Availability to School Food Authorities of Nutrition Information and Ingredient Lists for Foods Used in School Food Service: Request for Information

Resumo

Schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program ("SMPs") need nutrition information and ingredient lists for menu planning and to assess foods to be used in meeting meal pattern requirements of the SMPs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is interested in examining what nutrition information and ingredient lists are made available to schools, the manner and scope of the information's accessibility, and how that information and accessibility compare with the information schools may be seeking. FNS would like to better understand what information sources, such as the Child Nutrition Database, USDA Foods nutrition fact sheets, and information directly from the manufacturer, are used by schools to both procure foods and plan menus for the SMPs. FNS has received numerous inquiries from schools seeking assistance in locating and assessing nutrition information and ingredient lists for USDA Foods as well as commercially selected foods. A better understanding of what nutrition information and ingredients lists are provided, the source of the information and the medium in which the information is received are all