Quality of Meals Consumed by US Adults at Full-Service and Fast-Food Restaurants, 2003-2016: Persistent Low Quality and Widening Disparities.

BACKGROUND: Meals from full-service restaurants (FS) and fast-food restaurants (FF) are an integral part of US diets, but current levels and trends in consumption, healthfulness, and related sociodemographic disparities are not well characterized. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess patterns and nutritional quality (using validated American Heart Association [AHA] diet scores) of FS and FF meals consumed by US adults. METHODS: Serial cross-sectional investigation utilizing 24-h dietary recalls in survey-weighted, nationally representative samples of 35,015 adults aged ≥20 y from 7 NHANES cycles, 2003-2016. RESULTS: Between 2003 and 2016, American adults consumed ∼21 percent of energyfrom restaurants (FS: 8.5% in 2003-2004, 9.5% in 2015-2016, P-trend = 0.38; FF: 10.5%; 13.4%, P-trend = 0.31). Over this period, more FF meals were eaten for breakfast (from 4.4% to 7.6% of all breakfasts, P-trend <0.001), with no changes for lunch (15.2% to 15.3%) or dinner (14.6% to 14.4%). In 2015-2016, diet quality of both FS and FF were low, with mean AHA diet scores of 31.6 and 27.6 (out of 80). Between 2003 and 2016, diet quality of FF meals improved slightly, (the percentage with poor quality went from 74.6% to 69.8%; and with intermediate quality, from 25.4% to 30.2%; P-trend <0.001 each). Proportions of FS meals of poor (∼50%) and intermediate (∼50%) quality were stable over time, with <0.1% of consumed FS or FF meals meeting ideal quality. Disparities in FS meal quality persisted by race/ethnicity, obesity status, and education and worsened by income; whereas disparities in FF meal quality persisted by age, sex, and obesity status and worsened by race/ethnicity, education, and income. CONCLUSIONS: Between 2003 and 2016, FF and FS meals provided 1 in 5 calories for US adults. Modest improvements occurred in nutritional quality of FF, but not FS, meals consumed, and the average quality for both remained low with persistent or widening disparities. These findings highlight the need for strategies to improve the nutritional quality of US restaurant meals.

The Science of Salt: A global review on changes in sodium levels in foods.

This review aims to summarize and synthesize studies reporting on changes in sodium levels in packaged food products, restaurant foods, and hospital or school meals, as a result of salt reduction interventions. Studies were extracted from those published in the Science of Salt Weekly between June 2013 and February 2018. Twenty-four studies were identified: 17 assessed the changes in packaged foods, four in restaurant foods, two in hospital or school meals, and one in both packaged and restaurant foods. Three types of interventions were evaluated as part of the studies: voluntary reductions (including targets), labeling, and interventions in institutional settings. Decreases in sodium were observed in all studies (n = 8) that included the same packaged foods matched at two time points, and in the studies carried out in hospitals and schools. However, there was little to no change in mean sodium levels in restaurant foods. The pooled analysis of change in sodium levels in packaged foods showed a decrease in sodium in unmatched food products (-36 mg/100 g, 95% CI -51 to -20 mg/100 g) and in five food categories-breakfast cereals, breads, processed meats, crisps and snacks, and soups. Twenty-two of the 24 studies were from high-income countries, limiting the applicability of the findings to lower resource settings.

