Plan to remove chocolate-flavored milk from L.A. schools wins praise from Jamie Oliver

TV chef Jamie Oliver applauded L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy's announcement that, starting next fall, LAUSD will no longer offer chocolate- and strawberry-flavored milk.

Deasy made the proposal during an appearance with Oliver on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Tuesday night.

Deasy's announcement was met with applause from the studio audience. Oliver said that flavored milks have more sugar than soda and that removing them would make school lunches healthier.

The policy change is part of a carefully negotiated happy ending between the Los Angeles Unified School District and Oliver. The chef has made his confrontations with the school system a main theme of the current season of his reality TV show, "Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution." Both Oliver’s and Kimmel’s shows air on ABC.

L.A. Unified had already been considering doing away with flavored milk. District officials, in fact, had asked suppliers if they could formulate a flavored milk with no added sugar, said a district source. If they succeed, flavored milk could reappear.

District officials have an unhappy recent history with reality TV shows. The district paid for an estimated $100,000 in repairs after the show "School Pride" spruced up Hollenbeck Middle School. The reality shows haven't fared that well with L.A. Unified either -- both "School Pride" and Oliver's series had unenviable ratings.

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-- Howard Blume