Sodium levels in the Kraft Heinz-made turkey and cheddar school Lunchables reached 930 mg compared to 740 mg found in the store-bought kits|capitan jen|CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Ready-to-eat packed food Lunchables contains a lot of sodium, finds advocacy group Consumer Reports (CR). The consumer watchdog finds the kits served in schools have even higher sodium levels than those sold in stores.

The sodium levels in the Kraft Heinz-made turkey and cheddar school Lunchables reached 930 mg compared to 740 mg in the store kits. CR has petitioned the USDA to remove these food boxes from school menus due to health concerns.

Lunchables was introduced to the National School Lunch Program last year, which provides daily lunch to nearly 30 million school children in the US.

There is more
CR also found lead, cadmium and phthalates in the 12 meal kits it tested, including ones from Armour LunchMakers, Good & Gather, Greenfield Natural Meat Co. and Oscar Mayer.

Cadmium has been linked to cancer and kidney and bone diseases by the WHO.

Despite being classified as safe by the FDA, watchdog groups and experts raise health concerns over these packed lunch kits.