Development and simulated validation of a dish composition database for estimating food group and nutrient intakes in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a dish composition database (DCD) and assess its ability to estimate dietary intake. DESIGN: The DCD was developed based on 16 d dietary records (DR). We aggregated all reported dishes into 128 dish codes and calculated mean food group and nutrient contents for each code. These data were used to calculate dietary intake in a different population that completed a 4 d DR. The estimated values were compared with those estimated using the standard food composition database (FCD) of Japan. SETTING: Japan. PARTICIPANTS: A total 252 adults aged 31-81 years for the 16 d DR (3941 d in total) and 392 adults aged 20-69 years for the 4 d DR (1568 d in total) participated. RESULTS: There were significant differences in median intakes between the DCD and the FCD for eighteen and twenty (of twenty-six) food groups and for twenty-nine and twenty-two (of forty-three) nutrients (including energy) in men and women, respectively. For food group intakes, Spearman correlation coefficients between the DCD and FCD ranged from 0·19 (animal fats) to 0·90 (fruits and alcoholic beverages) in men (median: 0·61) and from 0·25 (oils) to 0·89 (noodles) in women (median: 0·58). For nutrient intakes, the corresponding values ranged from 0·25 (retinol) to 0·90 (alcohol) in men (median: 0·60) and from 0·15 (retinol) to 0·74 (alcohol) in women (median: 0·53). CONCLUSIONS: Whereas it is difficult to accurately estimate absolute dietary intake values using the present DCD, it has acceptable ability to rank the intakes of many food groups and nutrients.

Automatic Analysis of Food Intake and Meal Microstructure Based on Continuous Weight Measurements.

The structure of the cumulative food intake (CFI) curve has been associated with obesity and eating disorders. Scales that record the weight loss of a plate from which a subject eats food are used for capturing this curve; however, their measurements are contaminated by additive noise and are distorted by certain types of artifacts. This paper presents an algorithm for automatically processing continuous in-meal weight measurements in order to extract the clean CFI curve and in-meal eating indicators, such as total food intake and food intake rate. The algorithm relies on the representation of the weight-time series by a string of symbols that correspond to events such as bites or food additions. A context-free grammar is next used to model a meal as a sequence of such events. The selection of the most likely parse tree is finally used to determine the predicted eating sequence. The algorithm is evaluated on a dataset of 113 meals collected using the Mandometer, a scale that continuously samples plate weight during eating. We evaluate the effectiveness for seven indicators and for bite-instance detection. We compare our approach with three state-of-the-art algorithms, and achieve the lowest error rates for most indicators (24 g for total meal weight). The proposed algorithm extracts the parameters of the CFI curve automatically, eliminating the need for manual data processing, and thus facilitating large-scale studies of eating behavior.

Home food availability, parents'/caregivers' support, and family meals influence on dietary servings of low-income urban adolescent girls from Brazil

BACKGROUND: There is a striking lack of evidence about parents'/caregivers' influence on their children's dietary intake across Brazil and other middle- and low-income countries. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the associations between adolescents' dietary intake and home environment, family meals and parental support. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with 14­18 years old adolescent girls was conducted in 10 public schools in the city of São Paulo. Girls' dietary intake, home food environment, parental support, and family meals' frequency were self-reported by 253 adolescents. Brazilian Food Pyramid recommendation was used as reference for the dietary intake. Linear regressions were used to verify the associations between home environmental, parental support, and family meal frequency with dietary intake. RESULTS: Girls parents' support for healthy eating was positively associated with the fruits group (mean (95%CI) 0.75 (0.66 to 0.84) ß = 0.26,p= 0.003), and the vegetables group (3.40 (3.08 to 3.72, ß = 0.25,p= 0.006)and negatively associated with the meat and eggs group (2.09 (1.93 to 2.25), ß =−0.14,p= 0.041). Home environment was associated with fruits group (0.73 (0.63 to 0.82), ß = 0.35,p= 0.001). The associations between sharing family meals and food groups were not statistically significant. However, girls demonstrated a positive association with dietary intake and sharing family meals. CONCLUSION: Parental support and home food environment were associated with dietary intake of the adolescent girls. Future studies - mainly from low- and middle-income countries - are needed to provide additional evidence on these associations and the effects of youth home environment

