Court blocks Trump administration push to make school meals saltier and less healthy

American school meals have been allowed to roll-back standards since 2018, but now a Maryland court says changes ‘not logical’

Some US schools have have been distributing food to families during the pandemic (AP)

A federal district judge has blocked the Trump administration’s proposals on lowering American school food standards after a decision was made against the US Department for Agriculture (USDA).

The Trump administration rolled-back National School Lunch Program nutrition guidelines in 2018, which reduced whole-grain requirements and sodium level restrictions on all school meals.

The District Court of Maryland ruled on Tuesday that the standards reductions were in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which regulates how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

According to the court, the agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue’s school meal regulation changes came without adequate public warning before it came into effect this school year.

“There is a fundamental difference between delaying compliance standards — which indicates that school meals will still eventually meet those standards — and eliminating those standards altogether,” it said.

The legal nonprofit, Democracy Forward, brought the case against the USDA on behalf of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and Healthy School Food Maryland.

In a statement, Democracy Forward’s executive director Anne Harkavy said in a statement that the court’s ruling was a victory for families. “The Trump administration’s unlawful rollback of important school meal nutrition standards jeopardised children’s access to the nutritious foods they need to stay healthy,” she added.

The court added that the USDA decision was “not a logical outgrowth”, but schools that are currently distributing meals during the pandemic are permitted to continue using the Trump administration guidelines until schools reopen.

“None of this applies under the current situation. This is for when we resume post-pandemic school operations,” said Laura MacCleery, senior policy director for CSPI.

The Maryland ruling is the latest change in US school meal standards, since Michelle Obama championed the gradual introduction of whole-grains and sodium reductions in 2012.

The USDA announced in late 2018 that schools would have more flexibility with the rollback in standards and elimination of a final sodium reduction target.

However many US schools were reported to have stood-by the healthier measures amid the changes, whilst others did lower nutrition levels.

A USDA spokesperson told The Independent that they do not comment on ongoing litigation.

The Independent has asked the White House for comment.