praised its member cooperatives for their tireless work to decrease the level of added sugar in flavored school milk, which now generally falls below the added sugar maximum established in this final rule. “Not only does flavored milk offer the same nutrients as regular milk, its presence correlates with decreased waste in school cafeterias. I am proud of our industry’s successful commitment to providing a healthy product that kids want,” Doud said.

The final rule will include sodium limits on school meals that will not be more restrictive than the Target 2 limits from the 2012 school meals rule, a compromise NMPF supports. Added sugar maximums will also be placed on flavored yogurt (12 grams per 6 ounces) and flavored milk (10 grams per 8 ounces) beginning with the 2025-26 school year, followed by a weekly menu-wide limit of an average of less than 10 percent of calories per meal from added sugars beginning with the 2027-28 school year.

NMPF also commended the work of Reps. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, R-PA, and Joe Courtney, D-CT, who led and secured broad bipartisan backing for legislative efforts over several years that were instrumental to today’s outcome of restoring low-fat flavored milk as a long-term option for schools.

“We are grateful to Representatives Thompson and Courtney for spearheading the successful drive to restore low-fat flavored milk over these last 12 years,” Doud said. “We are thrilled that, working with these members, USDA has put this issue to rest.”

Doud also noted that despite todays’ significant progress, the work to ensure adequate milk access in schools isn’t finished yet. NMPF supports the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which would restore whole and 2 percent varieties to school lunch menus. Led by Reps. Thompson and Kim Schrier, D-WA, the legislation overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives in December and awaits Senate approval.

NMPF Submits Comments on Voluntary Added Sugars Reduction

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF emphasized the need for a realistic and balanced approach to reducing added sugars in comments submitted to FDA Jan. 22. The comments, which supported the agency’s overall goal to improve healthful eating in the US, but urged for added sugars reductions to be voluntary, were a follow-up to an FDA listening session in which NMPF participated.

NMPF cited dairy’s successful work in voluntarily reducing added sugars in flavored school milk in its comments. “The dairy industry’s proactive, voluntary reduction of added sugars in school milk demonstrates the power of industry-led initiatives in this area,” it said in the comment. “Industry leaders came together around reducing added sugars, investing the time, energy, and resources to reformulate products into healthier options that people still enjoy.”

NMPF also pointed out that modest amounts of added sugars can make nutritious food more palatable, thus encouraging consumption and improving health. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association have both noted that using small amounts of added sugars has effectively increased vital nutrient intakes in a way that improves overall diet quality without increasing calories to unhealthy levels.

NMPF, IDFA Pleased New USDA School Meal Proposal Keeps Low-Fat Flavored Milk in Schools, Call for Expanded Dairy Options

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) today expressed optimism for USDA’s proposed updates to school meal nutrition standards, specifically USDA’s plans to maintain low-fat flavored milk for students. NMPF and IDFA continued to call on USDA officials to expand milk and dairy options in schools to ensure children have access to the nutrients they need each day, consistent with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

“Children having access to the healthful foods they need to grow and focus in school is a key priority for dairy farmers,” said Jim Mulhern, NMPF President and CEO. “Milk is the top source of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamin D in kids ages 2-18, and 1% flavored milk is a nutrient-dense, low-fat option students will actually choose to drink. We are pleased USDA is maintaining low-fat flavored milk in schools, providing children with an additional, and favored, choice to access the 13 essential nutrients milk provides, including three of the four nutrients of public health concern. But we question why USDA would propose school meal options that could limit a child’s access to these nutrients and we urge instead that they expand access to dairy options. Providing low-fat flavored milk will increase students’ intake of nutrients vital for their growth and development.”

“The most recent Dietary Guidelines report is clear: children are not receiving enough essential nutrients for growth, development, healthy immune function, and overall wellness,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO. “Healthy milk and dairy options in school meals offer the most important opportunity of the day for children to get the critical nutrients they need. For years, parents and nutrition professionals have agreed that milk and dairy products must remain key building blocks in school meals. While we are pleased that this proposed rule continues to make dairy central to child nutrition, we are concerned with USDA’s ongoing efforts to propose limitations to milk and dairy in school meals, which run counter to the Dietary Guidelines and the mandate of America’s parents.”

