Preventive Law
Preventive Law Corner
By Dennis Eichelbaum - Schwartz & Eichelbaum P.C.
Jul 8, 2005, 08:31

Minimal Nutritional Value: Dollars to Donuts the Donuts Could Cost you Dollars

We have all heard the comments and jokes about the federal government’s attacks on obesity by banning certain foods for not meeting the nutritional standards because they are foods of “minimal nutritional value,” but now there are actual fines being handed down for noncompliance.  While the legislature may have been unable to secure a school finance bill during the regular session, all can rest easy knowing they’ve at least tackled the cupcake crisis through a bill known as “Lauren’s Law”:

(2) The State Board of Education, the Department of State Health Services, or a school district may not adopt any rule, policy, or program under Subsections (a), (k), (l), (l-1), or (l-2) that would prohibit a parent or grandparent of a student from providing any food product of the parent's or grandparent's choice to: (A) children in the classroom of the child of the parent or grandparent on the occasion of the child's birthday; or (B) children at a school-designated function.

So now parents and grandparents have protection to contribute to obesity, but beware; schools have no such protection.  The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) aggressively enforces and diligently monitors the Texas School Nutrition Policy to ensure compliance. When violations of this policy are noted, the TDA may disallow all meal reimbursement for the day and require the school to reimburse the food service account for the lost reimbursement. The TDA can require a documented corrective action plan which will be monitored diligently to ensure continued compliance.

So how strict are the guidelines?  Would you believe that French fries and other fried potato products must not exceed 3 ounces per serving, may not be offered more than once per week, and students may only purchase one serving at a time?  This flies in the face of the tater tot craze started by the popular teen movie Napoleon Dynamite.  The state guidelines themselves are found at:

http://www.agr.state.tx.us/foodnutrition/policy/food_nutrition_policy.pdf

Believe it or not, there are several software programs available to assist districts in complying with the strict guidelines.  The USDA has approved a list of software to help food managers meet the requirements of the new law, which can be found at:

http://schoolmeals.nal.usda.gov/Approved_SW/index.html

Foods and beverages that are restricted from sale to students are classified in the following four categories:

1. Soda Water: Any carbonated beverage. No product shall be excluded from this definition because it contains discrete nutrients added to the food such as vitamins, minerals and protein.

2. Water Ices: Any frozen, sweetened water such as “...sicles” and flavored ice with the exception of products that contain fruit or fruit juice.

3. Chewing Gum: Any flavored products from natural or synthetic gums and other ingredients that form an insoluble mass for chewing.

4. Certain Candies: Any processed foods made predominantly from sweeteners or artificial sweeteners with a variety of minor ingredients that characterize the following types:

a) Hard Candy: A product made predominantly from sugar (sucrose) and corn syrup that may be flavored and colored, and is characterized by a hard, brittle texture. Includes such items as sour balls, lollipops, fruit balls, candy sticks, starlight mints, after dinner mints, jaw breakers, sugar wafers, rock candy, cinnamon candies, breath mints and cough drops.

b) Jellies and Gums: A mixture of carbohydrates that are combined to form a stable gelatinous system of jellylike character and are generally flavored and colored, and include gum drops, jelly beans, jellied and fruit-flavored slices.

c) Marshmallow Candies: An aerated confection composed of sugar, corn syrup, invert sugar, 20 percent water, and gelatin or egg white to which flavors and colors may be added.

d) Fondant: A product consisting of microscopic-sized sugar crystals that are separated by a thin film of sugar and/or invert sugar in solution such as candy corn or soft mints.

e) Licorice: A product made predominantly from sugar and corn syrup that is flavored with an extract made from the licorice root.

f) Spun Candy: A product that is made from sugar that has been boiled at high temperature and spun at a high speed in a special machine.

g) Candy Coated Popcorn: Popcorn that is coated with a mixture made predominantly from sugar and corn syrup.

Elementary schools they may not serve or provide access to FMNV and all other forms of candy anywhere until the end of the last scheduled class.  Middle schools and high schools may not serve or provide access to such foods until after the end of the last lunch period. 

So how serious is the TDA about enforcing the codes?  According to one newspaper article, Freer Junior High was fined $270.01 because Skittles were being sold, and cookies, candy bars and bakery items were too large.  Calallen Middle School was fined $666.06 because the chili cheese Fritos were too big!  Turner High School was fined $1,842.56 because Slushes were more than 12 ounces. Carlisle School was fined $1,039 because they sold Crystal Lite, a popular sugar drink substitute with no calories, because it was not a food of minimal nutritional value!

So if you see a suspicious person weighing their Frito pie, or pouring their slush into a measuring cup, beware, the TDA may be visiting you soon.