Center for Science in the Public Interest v. Perdue

In 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (defendant) promulgated the 2012 rule, which addressed nutrition standards for school lunch and breakfast programs. The 2012 rule established three targets for reducing sodium levels across a 10-year period. By school year 2014–2015, schools were required to meet sodium target 1; by 2017–2018, sodium target 2; and by 2022–2023, the final sodium target. Additionally, the 2012 rule required 50 percent of grain products in school meals to be whole-grain rich during 2013–2014, but beginning in 2014–2015, it required 100 percent of grain products to be whole-grain rich. In 2017, the USDA published an interim final rule that kept sodium target 1 in effect through 2018–2019. The interim final rule also allowed individual exemptions from the 100-percent-whole-grain-rich requirement for schools that demonstrated hardship in complying with the requirement, so long as 50 percent of the grains served were whole-grain rich. In 2018, the USDA issued its final rule, which retained sodium target 1 through 2023–2024, such that schools would then be required to adhere to sodium target 2. The final sodium target was eliminated. Moreover, the final rule eliminated the 100-percent-whole-grain-rich requirement, requiring only that 50 percent of grain products in school meals be whole-grain rich. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (the center) (plaintiff) brought suit, contending that the USDA’s final rule violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) because it was not a logical outgrowth of the interim final rule. The center filed a motion for summary judgment, and the district court took the motion under advisement.