A New Petition Is Attempting to Ban Lunchables From Schools

Here's why.

Prepackaged foods like Lunchables and Uncrustables are loved by kids for school lunches. They’re also a favorite of parents and caregivers who need to pack lunch every day because they can go right from the refrigerator or freezer into a lunch box and kids will actually eat them.

Just about a year ago, Lunchables became a part of the National School Lunch Program and started showing up as an option in some cafeterias for kids who buy their lunch. The packs offered in the cafeteria were reformulated, reducing fat and sodium, to meet the program’s requirements.

But recently, Consumer Reports published their findings of a test done on Lunchables, plus similar lunch kits made by companies including Armour and Oscar Mayer, and found “there’s a lot to be concerned about.” They also tested the Lunchables created specifically for schools, and the findings there weren’t good, either.

Why Lunchables and Other Lunch Kits are Under Fire

Consumer Reports “found that some kits had potentially concerning heavy metal and phthalate levels.” Additionally, the levels of sodium were higher than recommended for kids. Somehow, even though Kraft Heinz said the levels of sodium were reduced in the school lunch choices, Consumer Reports found they had “more sodium than the store-bought versions.

“In CR’s tests,” the Consumer Reports website says, “our experts found lead, cadmium, or both in all the kits. Even in small amounts, these heavy metals can cause developmental problems in children, as well as hypertension, kidney damage, and other health problems in adults.”

Using California’s standard for the acceptable amount of lead in foods, because there is no federal limit for heavy metals in the majority of foods, Consumer Reports found that Lunchables Turkey and Cheddar Cracker Stackers contained 74% of California’s lead maximum and Lunchables Pizza with Pepperoni contained 73%. Lunchables took the top three spots when it came to lead with Armour LunchMakers Cracker Crunchers Ham & American coming in fourth (67%) and Target's Good & Gather Uncured Ham and Cheddar Cheese Lunch Kit coming in fifth (57%).

A Petition To Remove Lunchables From Schools

In the end, Consumer Reports acknowledges on TikTok that “the amount of heavy metals in the kits did not exceed any regulatory or legal limits” but “regularly consuming heavy metals can increase health risks over time.”

Still, they concluded, “these highly processed lunch and snack kits should not be considered healthy or eaten regularly.”

Because of this, Consumer Reports has a petition on its site that urges the USDA to remove Lunchables from the school lunch program and tells them to “Let's do better for our kids' health!”

Read the original article on All Recipes.