The New York City Department of Education is reportedly considering a ban on chocolate milk in city public schools.
The idea is to replace the classic chocolate beverage with options that contain less sugar, according to NBC New York.
It's not the first time something like this has been considered in New York City. According to CBS New York, when the city schools banned whole milk in 2006 they briefly considered banning flavored milk too.
The New York City Department of Health currently already includes guidance on its website encouraging school principals and teachers to promote healthy eating by removing chocolate milk from school menus.
A fact sheet on the department's city website states that children who drink chocolate milk twice a day consume about 80 grams of added sugar each week. The department's "Choose Plain Milk" fact sheet claims "many NYC public schools have already stopped serving chocolate milk with the support of parents."
As of 2010, a New York Times report found that 71% of the milk served nationwide in schools was flavored. Some school districts in San Francisco and the Washington, D.C. area have previously banned flavored milk from school lunches. The Los Angeles Unified School District banned flavored milk in 2011, but eventually brought it back in 2016 after a study found the chocolate milk ban led many students to toss out the other milk options, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The New York Post reported that a group of upstate dairy farmers have enlisted the help of local members of Congress to express their concern about the potential ban.
New York's Department of Education told CBS New York that no decision has been made yet about the future of chocolate milk in city schools.
