Download Eat This AND That: Popular Pairings Get Eaten, Not Trashed

Eat This AND That: Popular Pairings Get Eaten, Not Trashed Peter S. Murano, PhD
Department of Nutrition and Food Science
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843
SNA ANC #16 San Antonio TX
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
•Introduction
•Objective
•Methods: Participating Schools
•Methods: Data Collection
•Methods: Plate Waste Measurement
•Results
•Discussion & Implications
INTRODUCTION
SUPERIMPOSED UPON THE ISSUE OF FEEDING SCHOOL CHILDREN ARE THE ISSUES OF FOOD INSECURITY and CHILDHOOD OBESITY
ADDED TO THIS IS THE ISSUE OF THE HUNGER:OBESITY PARADOX
‐ A number of researchers have explored the paradoxical link between lack of regular access to adequate food (food insecurity) and increased risk of obesity.
‐ “Hunger and obesity are often flip sides to the same malnutrition coin”
NSLP – USDA FNS’s National School Lunch Program
The NSLP serves approximately 31+ million children each day, making the school cafeteria a uniquely positioned environment to evaluate lunch plate waste to assess the nutrient intake of school‐aged children.
School meals are designed to provide key nutrients for children through a varied
food menu, but little is known how much is actually consumed versus wasted. School meals can only provide key nutrients when the foods containing them are consumed. Simply making nutritious foods readily available is only the first step. Through an examination of plate waste, the consumption of key nutrients inherent in healthy school meals may be ascertained.
Most children do not consume enough fruits and vegetables in their diet. Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of developing certain diet‐related diseases in adulthood. Children learn about healthy eating from their parents and extended family, peers, schools, media, and communities in which they live. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) School Meal Programs—the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP), are in a unique position to help improve the nutritional quality of diets of school children.
During the 2012‐2013 school year, new school meal nutrition standards were implemented in accordance with USDA regulations stemming from the Healthy, Hunger‐Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The new USDA guidelines for school meals were designed to improve the nutrient density of foods offered and set standards for calories, sodium, and saturated fat. Among other requirements, the guidelines required serving a greater variety and larger portion sizes of fruits and vegetables.
Implementation of the 2012 USDA Nutrition Standards in the NSLP
By the 2012/2013 school year,
schools were required to implement the new meal patterns for the
National School Lunch Program and by school year 2013/2014,
implement those for the School Breakfast Program. The 2010 DGA identified two nutrients found in a variety of vegetables that are
of concern due to being under‐consumed, namely dietary fiber and potassium.
(fiber, potassium, calcium, and vitamin D = the four “shortfall nutrients”: DGA 2010)
COMPARISON OF PREVIOUS AND CURRENT SCHOOL MEAL STANDARDS
FOOD GROUP FRUIT and VEG
VEGETABLES
PREVIOUS STANDARDS CURRENT STANDARDS
½ to ¾ c of fruit and veg combined per day
¾ c of vegetables and ½ ‐1 c fruit per day
NO
SPECIFICATIONS
Weekly requirements
for specific vegetable subgroups
WHOLE GRAIN
ENCOURAGED – but
NO
SPECIFICATIONS
50% of grains served must be WG starting
July 01, 2012
100% must be WG
July 01, 2014 MILK
1 cup
but no restrictions regarding fat/ flavor 1 c of fat‐free or low‐fat
(flavored/unflavored)
or 1% unflavored
KEY VEGETABLE SUBGROUPS
DARK GREEN
RED / ORANGE
LEGUMES
STARCHY
OTHER
The Dietary Guidelines recommend that individuals consume a variety of vegetables on a weekly basis from the dark‐green, red/orange, beans/peas (legumes), starchy, and “other” vegetable subgroups. Specifically, children 4‐8 years of age should consume 1½ cups and girls and boys aged 9‐13 years should consume 2 to 2½ cups each day (derived from all meals, not simply school). Vegetable consumption as part of an overall healthy diet is strongly linked to the reduction of chronic disease risk.
Some concern that plate waste would increase as a consequence of the new regulations. Plate waste, defined as the quantity of edible food left uneaten after a meal, has been a persistent problem for schools at all grade levels. GAO (Government Accountability Office) challenged the new school meal standards as potentially contributing to greater plate waste.
The PLATE WASTE Phenomenon Unclear why students waste as much food as they do Many factors may contribute to plate waste:
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food preparation factors
a dislike of or unfamiliarity with the foods served
the environment in which students are eating
lack of sufficient time to eat
timing of lunch before vs. after recess
peer effects
other possible influences One factor that has not been explored is that meal components or pairings of certain foods might enhance appeal, palatability and acceptability and lead to less plate waste. We hypothesize that pairings of certain entrées and vegetables may influence overall food waste.
