Why Lunchables Could Soon Be Banned From School Cafeterias

SAN ANSELMO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 10: In this photo illustration, a pack of Lunchables is displayed on April 10, 2024 in San Anselmo, California. Consumer Reports is asking for the Department of Agriculture to eliminate Lunchables food kits from the National School Lunch Program after finding high levels of lead, sodium and cadmium in tested kits. Phthalates, chemicals found in plastic that have been linked to cancer, reproductive problems and diabetes was also detected in one of the kits tested. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Lunchables may be a nostalgic kids' snack, but new findings about the products present some major cause for concern.

Consumer Reports is calling for the removal of the boxed Kraft Heinz food items from school lunch offerings nationwide after discovering elevated levels of lead—which have been linked to developmental problems and more in children for decades—and sodium, as well as a potentially harmful chemical in their packaging.

While testing several of the brand's varieties, as well as "similar lunch and snack kits from Armour LunchMakers, Good & Gather (Target), Greenfield Natural Meat, and Oscar Mayer," they "looked for lead and other heavy metals; phthalates, chemicals used to make plastic more flexible and durable, and increasingly linked to health concerns; and sodium, which can raise blood pressure."

Ultimately, the testing produced disturbing results. “There’s a lot to be concerned about in these kits,” says Amy Keating, a registered dietitian at Consumer Reports. “They’re highly processed, and regularly eating processed meat, a main ingredient in many of these products, has been linked to increased risk of some cancers.”

Related: The FDA Is Urging a Cinnamon Recall for Lead Contamination

And when it comes to the school lunch servings, "they have even more sodium than the store-bought versions."

All in all, “We don’t think anybody should regularly eat these products, and they definitely shouldn’t be considered a healthy school lunch,” says Eric Boring, Ph.D., a CR chemist who led CR’s testing.

In response, a petition lobbying the U.S. Department of Agriculture to abolish the Kraft Heinz products from the National School Lunch Program has over 15,000 signatures as of Wednesday, April 10.

“It’s disconcerting to have something that’s unhealthy be included as part of the lunch program,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, noted. “You’re really putting kids at risk and putting them at a disadvantage.”

This is not the first set of alarming findings of its kind, with similar cases becoming increasingly more prevalent, especially in foods marketed toward children. Last year, all lots of WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Purée were recalled after heightened levels of lead were present in its applesauce packets.

Next: Popular Steel Water Bottles Recalled Over Lead Contamination Concerns