NMPF and IDFA are carefully reviewing other provisions set forth in the proposed rule, including the weekly added sugars and sodium limits, to assess their impact on students’ ability to benefit from nutrient-dense dairy food. NMPF and IDFA will submit formal comments as requested by USDA.

NMPF and IDFA also expressed gratitude to Representatives Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Mark Pocan (D-WI) who have worked for years to restore and maintain nutritious school milk options.

“We are grateful to Chairman Thompson and Reps. Courtney, Stefanik and Pocan for their leadership and advocacy for dairy as a way to ensure that schoolchildren have access to the healthy, nutrient-dense milk options they will consume,” Mulhern said.

“We are grateful to Chairman Thompson and Representatives Courtney, Stefanik, and Pocan for their consistent legislative efforts to get milk’s 13 essential nutrients to as many school children as possible,” said Dykes. “Offering low-fat flavored milk and other milk options increases school meal participation, reduces food waste, and ensures children and adolescents are learning and growing.”

NMPF Statement on NYC Mayor Adams Backing Off Proposed Ban of Flavored Milk in Schools

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

From NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern:

“Dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own are pleased that Mayor Adams isn’t moving forward with a misguided ban on flavored milk in schools and instead maintaining New York City schools’ ability to offer a wide variety of milk that’s consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Flavored milk is rich in nutrients like calcium, potassium, and vitamin D; its consumption as an aid to better student nutrition is supported by parents, physicians, and public health professionals alike. Just this spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture moved forward with a rule to allow schools to offer low-fat flavored milk for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years.

“Today’s victory is the product of diligent work. We particularly thank Representatives Antonio Delgado (D-NY) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for their advocacy in support of continued flexibility for schools to serve children healthy milk and dairy products that benefit their growth and development.”

1% Flavored Win Means More Work Ahead

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF celebrated a key win on school milk in February, an important step toward keeping the milk variety in meal programs more permanently.

USDA’s final rule addressing sodium, whole grain, and milk standards for school meal programs, released Feb. 7, protects the option of low-fat flavored milk for the National School Lunch program, the School Breakfast Program, the Special Milk Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program through the end of the 2023-24 school year.

Maintaining the low-fat flavored milk option for schools has been a lengthy battle. Since USDA removed the popular option from schools with a 2012 rule, NMPF has led advocacy efforts to reinstate low-fat flavored milk more permanently as an option for schools, including supporting Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) leadership to advance their bipartisan School Milk Nutrition Act (H.R. 4635).

“Ensuring kids have access to the nutrients they need to grow and thrive is a top priority for dairy,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern at the time of the announcement.  “We thank USDA for the rule’s provision that maintains schools’ ability to serve low-fat, 1% flavored milk. One percent flavored milk is not only fully consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, it is also a nutrient-dense, low-fat healthy option kids will choose to drink.”

Mulhern also thanked Reps. Courtney and Thompson for their long-time leadership on this issue, noting NMPF looks “forward to continuing to work with them, USDA, and others to help ensure everyone has access to nutritious food.”

NMPF plans to do just that, as the Feb. 7 rule provides transitional standards only through the 2023-24 school year. While the rule does offer schools more certainty than they had prior to the rule, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services intends to implement additional regulations governing school meals beyond the 2023-24 school year to conform meal patterns more closely to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. NMPF will continue to work both with USDA on the longer-term rule and with Congress to codify the allowance of 1% flavored milk in schools, using the new rule to add momentum to NMPF’s efforts to secure the low-fat flavored option permanently.

NMPF Statement on Continued Allowance of Low-Fat Flavored Milk in Schools

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

From NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern:

“Ensuring kids have access to the nutrients they need to grow and thrive is a top priority for dairy. We thank USDA for the rule’s provision that maintains schools’ ability to serve low-fat, 1% flavored milk. One percent flavored milk is not only fully consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, it is also a nutrient-dense, low-fat healthy option kids will choose to drink. I would also like to thank Representatives Joe Courtney and G.T. Thompson for their long-time leadership on this issue. We look forward to continuing to work with them, USDA, and others to help ensure everyone has access to nutritious food.”