Construction and validation of an instrument for evaluating the consumption of food with red allura

Abstract

An exploratory study was conducted to identify processed foods that contain allura red and are sold near primary schools in the City of Puebla, Mexico. There are studies that confirm the toxicity of allura red and its probable relation with the generation of cancer metabolites. For the study, a measuring instrument was designed to determine the frequency of consumption in children from 10 to 13 years of age. For this, the instrument was designed following a descriptive analysis by means of a field study identifying common commercial products. Later the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to validate the statistical reliability of the instrument. It was determined that the infant population oftenly consumes foods processed with red allura, having as daily consumption snacks (fried foods), followed by cereals and yogurt. This study was able to design and validate a reliable instrument, which allows to measure the frequency of consumption of foods processed with red allura in infants.