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Court Decision Strikes Down USDA Final Rule Easing Sodium and Whole Grains Standards in School Meals

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A recent court decision struck down a 2018 final rule by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), which had relaxed sodium and whole grains requirements for the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast Program (school meals programs). 

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and Healthy School Food Maryland had filed suit challenging the 2018 final rule as violating the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The court held that the 2018 final rule was not a logical outgrowth of the agency’s earlier 2017 interim final rule (IFR) because it included changes not contemplated in the IFR. The court therefore struck down the rule and returned it to FNS for further proceedings consistent with the court’s decision. As a result of this decision, FNS’s 2012 standards for sodium and whole grains in school meals are now reinstated.

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Authored by Elizabeth Fawell, Veronica Colas, and Leigh Barcham.

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