HOW Will POTATOES & PIZZA be counted ? Does it matter that Schwan's and ConAgra are lobbying for their "count" as far as Vegetables in Nutrition minimums? (Nov. 12 online details: Politico dot-com)
The white potato loophole in new dietary rules for school lunches just got bigger – about the size of a slice of pizza.
That’s the latest from the green vegetable front as the Food and Nutrition Service tries to stay on track with its proposal, while also coping with major corporations piling on behind the House and Senate Appropriations committees that govern the Agriculture Department’s budget.
The potato and French-fry industry scored the first breakthrough last month when the Senate adopted an amendment that voided the proposed FNS limits on starchy vegetables. Now negotiations with the House have expanded to help pizza makers preserve their claim that tomato paste packs a much outsized wallop as a vegetable.
The precise legislation isn’t expected to be made public until late Monday, but the outlines were confirmed to POLITICO by two persons familiar with the draft conference report, which reflects the strong influence of ConAgra Foods and the Schwan Food Company, both of which sell pizza served in the school lunch program.
Barring a major reversal, the provision will become law as part of a compromise spending bill that Congress hopes to send to the White House within a week and which includes an estimated $19.6 billion for the Agriculture Department and Food and Drug Administration.
House Republicans have agreed to restore billions previously cut from President Barack Obama’s budget request, including funds for child nutrition programs and food aid overseas. But as part of the horse trading, the Senate’s potato amendment opened the door for lobbyists seeking additional changes in the nutrition rules.
The added provisions touch broadly on new whole grain and reduced sodium content standards in the rules – all relevant to pizza. But the most immediate issue is how much credit should be given to the tomato paste on a typical pizza slice.
Currently, pizza enjoys a one-to-four multiplier, allowing one slice – with two tablespoons of tomato paste – to be counted as eight tablespoons or half a cup of vegetables, the equivalent of one serving on school menus.
The new proposal seeks to apply a stricter volume standard and thereby take away a valuable marketing tool for companies like Schwan, which boasts of its improved pizza products for school meals.
“Basically Congress is fighting to keep pizza and French fries on the school menus when we have an obesity problem nationally,” said Margo Wootan, director for Nutrition Policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “It’s shameful.”
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68206.html#ixzz1dXAdelVS
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