Hygiena 2015, 60(2):63-70 | DOI: 10.21101/hygiena.a1320

Nutritional Value of School Meals

Iveta Devátá, Lilian Rumlová, Jana Tomicová

Krajská hygienická stanice Středočeského kraje se sídlem v Praze, Praha

The Regional task "Nutritional value of school meals" was performed following the pilot phase of the task called "Laboratory determination of nutritional and energy value of school meals" performed in 2011. The Regional task comprises sampling of meals served within school catering in the Central Bohemian Region in 5 consecutive days. Sampling was performed at 12 catering establishments - 4 school canteens in elementary schools, 4 school canteens in kindergartens and 4 school canteens in establishments providing daily diet. Carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, salt, fiber and vitamin C content were determined in the analysis of the samples as well as the energy value and ratio of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates. The results of the analyses revealed that the average energy value of meals within the observed period in most cases corresponded to the reference values for the group of diners. Most of the indicators, however, did not correspond to the reference values determined for individual nutrients. Most of the samples reported a high content of proteins and salt and a low content of vitamin C. According to the analysis results, children and students receive an adequate and reasonable amount of energy, but the ratio of the nutrients that make this energy is not provided in the right proportions according to current dietary recommendations.

Keywords: school meals, nutrition assessment, child nutrition, dietary guidelines

Received: July 2014; Accepted: February 25, 2015; Published: June 1, 2015  Show citation