A Variable State Dimension Approach to Meal Detection and Meal Size Estimation: In Silico Evaluation Through Basal-Bolus Insulin Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to develop an algorithm that can detect unannounced meals and estimate meal sizes to achieve a robust glucose control. METHODS: A variable state dimension (VSD) algorithm is developed to detect unannounced meals and estimate meal sizes, where a Kalman filter operates on a quiescent state model when no meal is detected, and switches to a maneuvering state model to estimate meal information once the meal-induced glucose variability is statistically significant. RESULTS: Through evaluation using 30 subjects of the UVa/Padova simulator, a basal-bolus (BB) control using the VSD-estimated meal size for each meal can achieve mean blood glucose (BG) of 142 mg/dl with an average 17.7% of time in hypoglycemia. In terms of 20 Monte-Carlo simulations for each subject over a two-day scenario, where each meal/snack has a probability of 0.5 not to be announced, the BB control using VSD for unannounced meals can achieve an average mean BG of 143 mg/dl with 8% of time in hypoglycemia, in contrast to mean BG of 180 mg/dl with 8% of time in hypoglycemia obtained by BB with missing boluses. Additionally, VSD is able to detect a meal within 45 (±14) min since its start with a 76% success rate and 16% false alarm rate. CONCLUSION: The addition of VSD to the BB control improves glucose control when meal announcements are missed. SIGNIFICANCE: The VSD can be used as a complementary tool to detect meal and estimate meal size in absence of a meal announcement.

Meal Detection and Carbohydrate Estimation Using Continuous Glucose Sensor Data.

A meal detection and meal-size estimation algorithm is developed for use in artificial pancreas (AP) control systems for people with type 1 diabetes. The algorithm detects the consumption of a meal and estimates its carbohydrate (CHO) amount to determine the appropriate dose of insulin bolus for a meal. It can be used in AP systems without manual meal announcements, or as a safety feature for people who may forget entering meal information manually. Using qualitative representation of the filtered continuous glucose monitor signal, a time period labeled as meal flag is identified. At every sampling time during this time period, a fuzzy system estimates the amount of CHO. Meal size estimator uses both glucose sensor and insulin data. Meal insulin bolus is based on estimated CHO. The algorithm does not change the basal insulin rate. Thirty in silico subjects of the UVa/Padova simulator are used to illustrate the performance of the algorithm. For the evaluation dataset, the sensitivity and false positives detection rates are 91.3% and 9.3%, respectively, the absolute error in CHO estimation is 23.1%, the mean blood glucose level is 142 mg/dl, and glucose concentration stays in target range (70-180 mg/dl) for 76.8% of simulation duration on average.

Food group consumption in an Italian population using the updated food classification system FoodEx2: Results from the Italian Nutrition & HEalth Survey (INHES) study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Dietary habits evolve over time, being influenced by many factors and complex interactions. This work aimed at evaluating the updated information on food group consumption in Italy. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 8944 (4768 women and 4176 men) participants aged >18 years from all over Italy recruited in 2010-13 (Italian Nutrition & HEalth Survey, INHES) was analyzed. The recruitment was performed using computer-assisted-telephone-interviewing and one-day 24-h dietary recall retrieved from all participants. The updated, second version, of FoodEx2 food classification system was applied to extract data on food group consumption. The participation rate was 53%; 6.2% of the participants declared to follow a special diet, the most prevalent being hypo-caloric diets (55.7% of special diets). Men compared to women presented significantly higher intakes of "grains and grain-based products", "meat and meat products", "animal and vegetable fats and oils and primary derivatives" and "alcoholic beverages" (P for all<0.001); moreover, men had lower intakes of "milk and dairy products", "water and water-based beverages" and "products for non-standard diets, food imitates and food supplements" (P for all<0.001). Differences in food group intake among age groups, geographical regions and educational level groups were also identified (P for all<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Data on the consumption of more than 70 food groups and sub-groups were illustrated in different strata. The present analysis could be considered as an updated source of information for future nutrition research in Italy and in the EU.

New School Meal Regulations and Consumption of Flavored Milk in Ten US Elementary Schools, 2010 and 2013.

Milk is a source of shortfall nutrients in children's diets, but most children do not consume recommended amounts. We measured consumption of milk by elementary-schoolchildren (grades 3-5) in a diverse sample of schools before and after implementation of the US Department of Agriculture's updated meal regulations requiring flavored milk to be fat-free. Flavored milk consumption did not change from 2010 to 2013; 52.2% of students in 2010 and 49.7% in 2013 consumed 7 ounces or more of an 8-ounce container. Updated regulations succeeded in lowering the amount of fat, added sugars, and calories in school milk but did not change overall milk consumption, thus improving children's diet quality.

