Evaluation of factors affecting plate waste of inpatients in different healthcare settings

Abstract

Introduction/aims: Satisfaction of inpatients with served food within a hospital care system still constitutes one of the main attempts to modernize food services. The impact of type of menu, food category, hospital centre and timetable on the meals wastage produced in different Spanish healthcare settings, was evaluated. Methods: Meal wastage was measured through a semiquantitative 5-point scale ("nothing on plate"; "¼ on plate"; "half on plate"; "¾ on plate" and "all on plate"). The study was carried out in two periods of three months each in 2010 and 2011. A trained person took charge of measuring plate waste classified into 726 servings belonging to 11 menus. In total 31,392 plates were served to 7,868 inpatients. A Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test (P 0.05). Conclusion: Visual inspections of plate waste might be useful to optimize type and quality of menus served. The type of menu served and the food category could have a great influence on food acceptability by the inpatients studied.

Keywords

• Desecho de alimentos
• Hospital
• Aceptabilidad de alimentos
• Pacientes
• Calidad de alimentos