(WXYZ) — In today’s Health Alert, California is making headlines for taking a positive step toward healthier school lunches. The state just became the first in the nation to pass a law that defines ultra-processed foods and plans to ban the worst ones from school meals.
The Real Food, Healthy Kids Act defines what counts as an ultra-processed food, something that hasn’t officially been done before.
It defines ultra-processed food as that which contains artificial or “non-natural” additives - things you wouldn’t find in real or minimally processed foods. That includes emulsifiers that help mix oil and water in things like salad dressings, stabilizers and thickeners that change texture, and flavor enhancers that intensify or imitate natural flavors.
It also includes products with certain