QUALITATIVE EVALUATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF REGIONAL FOODS OF THE PREPARATIONS OFFERED IN A UNIVERSITY REFECTORY

Resumen

To evaluate the quality of menus and to verify the presence of regional foods offered at a university refectory. Cross-sectional qualitative study conducted at the University refectory from July to December 2019, in which 23 menus were collected and analyzed based on the Qualitative Evaluation of Menus Preparation method, counting the weekly frequency of leafy greens, preparations rich in sulfur (except beans), fruits, sweets, fried foods, fried foods associated with sweets, high-fat meats and monotone colors. The presence of regional foods was verified on the menus. The results were submitted to the Kruskal-Wallis test with a 5% significance level (p<0.05). Among the seven items evaluated, 5 of them were classified as positive, which are: excellent availability of leafy greens, good presence of fruits, sweets, fried foods, and fried foods associated with sweets and monotony of similar colors at a regular level. The presence of high-fat meats and foods rich in sulfur were classified as negative aspects of the menus. A regular situation was observed regarding the inclusion of regional foods. The adequate construction of menus allows the adaptation of nutritional needs, health promotion and valorization of the local cultural heritage when correlated to regional foods