Hospital food could lack nutritional value

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Public release date: 18-Oct-2006

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-10/bpl-hfc101806.php

Contact: Wagner

swagner@...

Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Hospital food could lack nutritional value

Vitamin C levels well below published standard

Montclair, NJ - October 18, 2006 -- Substantial nutrient loss in food

occurs in hospital foodservice operations, according to research

recently published in the Journal of Foodservice. The study quantifies

how much Vitamin C, as a marker of nutrient quality, is retained at

various stages of processing at two New Jersey hospitals.

The nutrient quality of Vitamin C was significantly reduced as a food

sample progressed to patients – by as much as 86% at a hospital in an

inner-city neighborhood. Since many nutrients, including Vitamin C,

degrade at high temperatures, this loss may be result from food being

heated to a temperature much higher than recommended by hospital

foodservice so as to still be warm when served to patients.

As improved nutritional status correlates with faster healing and

recovery, leading to reduced hospital stays, hospitals need improved

cooking methods to reduce the loss of nutrients in foods served to

patients. Physicians, dietitians, and menu planners rely on published

standard nutritional values, but these standards are derived from

experiments made in ideal conditions and fail to consider the various

handling, holding, and delivery methods that are common in hospitals. A

more vigorous approach to patient nutrition is needed, both in terms of

food preparation methods and in assessing the actual nutritional status

of patients.

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This study appears in the June issue of the Journal of Foodservice.

--

ne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar@... >

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