Innovations in Food Service: Is Nutrition Being Considered?

Food is a daily essential that everyone loves to share. No matter their age, culture or identity, food brings everyone together. From a family dinner, dinner party or cafeteria-style dining experience, food creates meaningful experiences, providing opportunities to connect, socialise and nourish the body.  

But it’s not just the food that’s important. The whole dining experience, from the delivery of meals, their taste, their appearance, even down to the environment they are consumed in can affect the entire experience.

This is especially important in aged care homes. Where individual factors including social isolation, poor dentition, medications, difficulty swallowing and loss of appetite can greatly reduce residents ability and want to eat food. Which is why more and more aged care homes are turning to new and innovative ways to enhance their food service processes.

Technology advancements

The agility of technology is minimising the barriers created by traditional administrative practises. Removing the need to fill out and complete endless forms based on changing dietary requirements and preferences, catering staff have more time to focus on providing healthy, nutritious meals. 

Instead, residents preferences and requirements can be updated in real-time and distributed accordingly, creating a single source of truth for catering staff. Rather than relying on paper copies that can get lost or be outdated in the process.

Taste and texture

People eat with their eyes. Which is why it is important to present all meals in an appealing way, no matter the diet.

Due to the vast array of dietary requirements in aged care homes, many are turning to new innovations that ensure pureed foods still look, taste, and feel good for residents. Moving away from the ice-cream scoop method, chefs are opting to use moulds and piping techniques that make pureed foods resemble familiar food items on the plate.  

Using fresh ingredients and then modifying the texture in the kitchen enhances the dining experience. The food retains its delicious taste, colour, and nutrients, while the aromas emanate from the kitchen signalling mealtimes, which can have a huge impact on residents' appetites.  

But is nutrition being considered?

Despite these innovations, malnutrition still affects 50% of residents in aged care homes.

Often due to the skill and time required to cater for large groups, each with their own bespoke dietary needs, aged care homes may be providing:

• Meals deficient in protein and other key nutrients (opting for frozen texture modified meals)
• Meals that do not resemble familiar foods
• Delivery systems that do not enhance the dining experience

While staff may view weight loss as a normal part of the ageing process, it is not. Meals served in aged care homes must provide adequate nutrition to all residents across the entire day – from meals, snacks and even fluids. And as many of these residents have reduced appetites and eating difficulties, every meal must be presented in a way that is appealing and makes the resident want to eat.