“The cartons of chocolate milk served in San Francisco Unified School District cafeterias will no longer contain the highly debated sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). A product containing sucrose will be offered to students beginning the first week in February.

Berkeley Farms, the dairy that supplies milk to SFUSD, decided to reformulate the chocolate milk due to multiple requests from the district’s Student Nutrition Director Ed Wilkins.

“Indeed there is a great deal of controversy regarding HFCS and its potential contributions to Type 2 Diabetes and childhood obesity,” Wilkins says. “The parents in this district have had major concerns about the additive for several years. I began working with our primary food and beverage suppliers a couple of years ago to eliminate or at least substantially limit HFCS in any products used in the SFUSD school meal program. I am grateful to Berkeley Farms for their proactive response to this important issue.”

Both plain and chocolate milk are available to kids who get lunch in the cafeteria in San Francisco public schools. As part of the National School Lunch Program, the district is required to provide two milk options, according to Wilkins. The district’s Student Nutrition & Physical Activity Committee has said that chocolate milk could be one of the two options, and the district made the choice to offer it.

While Student Nutrition Committee member Dana Woldow has concerns about the chocolate milk with sucrose still having too much added sweetener, she was happy to learn the news. “At least the concerns related specifically to HFCS have been eliminated,” Woldow says. “Just this week a study was released linking Monsanto’s genetically modified corn with organ damage in small mammals. Since most high fructose corn syrup is made from genetically modified corn, this is just another example of why parents are so opposed to this substance being added to their children’s food.”

HFCS is cheaper than sucrose, and so it has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods, from breads and cereals to yogurts and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average, according to USA Today.

HFCS is highly controversial. Some people view it as a nutritional villain along the lines of trans-fat. Others argue that it’s no better or worse than sugar.

The actual research on high fructose corn syrup is fuzzy and insufficient, and a huge chunk of the money spent on researching HFCS has come from companies who make products with the ingredient. “But there’s more science coming out to say it’s an unhealthy ingredient,” says David Wallinga, a director at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. “The American Society of Nephrology recently came out with a study indicating that HFCS consumption increases the risk of developing hypertension.”

But while there’s a trickle of studies indicating that HFCS could be harmful, some experts are saying that the sweetener is no different from sucrose. They argue that HFCS is not poison and that it’s simply sugar in a liquid form. The body metabolizes HFCS and sucrose in the same way, some experts say.

While the debate over HFCS is sorted out and new studies get underway, the American Medical Association has decided that “because the composition of HFCS and sucrose are so similar, particularly on absorption by the body, it appears unlikely that HFCS contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose. Nevertheless, few studies have evaluated the potentially differential effect of various sweeteners, particularly as they relate to health conditions as obesity…”

No matter, many San Francisco parents are happy about the removal of HFCS from their children’s milk. “I do see it as a slight victory,” says Maren Nymo, who sends her child to a public school in San Francisco. “I think its a great chance to reinforce the belief that foods ‘closest to the source, or earth’ are a better option than those that are made in labs. Its definitely a step in the right direction.”

While the HFCS-free milk is a step in the right direction, some would like to see an even bigger step taken and chocolate milk removed all together. “The quick response to SFUSD’s request from Berkeley Farms indicates that our District has significant leverage in the marketplace in terms of buying power, which can hopefully continue to be used to our advantage,” says Lena Brook, founder of the SF Food Coalition. “I commend Ed Wilkins for his responsiveness on this issue and his dedication to creating a healthy food program for SFUSD students. But I continue to have concerns about SFUSD students having daily access to beverages with added sugar. There is a significant body of research demonstrating the negative impact of various forms of sugar on health.”

Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, encourages San Francisco parents to continue to fight for better food in their children’s schools. “It’s great that the public schools want to do something about the healthfulness of the school lunches and I know that many people believe that high fructose corn syrup is the worst thing ever,” says Nestle, “but it’s really just sugar and the switch to sucrose is about marketing, not health. If parents really want the lunches to be healthier, they need to work on cutting down on all kinds of sugars and start serving kids real food.”

Because SFUSD is required to serve two milk choices, you might think the district could simply offer 1-percent white milk and skim or 2-percent white milk. But getting rid of chocolate milk isn’t that easy. In fact, it’s rather complicated.

SFUSD is restricted by countless regulations that dictate what goes into public school children’s mouths. USDA sets minimum calorie levels for school meals, and limits on the amounts of fat and saturated fat. Because SFUSD has focused on reducing fat and empty calories in cafeteria items, the meals are now very close to the USDA minimums, and are based on a meal which includes either 1-percent white milk or skim chocolate milk. “Replacing skim chocolate milk with skim white milk would cause the calorie count of the meal to drop below the USDA-mandated minimum,” says Woldow, “while offering 2-percent white milk as the required second choice would exceed the fat content limits.” Again, it’s complicated.”

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=55267#ixzz0ciyLifd7

Nancy Waymack, the District’s Director of Policy and Resource Management, presented a very interesting PowerPoint to Board Members, outlining exactly what Student Nutrition Services provides as well as an update on the department’s fiscal circumstances.

Though by now, our brains are finely tuned to glaze over whenever the dreaded PowerPoint rears its ugly head, I have to say that I was riveted. Three main threads stood out for me and provided much inspiration as I contemplate what is on tap for our work in 2010.

First and foremost, what quickly emerged from the presentation was that we already have data proving that when investments are made in our school food program, student participation – the holy grail when it comes to success – rises. Better food and a well-managed program can be a reality and a win for all. This is great news!

Second, the SNS department spends A LOT of money on labor. To the tune of an average $92,714 per FTE (including benefits) – and we have less than 74 staff to manage the entire food program, at over 100 schools. What opportunities does this provide in terms of the future? Do we need more staff to run a strong program? Can we create higher-skilled jobs with this level of expenditure? This will be interesting to consider.

And finally, our Board members are getting behind the concept of change! Jill Wynns, Budget Committee Chair, asked Ms. Waymack to have the facilities department evaluate the feasibility of a central kitchen. Budget Committee member Rachel Norton spoke about the need to prioritize high school lunch participation. Sandra Fewer, Chair of the Curriculum and Program Committee, talked about creating a long-range plan for substantially improving school food and growing food for schools at schools!!!

Please continue to spread the word about the SFSFC – and join our monthly meetings, held in the Mission the 3rd Wednesday of each month (the next is January 20th). Contact Lena Brook at sfschoolfood@gmail.com for meeting details.

I have set up a poll to generate more information about community opinion. If there is a standout response in any direction, the SFSFC will generate a letter regarding this issue to be shared with Superintendent Carlos Garcia, the Student Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee, and school Board members.

The poll will close in one week. Please spread the word!!

For those interested in learning more about SFUSD’s salad bar program, the project evaluation can be downloaded here.