QUALITATIVE EVALUATION OF A UNIVERSITY RESTAURANT'S MENUS

The study aimed to evaluate the quality of the menus planned by the Food and Nutrition Unit of a University Restaurant. For this purpose, the evaluation of the quality of the menus was conducted using the Qualitative Assessment method of the Menu Preparations, together with the verification of the frequency of the preparations and the Chi-square test, at the level of 5%. The evaluation was conducted by 16 observers, who, after training, were divided into two groups, one of which evaluated the lunch menus (main course and option) and the other, the dinner menus (main course and option). The analyses were based on the presence of positive indicators (fruits and leafy vegetables) and negative indicators (fatty meats, sweets, fried foods, sweets plus fried foods, equal colors, carbohydrates (floury) and rich in sulfur). After analyzing the quality of the menu by these parameters, a classification was applied to the positive and negative aspects found (excellent, good, regular, bad and very bad). The menus showed a high frequency of leafy vegetables and fruit; low frequency of fried foods, fatty meats and sweets with fried foods; high frequency of equal colors and sulfur-rich foods. It is concluded that improvements in the menu are necessary, so that, in fact, the Food and Nutrition Unit of the University Restaurant has the menu as a tool for Food and Nutritional Education and, in this way, plays an encouraging role for healthy eating, thus contributing to disease prevention and health promotion.