The claim: New guidelines require all veggie burgers sold in schools to contain soy protein, vegetable oils
A Dec. 23, 2024, Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shares a screenshot of an X post making claims about school lunch requirements.
“The Biden Administration just issued guidance that in order to qualify for school lunches, a Veggie Burger must contain: 1. Soy Protein 2. Vegetable Oils (such as soybean, canola, or sunflower),” reads the X post. “This is after significant lobbying from Impossible Foods and soy farmers.”
The Instagram post was liked more than 8,000 times in more than a week.
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The post misrepresents a December 2024 document that lists which ingredients can be in a black bean patty provided to schools through the federal school lunch program. A Department of Agriculture spokesperson said soy protein is not required but is an optional ingredient. Vegetable and seed oils would have to be used if any oils are needed to make the patties.
New guidelines give options for vegan school lunch patties
The Department of Agriculture offers several forms of support for American farming, including a program to purchase domestically produced food commodities and another to get those foods into school cafeterias. To be eligible for purchase, foods must meet precise ingredient, packaging and portion size specifications.
The program specifications for black bean patties are at the heart of the claim, with social media users misrepresenting what the guidelines actually say, a USDA spokesperson told USA TODAY.
The post erroneously says soy protein must be in the patties, but it is just one in a list of plant-based proteins that can be used in black bean burgers while still being considered a vegan product for the National School Lunch Program.
“Other vegetable protein options can be used instead,” the spokesperson wrote in an email, pointing to the full specifications published Dec. 18, 2024.
Specifically, the document says the patties can contain “black beans, cooked brown rice, corn, one or more types of soy protein – such as, but not limited to: textured vegetable protein, soy protein isolate, hydrolyzed soy protein, and soy protein concentrate – or other vegetable proteins and vegetable oils.”
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The document also lists oils that can be part of the burgers, including “corn, soybean, sesame, canola, sunflower, and safflower” oils.A copy of the ingredients portion of the USDA document is included in the Instagram post. The spokesperson said the post is correct in saying the patties must contain a vegetable oil, as such oils help with “food product coherence and cooking preparation.” The plant-based patties are vegan, so butter, tallow or lard cannot be used to make them.
The social media post claims the new product specifications were developed after lobbying by plant-based meat producer Impossible Foods. The Department of Agriculture spokesperson said the black bean patties are being introduced into the school lunch program in response to requests from schools to provide more meatless protein options.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comments but did not immediately receive responses.
Our fact-check sources
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Department of Agriculture spokesperson, Jan. 2, Email exchange with USA TODAY
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Soy protein optional component of USDA black bean patties | Fact check