While plate waste studies have been conducted in schools, none has focused on the relationship between the pairing of foods and plate waste in school lunches.
The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Texas A&M University and by the participating schools.
OBJECTIVE
STUDY OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between food pairings, i.e., entrées and vegetables, and plate waste by elementary school students.
This study will provide some insights on possible strategies to reduce overall plate waste from
school meals.
METHODS: Participants
Participants
Plate waste data were collected from three elementary schools (K‐5) in one school district participating in the USDA’s school meal program in central Texas. Plate waste collections were conducted in two phases. Phase 1 was conducted in April and May 2012, pre‐implementation of the new nutrition
Standards.
Phase 2 was conducted in October and November 2012, post‐implementation of the new nutrition standards. This timing allowed us to evaluate plate waste from school lunches pre‐ and post‐
implementation of new school meal standards. This design corresponds to a natural experiment in that the same schools were involved prior to and after the implementation of the new standards for the NSLP. Our study was observational in nature without any additional interventions.
From these three participating schools, data collection occurred over a period of several days per week for a scheduled number of visits.
This resulted in the number of participants (observations) in the study to be 8,430 students; 4,145 students pre‐implementation and 4,285 students post‐implementation of school meal standards.
METHODS: Data Collection
Data Collection Procedure
All lunch periods for the sampled schools were scheduled by grade (kindergarten through 5). The same menu and portion sizes were served during all lunches in all three elementary schools. In all the schools, 30 minutes was allowed for lunch and recess was scheduled after the lunch. In order to meet the requirements for the new meal standard, the school district changed the recipes of the menu items and served a greater variety of vegetables; serving sizes were not changed, however. Schools used an eight‐week menu cycle both pre‐ and post‐implementation.
For each data collection day, five to ten servings of each sampled entrée and vegetable were served on “test trays” by school nutrition staff. The “test trays” were used to measure pre‐weights for each entrée and each vegetable for which plate waste was collected.
On average, two or more options for entrées and vegetables were provided on a given day. Before each lunch period, separate trash bins were prepared for each entrée and vegetable and lined with pre‐weighed trash bags. Students finished their meals and brought their trays to the research team members waiting at the designated stations. Uneaten entrées and vegetables were separated into the corresponding trash bin and the remaining contents of the tray were discarded in the cafeteria trash can for disposal.
This process was repeated for each lunch period. Aggregated waste per menu item was weighed and recorded per grade at each school.
Plate waste data collected from 8430 students: 4145 pre‐implementation and 4285 post‐implementation of revised school meal standards. 144 observations of entrée/vegetable pairings repeated by grade and school (27 distinct pairings) were collected pre‐
implementation
305 observations of entrée/vegetable pairings repeated by grade and school (56 distinct pairings) were collected
post‐implementation. Analyses of the respective entrée/vegetable pairings were conducted to determine plate waste and therefore, acceptability for particular entrée/vegetable pair.
How good are you at identifying meal components?
What about these?
METHODS:
PLATE WASTE MEASUREMENT
PLATE WASTE
PLATE WASTE = the quantity of edible portions of food served that is uneaten and is a common reason for food loss at the consumer and foodservice levels (Buzby and Guthrie, 2002 USDA ERS)
Pre‐consumption tray
DIRECT MEASURE
‐ Individual weighted plate waste
‐ Aggregate nonselective plate waste
‐ Aggregate selective plate waste
Post‐consumption tray
INDIRECT MEASURE
‐ Visual estimation
‐ Digital photography
‐ Children’s self‐reporting
Plate Waste Measurement and Food Pairings
Our data collection procedures allowed for plate waste to be examined for entrée and vegetable pairings as well as for each entrée and each vegetable separately. Plate waste (in grams) for each entrée and vegetable by grade and school was divided by the number of students choosing those items.
Plate Waste per Studentjk = Total Plate Wastejk x 100
Number of Students
The ratio provided the plate waste per student (in grams), where j = 1 if main entrée and j = 2 if vegetable and k = 1, ∙∙∙, n is type of main entrée or type of vegetable.
Plate Waste Measurement and Food Pairings
The percentage of plate waste was calculated by dividing this ratio by the pre‐weight (in grams) of the entrée or vegetable item, also measured in grams.
% Plate Wastejk = Plate Waste per Studentjk x 100
Preweight
By knowing the number of participating children, plate waste was able to be expressed as a proportion or percentage.
