Sodium content and labelling of processed and ultra-processed food products marketed in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the Na content and labelling of processed and ultra-processed food products marketed in Brazil. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: A large supermarket in Florianopolis, southern Brazil. SUBJECTS: Ingredient lists and Na information on nutrition labels of all processed and ultra-processed pre-prepared meals and prepared ingredients, used in lunch or dinner, available for sale in the supermarket. RESULTS: The study analysed 1416 products, distributed into seven groups and forty-one subgroups. Five products did not have Na information. Most products (58.8 %; 95 % CI 55.4, 62.2 %) had high Na content (>600 mg/100 g). In 78.0 % of the subgroups, variation in Na content was at least twofold between similar products with high and low Na levels, reaching 634-fold difference in the 'garnishes and others' subgroup. More than half of the products (52.0 %; 95 % CI 48.2, 55.6 %) had at least one Na-containing food additive. There was no relationship between the appearance of salt on the ingredients list (first to third position on the list) and a product's Na content (high, medium or low; P=0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Most food products had high Na content, with great variation between similar products, which presents new evidence for reformulation opportunities. There were inconsistencies in Na labelling, such as lack of nutritional information and incomplete ingredient descriptions. The position of salt on the ingredients list did not facilitate the identification of high-Na foods. We therefore recommend a reduction in Na in these products and a review of Brazilian legislation.

Gauging food and nutritional care quality in hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Food and nutritional care quality must be assessed and scored, so as to improve health institution efficacy. This study aimed to detect and compare actions related to food and nutritional care quality in public and private hospitals. METHODS: Investigation of the Hospital Food and Nutrition Service (HFNS) of 37 hospitals by means of structured interviews assessing two quality control corpora, namely nutritional care quality (NCQ) and hospital food service quality (FSQ). HFNS was also evaluated with respect to human resources per hospital bed and per produced meal. RESULTS: Comparison between public and private institutions revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the number of hospital beds per HFNS staff member (p = 0.02) and per dietitian (p < 0.01). The mean compliance with NCQ criteria in public and private institutions was 51.8% and 41.6%, respectively. The percentage of public and private health institutions in conformity with FSQ criteria was 42.4% and 49.1%, respectively. Most of the actions comprising each corpus, NCQ and FSQ, varied considerably between the two types of institution. NCQ was positively influenced by hospital type (general) and presence of a clinical dietitian. FSQ was affected by institution size: large and medium-sized hospitals were significantly better than small ones. CONCLUSIONS: Food and nutritional care in hospital is still incipient, and actions concerning both nutritional care and food service take place on an irregular basis. It is clear that the design of food and nutritional care in hospital indicators is mandatory, and that guidelines for the development of actions as well as qualification and assessment of nutritional care are urgent.

[Panorama of purchasing food products from family farmers for the Brazilian School Nutrition Program]. / Panorama da compra de alimentos da agricultura familiar para o Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar.

This article seeks to describe the viewpoint of purchasing food products from family farmers, analyzing their performance within the new guidelines of the Brazilian School Nutrition Program (PNAE). It is a critical assessment based on a review of the literature and the official data provided by the National Fund for the Development of Education/Ministry of Education relating to 2010. The program budget in 2010 was approximately R$2.5 billion and attended 45.6 million children, adolescents and adults. From the total amount, R$150,397,052.68 was allocated for the purchase of agricultural products from family farmers. In Brazil, 47.4% of the local councils acquired food products from family farmers for the Brazilian School Nutrition Program and the purchase percentage was, on average, 22.7%. Given the nature of recent legislation, other aspects should be explored in order to strengthen the compliance with the regulations in different Brazilian contexts and thus contribute both to local economic development and the provision of school meals which fulfill the principles of a healthy and adequate diet.

[Hospital nutritional care: perception of the nutritionist for humanized attendance]. / Cuidado nutricional hospitalar: percepção de nutricionistas para atendimento humanizado.

The research analyzed the actions of alimentary and nutritional care considering the perspectives of the nutritionists in a hospital reference for the National Politics of Humanization (PNH). From a qualitative approach, a focal group technique was used. The nutritionists were divided in two groups by working time, following homogeneity criteria. The interviews were developed for analysis of the category: Being a nutritionist for a humanized assistance, seeking to understand these professionals following actions: nutritional evaluation of the patient; planning, implementation and evaluation of the nutritional and alimentary care. The analysis of the content was used as a technique for the systematization of the collected information grouped in units of meaning. The study disclosed that there is prioritization of the individualized assistance in function of the number of beds and bureaucratic activities, lack of autonomy in relation to the prescription of diets, difficulties of interaction with other health professionals and between the nutritionists of the clinical and meal production areas. The results will provide the professional subsidies that substantiate actions for the construction of a model of humanized alimentary and nutritional care on hospitals.

[Organic food and educational actions in schools: diagnosis for health and nutrition education]. / A alimentação orgânica e as ações educativas na escola: diagnóstico para a educação em saúde e nutrição.

This research involved a diagnosis of the educational actions and organic food of the Taste and Awareness Project (Projeto Sabor e Saber, PSS) in a state school in Florianopolis, Brazil. Based on a qualitative approach, a semi-structured interview, documentation analysis and focal groups were used for data collection. The participants were managers of School Meals; a school head and a group of students and teachers representing the school. The results indicated that the PSS has advanced in its objectives, combining the introduction of organic foods with educational actions involving food, health, nutrition and the environment but with no evaluations of this process; organic food is present in school meals, although there is no record of educational actions; food is a subject on the Science course; the themes of food, health and nutrition in the school environment come up without planning; the evaluation of students regarding the food is positive, but no reference was made to organic foods. It was concluded that the use of organic food, is still not an element of the pedagogical project. However, the research contributed to the teachers, on the need to develop educational actions in health, organic foods and nutrition, within the school community.