210.10.a General requirements.

210.10.a.1 General nutrition requirements. Schools must offer nutritious, well-balanced, and ageappropriate meals to all the children they serve to improve their diets and safeguard their health.

210.10.a.1.i Requirements for lunch. School lunches offered to children age 5 or older must meet, at a minimum, the meal requirements in paragraph (b) of this section. Schools must follow a foodbased menu planning approach and produce enough food to offer each child the quantities specified in the meal pattern established in paragraph (c) of this section for each age/grade group served in the school. In addition, school lunches must meet the dietary specifications in paragraph (f) of this section. Schools offering lunches to children ages 1 through 4 and infants must meet the meal pattern requirements in paragraphs (p) and (q), as applicable, of this section. Schools must make potable water available and accessible without restriction to children at no charge in the place(s) where lunches are served during the meal service.

210.10.a.1.ii Requirements for afterschool snacks. Schools offering afterschool snacks in afterschool care programs must meet the meal pattern requirements in paragraph (o) of this section. Schools must plan and produce enough food to offer each child the minimum quantities under the meal pattern in paragraph (o) of this section.

210.10.a.2 Unit pricing. Schools must price each meal as a unit. Schools need to consider participation trends in an effort to provide one reimbursable lunch and, if applicable, one reimbursable afterschool snack for each child every school day. If there are leftover meals, schools may offer them to the students but cannot get Federal reimbursement for them. Schools must identify, near or at the beginning of the serving line(s), the food items that constitute the unitpriced reimbursable school meal(s). The price of a reimbursable lunch does not change if the student does not take a food item or requests smaller portions.

210.10.a.3 Production and menu records. Schools or school food authorities, as applicable, must keep production and menu records for the meals they produce. These records must show how the meals offered contribute to the required food components and food quantities for each age/grade group every day. Labels or manufacturer specifications for food products and ingredients used to prepare school meals must indicate zero grams of trans fat per serving (less than 0.5 grams). Schools or school food authorities must maintain records of the latest nutritional analysis of the school menus conducted by the State agency. Production and menu records must be maintained in accordance with FNS guidance.

210.10.b Meal requirements for school lunches. School lunches for children ages 5 and older must reflect food and nutrition requirements specified by the Secretary. Compliance with these requirements is measured as follows:

210.10.b.1 On a daily basis:

210.10.b.1.i Meals offered to each age/grade group must include the food components and food quantities specified in the meal pattern in paragraph (c) of this section;

210.10.b.1.ii Food products or ingredients used to prepare meals must contain zero grams of trans fat per serving or a minimal amount of naturally occurring trans fat; and

210.10.b.1.iii The meal selected by each student must have the number of food components required for a reimbursable meal and include at least one fruit or vegetable.

210.10.b.2 Over a 5-day school week:

210.10.b.2.i Average calorie content of meals offered to each age/grade group must be within the minimum and maximum calorie levels specified in paragraph (f) of this section;

210.10.b.2.ii Average saturated fat content of the meals offered to each age/grade group must be less than 10 percent of total calories; and

210.10.b.2.iii Average sodium content of the meals offered to each age/grade group must not exceed the maximum level specified in paragraph (f) of this section.