Watchdog Warns That Lunchables, Now Available in Schools, Contain Lead

Lunchables, the ready-to-eat plastic trays of lunch meats and cheeses, have some surprise ingredients: plasticizers, carcinogens, and lead.

Product-testing watchdog Consumer Reports is calling for the meal kits to be removed from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), which started distributing them directly to students across the country at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year. The decision to implement the colorful, shiny, highly processed lunch items raised the eyebrows of many health experts.

Kraft Heinz announced its plan to put Lunchables into schools last year and agreed to alter the contents of the two of its meal kits to meet NSLP guidelines, adding more protein and grains, and reducing sugar and sodium for “improved nutrition.” Consumer Reports tested only store-bought versions of the products, alongside an array of comparable meal kits.

Read more at The Daily Beast.