Verification of standard menu compliance without disposing the sample in school feeding services: Design and validation of a methodology

Abstract

Objective Standard menu compliance requires disposing of the sample evaluated due to the high degree of manipulation to which it is subjected. A new methodology is proposed to preserve the sample used during the evaluation process of the standard serving size, compared with the conventional methodology that disposes of it, and to validate its use in a group of school canteens in the city of Bogotá. Materials and Methods A pilot test was carried out in nine canteens to select the most feasible implementation methodology, considering aspects such as weight and volume measurement, execution times, temperatures and microbiological risk for solid and liquid items. Regarding liquid items, a formula was developed to establish the relationship between weight and volume of the beverages offered. Results The results show that there are no statistically significant differences between the weight and volume measurements obtained with the proposed methodology “Mea-surement by item in tared plate” compared to the usual “Measurement by complete plate and sample disposal”. Conclusion It is necessary to implement a new methodology for verifying standard menu compliance in food services that does not imply disposing of samples and encourages waste reduction and savings for schools.