Lunchables removed from national school lunch program

(CNN) — Lunchables will no longer be on the menu at schools around the United States.

Kraft Heinz, the company that produces Lunchables, announced Tuesday that it will remove the meal kits from the National School Lunch Program.

The company pulled the product because demand did not reach its targets, but it plans to revisit the idea in the future, according to an emailed statement from Kraft Heinz.

The decision comes after Consumer Reports tested the school versions of the grocery store snacks and found high levels of sodium, lead and cadmium.

“We’re pleased that Heinz Kraft has pulled Lunchables from the school lunch program,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports said in a statement. “The USDA should maintain stricter eligibility standards for the school lunch programs so that the millions of kids that depend on it get the healthier options they deserve.”

The National School Lunch Program –– a federally assisted program that provides low-cost and free nutritionally balanced lunches to students –– serves nearly 30 million kids, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.

Sodium levels in the school lunches

Two types of Lunchables were brought into the school lunch program last year: Turkey & Cheddar Cracker Stackers and Extra Cheesy Pizza.

Consumer Reports found that the kits, which were created specifically for the school lunch program, contained even higher levels of sodium than those available in the grocery store.

Sodium levels in the store-bought lunch and snack kits it tested ranged from 460 to 740 milligrams per serving, or “nearly a quarter to half of a child’s daily recommended limit for sodium,” Consumer Reports said.

The turkey and cheddar school versions of Lunchables contained 930 milligrams of sodium, compared to 740 milligrams in the store-bought version.

Last year, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack proposed changes to school food guidelines to gradually reduce sodium and added sugar levels. Too much sodium consumption can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The school version of Lunchables did contain higher levels of protein and whole grains than the grocery store counterparts, however, Kraft Heinz previously has said.

“Last year, we brought two NSLP compliant Lunchables options to schools that had increased protein,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. “While many school administrators were excited to have these options, the demand did not meet our targets. This happens occasionally across our broad portfolio, especially as we explore new sales channels. Lunchables products are not available in schools this year and we hope to revisit at a future date. The NSLP compliant Lunchables sales last school year were far less than 1% of overall Lunchables sales, so business impact is negligible.”

Lead and cadmium

Alongside Lunchables, Consumer Reports tested other store-bought meal kits, including those from Armour LunchMakers, Good & Gather, Greenfield Natural Meat Co. and Oscar Mayer.

And in addition to higher levels of sodium than other lunch kits, Consumer Reports also found lead, cadmium or both in all of the kits, although none of the kits exceeded any federal limit.

Cadmium has been linked to kidney and bone disease and cancer, according to the World Health Organization. As natural elements, heavy metals such as lead and cadmium are in the soil in which crops are grown and thus can’t be avoided. Some crop fields and regions, however, contain more toxic levels than others, partly due to the overuse of metal-containing pesticides and ongoing industrial pollution.

There is no safe level of lead for children, however, according to the CDC.

Lead stays in the body and builds up over time, a process called bioaccumulation. That’s why even extremely low levels of ongoing exposure can become toxic. Infants are particularly vulnerable because a smaller dose of lead can have a larger health effect on them compared with other children and adults.

CNN’s Sandee LaMotte and Parija Kavilanz contributed to this report.

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