12/9/13 Media Advisory: Minimizing PCB and Total POPs Exposure Via Changes in School Lunches

Minimizing PCB and Total POPs Exposure Via Changes in School Lunches
Presentation for Salmon River Board of Education

Monday, December 9, 2013, 6:00 PM

Salmon River School, 637 CR 1, Fort Covington, NY USA

The school lunch makes up a significant part of what children eat.
School lunch programs are required to provide certain information to
the New York State Department of Education.  The percentage of fat in
school lunch meals is included in this information.  Percentages of
fat in school lunches served in the Canton and Colton-Pierrepont
School Districts were reported as 27.69 percent and 29.84 percent
respectively.  (The reported information did not include a breakdown
for vegetable fats and animal fats.  Only percentage of total fat was
reported.  The total fat percentages provided were % Kcals.  In the
case of fats, % Kcals is higher than percent by mass.)

Major retailer meatballs are approximately 30 percent fat by mass.
Prepared meals available in the supermarket range from less than 10
percent fat to over 20 percent fat.  No prepared meals were found to
have a percentage of fat as high as 30 percent by mass.

School lunch meals are nearly 30 percent fat with regards to caloric
content because fat is cheap.  School districts feed children very low
cost food.  At a time when animal fats are contaminated with PCBs and
other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including:  dioxins,
brominated flame retardants and fat soluble pesticides such as DDT.
Mirex and Toxaphene, it is unsound to feed children meals with a 30
percent fat content.  Considering the fact that meatballs, chicken
patties, sausage and ravioli are all on the school lunch menu, it is
likely that animal fats constitute a major fraction of total fat in
school lunches.

In 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) published, “Persistent
Organic Pollutants:  Impact on Child Health”.  This report was created
to provide health professionals with an understanding of POPs exposure
and disease outcome.  Scientific evidence indicates that current
levels of POPs in the animal fat portion of the food supply are
causing serious harm to health.  POPs exposure is associated with
diseases and disorders, including:  cancers, type 2 diabetes, heart
disease, autoimmune diseases, reproductive problems, autism, ADHD and
cognitive impairments.  WHO recommends action to minimize the exposure
that children receive to POPs.

School lunches should be much lower than 30 percent fat in terms of
caloric content.  The federal government guidelines for fat content of
school lunches are not sufficiently restrictive to protect against
POPs exposure.  This lack of stringency is due to corporate influence
upon the federal government agencies responsible for setting food
consumption guidelines.