Characterizing eating patterns: a comparison of eating occasion definitions.

BACKGROUND: To date, many approaches have been used to define eating occasions (EOs). A standard definition for EOs is required to facilitate further research. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we examined the influence of differing definitions of EOs on the characterization of eating patterns. DESIGN: Cross-sectional dietary data from two 24-h recalls collected during the 2011-12 Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (n = 5242 adults, aged ≥19 y) were analyzed. Eight definitions were applied: participant-identified, time-of-day, and 6 neutral definitions (individual EOs separated by different time intervals and/or an additional energy criterion of 210 kJ). Frequency of and total energy intake from meals, snacks, and all EOs were estimated, as appropriate. Differences were tested by using F tests, stratified by sex and age group. Agreement between different definitions of meal and snack frequencies was assessed by using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). For each definition, linear regression was used to estimate the proportion of variance in total energy intake (kJ) and amount of food intake (g) predicted by frequency of EOs and meals and snacks. RESULTS: Among both sexes and across all age groups, mean frequencies of meals differed between the participant-identified and time-of-day definitions (mean difference range = 0.1-0.3; P < 0.001). There were statistically significant differences between mean frequencies of EOs across the 6 neutral definitions (P < 0.001). There was good agreement for snacks (men: ICC = 0.89; women: ICC = 0.87) but not meal frequencies (men: ICC = 0.38; women: ICC = 0.36) between the participant-identified and time-of-day definitions. The neutral definition (15-min time interval plus energy criterion) best predicted variance in total energy intake (R(2) range = 19.3-27.8). CONCLUSIONS: Different approaches to the definition of EOs affect how eating patterns are characterized, with the neutral definition best predicting variance in total energy intake. Further research that examines how different EO definitions affect associations with health outcomes is needed to develop consensus on a standard EO definition.

A generic coding approach for the examination of meal patterns.

BACKGROUND: Meal pattern analysis can be complex because of the large variability in meal consumption. The use of aggregated, generic meal data may address some of these issues. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to develop a meal coding system and use it to explore meal patterns. DESIGN: Dietary data were used from the National Adult Nutrition Survey (2008-2010), which collected 4-d food diary information from 1500 healthy adults. Self-recorded meal types were listed for each food item. Common food group combinations were identified to generate a number of generic meals for each meal type: breakfast, light meals, main meals, snacks, and beverages. Mean nutritional compositions of the generic meals were determined and substituted into the data set to produce a generic meal data set. Statistical comparisons were performed against the original National Adult Nutrition Survey data. Principal component analysis was carried out by using these generic meals to identify meal patterns. RESULTS: A total of 21,948 individual meals were reduced to 63 generic meals. Good agreement was seen for nutritional comparisons (original compared with generic data sets mean ± SD), such as fat (75.7 ± 29.4 and 71.7 ± 12.9 g, respectively, P = 0.243) and protein (83.3 ± 26.9 and 80.1 ± 13.4 g, respectively, P = 0.525). Similarly, Bland-Altman plots demonstrated good agreement (<5% outside limits of agreement) for many nutrients, including protein, saturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat. Twelve meal types were identified from the principal component analysis ranging in meal-type inclusion/exclusion, varying in energy-dense meals, and differing in the constituents of the meals. CONCLUSIONS: A novel meal coding system was developed; dietary intake data were recoded by using generic meal consumption data. Analysis revealed that the generic meal coding system may be appropriate when examining nutrient intakes in the population. Furthermore, such a coding system was shown to be suitable for use in determining meal-based dietary patterns.

Is there still a French eating model? A taxonomy of eating behaviors in adults living in the Paris metropolitan area in 2010.

