Manage Abstracts

Fraser Health (FH) hospital menus intend to meet the estimated average requirement (EAR) of 320 mcg/day dietary folate equivalents (DFE), which is the minimum threshold set by the British Columbia Lower Mainland Nutrition Standards. It was unknown if texture modified diet (TMD) menus that have been adjusted for therapeutic reasons or patient preference met the folate target.

To examine the folate and macronutrient content of minced and pureed diet texture menu tickets and compare these values to the EAR and the macronutrient distribution ranges.

844 minced and pureed diet texture menu tickets over a 14-day menu cycle were included in this cross- sectional study. Menu tickets were generated between October and December 2018 for three FH prepared hospital sites and analyzed using CBORD®. Nutritional analysis for macronutrients and DFEs was performed using Excel®.

A total of 465 pureed and 379 minced texture menu tickets were analyzed. Mean folate for combined minced and pureed tickets was 229 mcg ± 101 mcg. Only 16% of all menu tickets (n=132), 12% of pureed (n=57) and 20% (n=75) of minced texture menu tickets met the EAR. Mean carbohydrate, protein, and fat was 260 ± 62.5 g, 77 ± 23.3 g, and 53 ± 19.5 g respectively. Mean energy was 1817 calories.

The majority of menu tickets did not meet the EAR for folate. They did meet the macronutrient distribution ranges outlined in the BCLMNS. Pureed diets had the least number of menu tickets meeting the EAR, likely due to insufficient amount of grains. It is concerning that TMDs do not meet the EAR for folate, especially for inpatients with prolonged length of stays.

These findings highlight the need to increase the folate content of minced and pureed texture diets and may inform menu revisions.