ENTRÉE POPULARITY AMONG STUDENTS
VEGETABLE POPULARITY AMONG STUDENTS
H
A
M
B U
R
G
E
R
S
G
R
E
E
N
B
E
A
N
S
PW PAIRINGS
(pre‐)
PW PAIRINGS
(post‐)
NUTRITION DATA
(pre‐)
For MOST wasted
(MOST WASTED)
NUTRITION DATA
(pre‐)
For LEAST wasted
(LEAST WASTED)
NUTRITION DATA
(post‐)
For MOST wasted
(MOST WASTED)
NUTRITION DATA
(post‐)
For LEAST wasted
(LEAST WASTED)
QUICK NUTRITION SUMMARY:
In general, post‐implementation servings of energy (kcals) and nutrients
was INCREASED (expect sodium) in the entrée/veg pairings (example: Ca, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C)
No sig diff in amounts of fat and sat fat served pre‐ and post‐
MOST WASTED PAIRINGS:
PW Pre (51`%) vs. Post (60%); 190 kcal vs. 156 kcal; FIBER 2.7 g vs. 2.5 g;
Ca 108 mg vs. 95 mg; Na 484 mg vs. 406 mg
LEAST WASTED PAIRINGS:
PW Pre (31`%) vs. Post 31%); 240 kcal vs. 260 kcal; FIBER 2.2 g vs. 3.4 g;
Ca 91 mg vs. 136 mg; Na 613 mg vs. 550 mg
STUDY LIMITATIONS
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Study was limited to three schools in central Texas, grades K‐5
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Schools were not matched in terms of F/RP or demographics; they were diverse
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Plate waste information was collected for main entrées and
vegetables only. •
We did not collect data on fruit selection and waste of fruit, milk or grains. •
Consumption of these meal components could have affected plate waste of the entrées and vegetables. •
Data for pre‐ and post‐implementation of the new standards were collected at different times of the school year, spring semester
for pre‐implementation and fall semester for post‐implementation.
LIMITATIONS (con’t) Entrées and vegetables in our study were predetermined by
menus designed by school food service. Students had limited choices as to what vegetables were
available with a particular entrée. We could not always observe the same pairings pre‐ and post, nor all the same meal items due to the school menu being implemented.
Though impractical, to fully understand the true effect of entrée/vegetable pairings on plate waste, each potential entrée would need to be paired with each potential vegetable – with sufficient power (# observations) to detect significant differences.
DISCUSSION and IMPLICATIONS
Our findings from elementary school lunches are consistent with those from previous behavioral and experimental studies regarding eating behaviors.
Main item served with
well‐liked side dish
ACCEPTANCE RATINGS of a MAIN DISH
Main item served with
unliked side dish
Jimenez, M., Rodriguez, D., Greene, N., Zellner, D.A., Cardello, A.V. and Nestrud, M.(2015) Seeing a Meal Is Not
Eating It: Hedonic Context Effects Differ for Visually Presented and Actually Eaten Foods. Food Quality and Preference,
41, 96‐102. We observed that specific pairings of entrées and vegetables influenced total food waste. Pairings of more popular entrées with less popular vegetables resulted in higher vegetable waste. • Chicken nuggets were wasted less when paired with green beans and wasted more when paired with mashed potatoes. • Compared to pairing of green beans with chicken nuggets, green beans were wasted less when paired with steak fingers and pepperoni hot pockets. In general, pairing of popular entrées, such as chicken nuggets and burgers, with popular vegetables, such as potato products, resulted in lower combined plate waste.
Chicken nuggets (popular entrée) were wasted less when paired with green beans and wasted more when paired with mashed potatoes. less waste
more waste
Green beans were wasted less when paired with steak fingers and pepperoni hot pockets as opposed to pairing with chicken nuggets
less waste
more waste
Interesting reciprocal relationship between chicken nuggets and green beans:
The beans enhance consumption of the nuggets
The nuggets reduce consumption of the beans Therefore an application of this would be to . . . ?
In order to meet the new nutrition standards, schools in our sample offered more selection of vegetables and modified recipes post‐implementation of the new standards, but the serving sizes did not change. Overall, more nutritious meals were offered during the post‐implementation period compared to the pre‐implementation period.
The new school meal standards had no effect on the entrée plate waste and led to a
small insignificant increase in the combined plate waste from entrée and vegetable pairings (40.4% pre‐ and 43.5% post‐implementation).
Modification of the recipes and possibly less familiarity with some of the vegetables
offered may have contributed to the increased vegetable waste observed post‐
implementation. Further research is needed to understand this dynamic and if food pairings can reduce food waste and cost.