BACKGROUND: Meal times in France still represent an important moment in everyday life. The model of three rigorously synchronized meals is still followed by a majority of people, while meal frequencies have flattened in other European or North-American countries. We aimed to examine the "French model" of eating behavior by identifying and characterizing distinct meal patterns. METHODS: Analyses were based on data from the SIRS cohort, a representative survey of the adult population in the Paris area. A clustering algorithm was applied to meal variables (number, time, location, with whom the meal is usually shared and activities associated with meals). Regression models were used to investigate associations between patterns and socio-demographic, social environment and perceived food quality variables. RESULTS: Five different patterns were identified among 2994 participants. The first three types (prevalence 33%, 17% and 24%) followed a three-meal pattern, with differences in locations and social interactions mainly related to time constraints and age. More marked differences were observed in the remaining two types. In the fourth type (prevalence 13%), individuals ate one or two meals per day, often with an irregular schedule, at home and in front of the television. They frequently were unemployed and had lower income. Breakfast skipping, increased snacking and a low adherence to dietary guidelines suggested that this behavior might have health consequences. In the fifth type (12%), people also ate two meals or less per day, possibly with the same consequences on food quality. However, meals were often taken outside the home, in social settings, and individuals following this pattern were typically active, integrated, young people, suggesting that this pattern might be an adaptation to a modern urban lifestyle. CONCLUSIONS: While a majority of the population still follows the three-meal pattern, our analysis distinguished two other eating patterns associated with specific sociological profiles.

Glycaemic index and load values tested in normoglycemic adults for five staple foodstuffs: pounded yam, pounded cassava-plantain, placali, attieke and maize meal stiff porridge.

There is currently an increased global interest in the published glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) values of foods. However, data on the GI and GL values of different varieties of foods within Côte d'Ivoire are very limited. The study therefore aimed at finding the GI and GL of the main food staples in Côte d'Ivoire. Following the International Standard Organisation's protocol (ISO/FDI 26642:2010), a selection of five staple foodstuffs were tested for their GI and GL. Fasted healthy subjects were given 50 g of available carbohydrate servings of a glucose reference, which was tested twice, and test foods which were tested once, on separate occasions. Excepted attieke (GI 63), the majority of foods tested have a high GI (GI>70). Attieke (agbodjama) had a high GL (GL 29) while placali (GL 17) and maize meal stiff porridge (GL 16) had medium GLs. The GLs of pounded cassava-plantain and pounded yam are 26 and 22. Consumption of attieke could minimize postprandial blood glucose spikes, in spite of high GL and potentially have benefit in the management and prevention of some chronic diseases.

Editais públicos para o fornecimento de pequenas refeições e o Programa de Alimentação do Trabalhador: um estudo de caso / Public announcements for the supply of small meals and the Workers? Food Program: a case study

The objective of this study was to verify whether public announcements for the supply of small meals are consistent with the recommendations of the Workers? Food Program (WFP). Research for the announcements was carried out through Internet search in the official press sites of the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, using the following keywords: meal supply public announcements and food supply public announcements. The menus of small meals were selected and analyzed for energy content (kcal), macronutrients (%), fiber (g), sodium (mg), and NdPcal (%) and compared with the recommendation of the Workers? Food Program - WFP. Twenty-two menus selected from eight announcements were analyzed and none of them were in accordance with all nutri¬tional parameters recommended by the WFP. The inadequacies regard¬ing values above the recommended parameters were total energy value, carbohydrates, total fat, saturated fat, and sodium. Regarding values below the recommended parameter, the menus studied were inadequate for dietary fiber and protein. The recommendations of the WFP would be a good parameter to be followed by public institutions, because this program advocates healthy eating habits for the working class.

