Federal Rules Proposed to Reduce Fat in School Meals : Nutrition: Content in lunches could not exceed 30%. Ambitious plan would not pay any increased costs, and some critics say it falls short.

Public schools across the country would be required to prepare meals containing no more than 30% fat--and 10% saturated fat--under an ambitious federal nutrition initiative, but the government does not intend to reimburse them for additional costs.

The proposed rules, to be unveiled today, will affect the food served to about 25 million schoolchildren every day and represent the most extensive change since the inception of the school lunch program almost 50 years ago.

Instead of banning certain foods, schools will be required to analyze the menus they serve each week to ensure that they do not exceed federal limits for fat and saturated fat. Higher-fat meals may be served one day, for example, if lower-fat meals are served the next.

While some school officials are likely to balk at the new responsibilities and added costs, schools that fail to comply with the rules would no longer be eligible for federal subsidies. After the regulations are published today, the public will have 90 days to register comments for consideration by Department of Agriculture officials. Unless they are rescinded, the rules will take full effect in four years.

The Department of Agriculture contends that it should not cost more to serve meals that satisfy the new guidelines, but some food preparation specialists have expressed doubts.

“There could be cost problems,” said Kevin Dando, manager of government affairs for the American School Food Service Assn., which represents 65,000 members. “Schools could be asked to analyze meals using computers they don’t have.”

A Department of Agriculture report released last fall showed that meals served at 99% of participating schools violated the proposed nutrition guidelines, with an average of 38% of calories coming from fat and 15% from saturated fat. It also showed that average sodium content was almost twice the recommended level.

The new school lunch standards, a priority of Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, are compatible with pending legislation sponsored by by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), a key proponent of federal nutrition programs.

“It’s about time the federal government realized the indisputable link between nutrition, health and learning,” Leahy said.

In 1989, Congress directed the secretary of agriculture to ensure that school lunches comply with federal nutrition guidelines. The proposed rules represent the first effort to comply with the mandate.

Public health advocates praised the new regulations for limiting fat and saturated fat, which have been shown to be major contributors to obesity, heart disease and cancer. But some criticized the initiative for not going far enough.

“It is disappointing . . . that USDA did not propose lower sodium levels,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “A diet high in sodium clearly contributes to heart disease and stroke--two of our nation’s leading killers.”

The rules urge schools to decrease the sodium content of the food they serve but do not specify the actual amount.

Nutrition advocates complained that the rules do nothing to regulate the fat content of food offered on an a la carte basis or sold from vending machines at many schools. They also criticized the lengthy phase-in period.

Dairy producers expressed concern that the new requirements could be used to justify an attack on whole milk, which currently must be offered as an optional beverage with school lunches. Milk served with school lunches accounts for about 5% of all milk consumed in America.

“We think the natural tendency will be to take the easy way out and not offer whole milk,” a dairy industry spokesman said.