Though not examining food pairings, other studies have examined plate waste after the implementation of the new standards. Byker and et al. (2014) collected food waste data from one pre‐
kindergarten and five kindergarten classes from one elementary school for one full week in March 2013. 45.3% of all food that was served was wasted with vegetables being wasted the most (51.4%) followed by the main entrée (51.0%). Byker, C.J., Farris, A.R., Marcenelle, M., Davis, G.C. and Serrano, E.L. (2014) Food Waste in a School Nutrition Program
after Implementation of New Lunch Program Guidelines. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 46, 406‐411. Cohen et al. (2014) measured plate waste in 4 schools (grades 3‐
8), with 2 data collection days per school in an urban low‐
income district (approx. 85% F, R/P), collecting pre‐ and post‐
implementation. 24.9% of vegetables and 72.3% of entrées were consumed pre‐, and 41.1% of vegetables and 87.9% of entrées were consumed post.
Cohen, J.F., Richardson, S., Austin, S.B., Economos, C.D. and Rimm, E.B. (2013) School Lunch Waste among Middle
School Students: Nutrients Consumed and Costs. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 44, 114‐121.
Schwartz et al. (2015) collected data from 12 middle schools (5th to 7th grade) located in an urban, low‐income district (>70% Free, 13% R/P). The percentage of vegetable servings consumed increased from 45% to 64%. The consumption of entrées increased from 71% to 84%. They concluded that the revised NSLP nutrition standards and policies led to more nutritious meals and less overall plate waste.
Schwartz, M.B., Henderson, K.E., Read, M., Danna, N. and Ickovics, J.R. (2015) New School Meal Regulations Increase
Fruit Consumption and Do Not Increase Total Plate Waste. Childhood Obesity, 11, 242‐247.
OUR CONCLUSIONS:
Pairings of entrées and vegetables are an important consideration when assessing plate waste among elementary school children, and lost dollars to school food service. A relationship was noted between entrées and vegetables
suggesting that greater consumption of certain entrées was associated with greater waste of certain vegetables and vice‐
versa. It was observed that popular entrées, such as burgers and chicken nuggets, contributed to greater waste of less popular vegetables, such as green beans and sweet potato fries.
Points to consider if desiring to DECREASE PW:
‐ Popularity of entrée by itself
‐ Popularity of vegetable alone
‐ Consideration of relative popularities when combining
‐ POSSIBLE PAIRING EFFECTS impacting PW
If E = popular entrée while e = less popular entrée, and
V = popular vegetable while v = less popular vegetable:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
E, V
E, v
E, V
E, v
Points to consider if desiring to DECREASE PW:
From our data – veg popularity effect:
entrée + V  increased entrée PW
entrée + v  decreased entrée PW
Pairing less popular veg with various entrée types:
E + v  increased vegetable PW
e + v  decreased vegetable PW
It was unclear if decreased popularity of a vegetable was a direct result of the vegetable itself, or of the child having “filled up” on a popular paired entrée, indirectly causing decreased consumption of the vegetable. There is perhaps the fact of “sensory specific satiety” to consider.
Entrées paired with popular vegetables such as potatoes (served as tater tots, oven‐baked French fries, and wedges) experienced the least amount of waste. The nutrient content of entrees and vegetables vary by type.
Consuming more of popular as well as less popular vegetables is a desired behavior in school children for the specific nutrients they contain.
Vegetable consumption is related to the entrée the vegetable is paired with. It may be possible to increase the consumption of a less popular very nutritious vegetable by pairing it with entrée A instead of entrée B. In view of these findings, understanding entrée/vegetable pairings may assist schools in serving tasty yet nutritious meals while maintaining high program participation rates and staying within constrained operating budgets.
Our observations suggest that school food service may reduce plate waste from school meals as well as incur fewer wasted dollars for foodservice by optimizing entrée/vegetable pairings. Interventions should consider student grade level and ethnicity
Such interventions might include school food taste‐tests that seek to optimize food pairings associated with decreased PW and enhanced consumption of foods that provide shortfall nutrients without excess sodium and calories
Increased consumption and reduced waste is especially important for those students relying on school meals for most of their energy and nutrient needs (F and R/P children).
THANKS and RECOGNITION to members of the Texas A&M Research Team:
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o
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Dr. Oral Capps, Jr.
Dr. Ariun Ishdorj
Lindsey Field
Ashley Hutto
Ms. Asha Girimaji
The Plate Waste Warriors
And to the participating schools, students, and food service staff; FUNDING by APRE
THANK YOU!
Time for Questions
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