El objetivo de este trabajo fue verificar si los edictos públicos para el suministro de pequeñas comidas están de acuerdo con las recomendaciones del Programa de Alimentación del Trabajador - PAT. La investigación de los edictos se realizó a través de la búsqueda por internet en el site de la prensa oficial del estado de São Paulo y de Rio de Janeiro, usando las siguientes palabras clave: edicto de suministro de comidas y edicto de suministro de alimentación. Los menús para pequeñas comidas fueron seleccionados y analizados por su contenido de energía (Kcal), macronutrientes (%), fibras (g), sodio (mg) y NdPcal (%), comparándolos con la recomendación del Programa de Alimentación del Trabajador - PAT. En los ocho edictos seleccionados se analizaron 22 menús y no se encontró ninguno que cumpliese estrictamente todos los parámetros nutricionales recomendados por el PAT. Las inadecuaciones se daban tanto por exceso como por defecto. Los valores que estaban por encima de lo recomendado, presentaban unos menús con un exceso de nivel en valor energético total, hidratos de carbono, grasas totales, grasas saturadas y sodio. Y, entre los que estaban por debajo de lo recomendado, se encontró que dichos menús presentaban un escaso nivel de fibras y proteínas. Las recomendaciones del PAT serían un buen parámetro a seguir por parte de los órganos públicos, ya que este programa promueve la alimentación saludable para los trabajadores.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar se os editais públicos para fornecimento de pequenas refeições estão de acordo com as recomendações do Programa de Alimentação do Trabalhador. A pesquisa dos editais foi feita por meio de busca na internet em site da imprensa oficial dos estados de São Paulo e do Rio de Janeiro, utilizando as palavras-chave: edital de fornecimento de refeições e edital de fornecimento de alimentação. Os cardápios de pequenas refeições foram selecionados e analisados em relação ao conteúdo de energia (kcal), macronutrientes (%), fibras alimentares (g), sódio (mg) e NdPcal (%) e comparados com a recomendação do Programa de Alimentação do Trabalhador - PAT. Nos oito editais selecionados, foram analisados 22 cardápios, não sendo encontrado nenhum deles em total conformidade com todos os parâmetros nutricionais previstos pelo PAT. As inadequações referentes aos valores acima do recomendado foram: valor energético total, carboidratos, gorduras totais, gorduras saturadas e sódio. Já em relação ao que estava abaixo do recomendado, verificou-se inadequação para fibras alimentares e proteínas. As recomendações do PAT seriam um bom parâmetro a ser seguido pelos órgãos públicos, uma vez que este programa pre¬coniza uma alimentação saudável para os trabalhadores.

Classification of main meal patterns--a latent class approach.

Relatively little examination of the meals that are prepared in households has been conducted, despite their well-defined properties and widespread community interest in their preparation. The purpose of the present study was to identify the patterns of main meal preparation among Australian adult household meal preparers aged 44 years and younger and 45 years and over, and the relationships between these patterns and likely socio-demographic and psychological predictors. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted by Meat and Livestock Australia among a representative sample of people aged 18­65 years in Australia in 2011. A total of 1076 usable questionnaires were obtained, which included categorical information about the main meal dishes that participants had prepared during the previous 6 months along with demographic information, the presence or absence of children at home, confidence in seasonal food knowledge and personal values. Latent class analysis was applied and four types of usage patterns of thirty-three popular dishes were identified for both age groups, namely, high variety, moderate variety, high protein but low beef and low variety. The meal patterns were associated differentially with the covariates between the age groups. For example, younger women were more likely to prepare a high or moderate variety of meals than younger men, while younger people who had higher levels of education were more likely to prepare high-protein but low-beef meals. Moreover, young respondents with higher BMI were less likely to prepare meals with high protein but low beef content. Among the older age group, married people were more likely to prepare a high or moderate variety of meals than people without partners. Older people who held strong universalist values were more likely to prepare a wide variety of meals with high protein but low beef content. For both age groups, people who had children living at home and those with better seasonal food knowledge were more likely to prepare a high variety of dishes. The identification of classes of meal users would enable health communication to be tailored to improve meal patterns. Moreover, the concept of meals may be useful for health promotion, because people may find it easier to change their consumption of meals rather than individual foods.

