Consumer Reports urges USDA to remove Lunchables from schools. Here's why

Lunchables have always been an easy on-the-go snack for kids.

Aside from the cheese, lunch meat, crackers and snacks in every package, a new consumer report also found Lunchables contain ingredients unhealthy and even potentially dangerous to children.

The Kraft Heinz snack pack offers an assortment of lunches including pizzas, sandwiches, chicken nuggets and the classic cheese and crackers stackables. In recent years, Lunchables have been offered as a menu item at schools across the country, thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to USA Today.

But Consumer Reports is urging the USDA to remove Lunchables from the National School Lunch Program.

Do Lunchables have lead in them?

Lead is one of the contaminants found in a study on Lunchable snack packs, but the Kraft lunch kit wasn't the only kids' meal to test positive for lead. The test studied 12 store-bought Lunchables and similar kits that contained relatively high levels of lead and cadmium. Brands included Oscar Mayer Natural Hickory Smoked Uncured Ham, Good & Gather by Target.

The consumer watchdog group also discovered high levels of sodium in many of the kits served by schools. The sodium levels in the store-bought kits ranged from 460 to 740 milligrams per serving, "nearly a quarter to half of a child’s daily recommended limit for sodium," Consumer Reports' testing found.

Only one of the kits, Lunchable's Extra Cheesy Pizza, didn't test positive for phthalates, a chemical used to make plastic. While the CDC says phthalates could impact the reproductive system in animals, more research needs to be done on this chemical to understand its implications for humans. Consumer Reports stated phthalates have been linked to reproductive problems, diabetes and certain cancers.

"The Lunchables and similar lunch kits we tested contain concerning levels of sodium and harmful chemicals that can lead to serious health problems over time. The USDA should remove Lunchables from the National School Lunch Program and ensure that kids in schools have healthier options.”

Kraft Heinz told USA TODAY in a statement Wednesday the company has taken steps to make Lunchables more nutritious by, for instance, adding fresh fruits to certain kits and reducing the overall sodium by as much as 26%.

"Many of our Lunchables products are a good source of protein, offering nutrients through meats and cheeses," according to the statement. "All our foods meet strict safety standards that we happily feed to our own families ... We are proud of Lunchables and stand by the quality and integrity that goes into making them.

Consumer Reports petitions to remove Lunchables

Consumer Reports launched a petition to the USDA to remove Lunchables from the National School Lunch Program.

“Lunchables are not a healthy option for kids and shouldn’t be allowed on the menu as part of the National School Lunch Program,” said Ronholm in the news release.

As of Thursday morning, the petition had over 16,000 signatures. A USDA spokesperson said in a Wednesday statement to USA TODAY that the agency "takes very seriously our responsibility to ensure school meals are of the highest nutritional quality.”

The USDA doesn't ban or permit individual food items, but the agency does require it to address the overall contents of a meal on a daily or weekly basis, according to USA Today. In other words, Lunchables be must paired with fruit, vegetables and milk, and schools must balance how often they serve the high-sodium lunch, the USDA told

Reporting contributed from Eric Lagatta

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Consumer Reports urges USDA to remove Lunchables from schools. Here's why