Notes From The Scientific Department
School Meals News
A few pieces of news and clarifications pertaining to school meal regulations may be of interest to Vegetarian Journal readers:
A memo sent to Regional Directors of Special Nutrition Programs around the country by the Child Nutrition Division of USDA clarified the applicability of Appendix A to federal school meals regulations. As readers may recall, Appendix A historically stipulated that foods served in schools may not be composed of more than 30% soy. This made it impossible, for instance, to serve soy-based veggie burgers and other 100% vegetarian meat analogs made from soy protein.
The memo clarified that the restrictions in Appendix A now apply only to food-based menu planning systems and not to systems using Nutrient Standard Menu Planning (NuMenus) or Assisted Nutrient Menu Planning (Assisted NuMenus). In other words, schools using the old component system for meal planning must adhere to the Appendix A restrictions, but schools using a nutrient-based approach, with menus analyzed for nutritional composition by computer, are not subject to the restrictions and may serve foods that are 100% soy.
- Another memo was distributed to inform schools of the "Removal of the 'Cheese Alternate Products' Specifications from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)." This rule now eliminates the specifications governing the use of cheese alternate products in the NSLP and allows any cheese substitute to be used in place of meat, including cheese food substitutes and cheese spread substitutes. Readers should note that these foods have a standard of identity that must be adhered to that stipulates the nutritional composition of the food. While a cheese substitute may be used, a product labeled as "imitation" may not. Cheese substitutes may, however, be vegan and be free of any animal ingredients.
- According to a source at USDA, a new rule affecting school meals is "in the works" and will probably be presented for public comment this fall. The new rule will likely stipulate that "any reasonable approach" may be used in menu planning. Details will not be available for a few months. The Vegetarian Resource Group will follow the new rule and issue comments.
Outreach
VRG nutrition advisor Sue Havala, R.D., was featured as a speaker at a meeting of the Mecklenburg Vegetarian Association in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she addressed 60 members and discussed school meals legislation and other current food policy issues. Sue was also interviewed by Great Life magazine (a new health food store publication) about calcium in vegetarian diets, as well as by the Rocky Mountain News for a story about veggie burgers.
Debra Wasserman, co-coordinator of VRG, led two one-hour presentations on vegetarian nutrition and implementation of foods to meet nutritional requirements at the NACUFS (National Association of College and University Food Services) Region II Conference held at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. About 45 foodservice professionals from universities spanning Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia learned about how simple it is to cater to the needs of both vegetarians and vegans dining on campus. Debra focused on practical ideas and promoted VRG's foodservice materials. At one point in the proceedings, Debra asked for a show of hands to see how many of the attendees had vegans eating in their dining halls. Every single hand went up and all attendees indicated the desire to add more vegan options. This is certainly a positive sign in foodservice.
The Vegetarian Resource Group continues to distribute vegetarian and vegan literature throughout the United States. In recent months VRG exhibited at the Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore, MD; Whole Life convention in Chicago, IL; 2nd Annual Book Festival in Baltimore, MD; Vegetarian Society of D.C.'s Veggie Festival held in Virginia; and the Boston Vegetarian Society's Veggie Food Festival held in Boston, MA.
