USDA Sets Standards for Milk Substitutes in School Meals
In its standards on milk substitutes in school meals, USDA said other beverages must meet the nutritional value of milk. “This is an important win for the milk industry because it recognizes the important nutritional contributions of milk beyond calcium,” said Michelle Matto, IDFA assistant director of nutrition and labeling. “IDFA strongly advocated for this requirement of nutritional equivalence.”
Beverages that could substitute for fluid milk, such as soy beverage or fruit juice, will be required to be nutritionally equivalent to whole milk with regard to calcium, protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, riboflavin and vitamin B-12 content. Currently there are no soy beverages that provide all of these nutrients at the same level as milk.