School menus in Santa Catarina: Evaluation with respect to the National School Food Program regulations

OBJECTIVE: To assess compliance of school menu planning with the National School Food Program's regulations. METHODS: This cross-sectional study analyzed 133 menus for 542 schools in 49 municipalities of the state of Santa Catarina. The menus were assessed according to the National School Food Program's regulations, the "Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population" and the "Qualitative Evaluation of Menu Components for Schools". The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Nearly all (98.5%) municipalities met the requirement of technical responsibility for menu development and 81.0% acquired foods from family farms. The menus contained fruits (87.2%) and non-starchy vegetables (94.0%), but the frequencies of fruits and non-starchy vegetables were smaller than two to three times a week. The most common high-sodium and high-fat foods were commercially processed meats (53.0%), but their frequency was smaller than once a week. Likewise, the frequencies of beverages (natural fruit juice, coffee, and tea) were smaller than once a week. Most menus (85.1%) repeated foods during the week, and only 3.0% of the menus listed organic foods. CONCLUSION: Some school menus from Santa Catarina need to be revised with respect to the frequency of fruits and non-starchy vegetables, high-sugar foods, high-sodium foods, and high-fat foods, and need to increase food diversity and variety.研究目的：评估学校菜单规划符合《全国学校食品计划》（National School Food Program）相关规定的情况。 研究方法：本横断面研究分析了圣卡塔琳娜州49个市的542所学校的133份菜单。依据《全国学校食品计划》相关规定、《巴西居民膳食指南》（Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population）以及《学校菜单组分质性评价方案》（Qualitative Evaluation of Menu Components for Schools）对菜单进行评估。采用描述性统计学方法对数据开展分析。 研究结果：近98.5%的市均满足菜单制定的技术责任要求，81.0%的学校从家庭农场采购食材。菜单中涵盖水果（87.2%）与非淀粉类蔬菜（94.0%），但两类食材的供应频率均低于每周2至3次。最常见的高钠、高脂食品为市售加工肉制品（53.0%），其供应频率低于每周1次。同理，各类饮品（天然果汁、咖啡与茶）的供应频率也低于每周1次。多数菜单（85.1%）在一周内存在食物重复的情况，仅3.0%的菜单标注了有机食材。 研究结论：圣卡塔琳娜州的部分学校菜单需针对水果、非淀粉类蔬菜、高糖食品、高钠食品及高脂食品的供应频率进行优化，并需提升食材的多样性与丰富度。