On January 31, 2022, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), together with the American Health Association and the American Public Health Association, petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to set added sugar standards for foods in school meal programs and sold on school premises.  The petition also asks the agency to ban the use of aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-K and sucralose in school foods, citing fears that the manufacturers may rely on them to meet new standards.

Federal law requires school food programs and sales to follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans that is published by USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services. CSPI’s petition asks USDA to set standards for added sugars that are consistent with the 2020-2025 edition of the guidelines, which recommends that Americans limit their added sugar intake to less than 10% of calories consumed. USDA’s current standards for school meal programs and foods sold at schools were set in 2012 and 2013, before added sugars were required on Nutrition Facts labels.

Separately, CSPI, together with Consumer Reports and a Harvard Medical physician and researcher, filed a petition urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require chain restaurants to disclose added sugars of its foods to consumers upon request. CSPI notes that FDA generally harmonizes mandatory disclosures at chain restaurants with what is required on Nutrition Facts labels and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. CSPI argues that it should be non-controversial for FDA to require added sugar disclosures at chain restaurants.

It remains to be seen how USDA and FDA will respond to these requests.