(AP) – Food and beverage manufacturer Kraft Heinz said Tuesday that it is no longer serving the Lunchables meals it created for U.S. schools.

The company introduced the two packaged meals — one with pizza and the other with turkey, cheddar cheese and cracker plate — at the start of the 2023-2024 academic year.

At the time, Kraft Heinz said the offerings were protein-enriched and contained reduced levels of saturated fat and sodium to meet national free-and-reduced requirements. the school lunch program.

Nutritionists and advocacy groups were not happy about the launch. The Center for Science in the Public Interest called lunchables in cafeterias “a highly questionable move for school meals” that could confuse families into thinking the versions sold at supermarkets are a healthy option.

The drumbeat accelerated in April when Consumer Reports said its tests showed school-approved Lunchables contained more sodium than store-bought varieties. The organization also reported that commercially available Lunchables had more lead compared to several other companies’ ready-made meals.

Consumer Reports petitioned US Department of Agriculture to ban Lunchables and similar processed food kits from schools.

In a statement, Pittsburgh-based Kraft Heinz attributed the decision to withdraw from the market served by the National School Lunch Program in the absence of demand. The company described the business impact as “negligible”, saying that sales of school-designed meals “were significantly less than 1% of total Lunchables sales” in the last academic year.

“Last year, we brought two NSLP-compliant Lunchables options to schools that had high protein. While many school administrators were excited to have these options, the request did not meet our goals,” the statement said. “This happens occasionally across our broad portfolio, especially when we’re exploring new sales channels. Lunchables are not available in schools this year and we hope to see them again at a future date.”

Kraft Heinz Co. produces a wide range of familiar products, including Capri Sun Juice Pouches, Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs, Gray Poupon Mustard, Kool-Aid and Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

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