Calidad bacteriológica de comidas listas para su consumo, preparadas y distribuidas en la isla de Margarita (Venezuela), período 1991-2009 / Bacteriological quality of ready to eat meals prepared and distributed in Margarita island (Venezuela) during 1991-2009

Se valoró la calidad bacteriológica de 696 comidas listas para su consumo preparadas desde 1991 a 2009. 454 muestras correspondían a alimentos tratados térmicamente y el resto a alimentos que llevaban ingredientes no so metidos a cocción. Las muestras se escogieron al final de su elaboración, y antes de distribuirlas, en diferentes establecimientos de res tauración (hoteles, empresas de catering, restaurantes, supermercados, panaderías, luncherías, areperas, ventas ambulantes, cantinas y comedores es colares y casas de alimentación). Los criterios considerados fueron NMP/g de Coliformes, Coliformes fecales y Escherichia coli; y recuentos (UFC/g) de aerobios mesófilos y Staphylo coccus aureus (coagulasa +), según normas COVENIN y FONDONORMA. Los resultados se compararon con requisitos internos establecidos por el Laboratorio de Microbiolo gía, Fundación La Salle de C.N. Al momento de la captación el promedio de la temperatura de las comidas servidas en frío fue 13,4 °C y el de las cocinadas 32,2 °C. Los menores porcentajes de cumplimiento a todos los requisitos los tuvieron las rebanadas de jamón y queso (28%), rellenos de arepas y empanadas (28%), pastas italianas (23%), postres horneados (13%) y ensaladas con ingredientes crudos (7%). En este tipo de ensaladas sólo cumplieron los requisitos de Coliformes, Coliformes fecales y re cuentos de aerobios mesófilos el 19%; 31% y 24% de las muestras respectivamente. El menor cumplimiento de S. aureus (72%) se obtuvo en las rebanadas de jamón y queso y de E. coli (45%) en los rellenos de arepas y empanadas. Los establecimientos que presentaron los mayores valores de conformidad fueron las casas de alimentación (66%), comedores escolares (51%) y catering (50%) y los menores, los kioscos y ventas ambulantes (24%), supermercados y panaderías (17%) y cantinas escolares (0%). Las causas por las cuales los resultados bacteriológicos no cumplieron los criterios internos del Laboratorio pudieran estar relacionadas, entre otras, con la calidad de la materia prima, fallas higiénicas en la preparación de los alimentos, temperatura de mantenimiento al igual que tiempo y temperatura de cocción.

The bacteriological quality of 696 samples of ready to eat (RTE) food prepared from 1991 to 2009 was assessed. 454 samples corresponded to food subject to thermal treatment and the remainder carried ingredients that were not subject to cooking. The samples were chosen at the end of their elabo ration and before distributing, from different dinning establishments (hotels, caterers, restaurants, supermarkets, baker shops, luncheon rooms, arepa shops, ambulatory sales, canteens, school lunchrooms, and feeding houses). Total and fecal coliforms, E. coli, aerobic plate count and S. aureus (coagulase +) according to COVENIN and FONDONORMA norms were the criteria used for the investigation. The results were compared with internal requirements established by the microbiology laboratory of La Salle Natural Sciences Foundation. At the moment of sampling, the average temperature of cool dishes was 13.4 °C and of hot dishes was 32.2 °C. The smallest percentage of observance to all requisites were: ham and cheese slices (28%); arepas and turnovers (28%); Italian pasta (23%), baked desserts (13%) and salad with raw ingredients (7%). In these last ones, the requirements of total coliforms, fecal coliforms and aerobic plate count norms were met only by the 19%, 31% and 24% of samples respectively. The lowest compliance with S. aureus (72%) was found in the ham and cheese slices, and with E. coli (45%) were the arepas and turnovers. The establishments that presented the highest compliance values were the feeding houses (66%), school lunchrooms (51%) and caterers (50%); while those with the lowest values were the ambulatory sales (24%), supermarkets and baker shops (17%), and school canteens (0%). The reasons for non compliance with the internal requirements can be related, among other things, with the quality of raw material, hygienic failure in food handling, maintenance temperatures, and time and temperature of cooking.