Assessment of the nutritional value of the plate waste generated in School Foodservices in Kyungbuk Area

An, Ju Yeon; Lee, Hye Sang

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyse the nutrient intake of the elementary students participating in the School lunch program and to compare the amount of the plate waste generated in two school foodservice operations that were located in an urban(school A) and a rural area(school B), respectively. A plate waste analysis was conducted for each menu item to separate and quantify food waste discarded in service phases of each operation. The SPSS 10.0 for window was used for data analysis. Non-parametric test (Mann-Whitney) was adopted to determine if significant differences existed in amounts of food waste generated in school A and school B. An average of 415 meals, including 43 adult meals, were served daily in school A, while an average of 177 meals, including 24 adult meals, were served daily in school B. Throughout the study the percentage of plate waste in vegetable dishes was high in both school. The food served to the students in school A met most of the RDA set by Korean Nutrition Association except vitamin A, while that served to the students in school B satisfied RDA in all aspects. Between 10-20% of the nutrients served were discarded as plate waste(school A : 11-27%; school B : 5-14%). Students in school B took significantly more niacin than students in school A did. It should be noted, though, that the RDA was still met in both schools except the vitamin A in case of school A, even after considering the plate waste. The research results suggested that school foodservice dieticians should evaluate the acceptability of menu items based on food waste per meal, and help increase the students' awareness of the environmental impact of food waste. Further, teachers, parents and dieticians should be encouraged to provide environmental education to the students that focused on the reduction of food waste.