Food handlers´ perception of minimally processed products

4 h mee ing o young esea che s a UP 289 Food handle s’ pe cep ion o minimally p ocessed p oduc s M. Ba os1 and A. Rocha2 1 Faculdade de Ciências da Nu ição e Alimen ação da Uni e sidade do Po o. Rua D . Robe o F ias 4200 465 Po o. Po ugal. manuelaoba [email protected] 2 Faculdade de Ciências da Nu ição e Alimen ação da Uni e sidade do Po o. Rua D . Robe o F ias 4200 465 Po o. Po ugal. ada ocha@ cna.up.p Consume s inc easing conce n abou ood and heal h associa ed wi h educed ime o p epa e meals has been de e mining he sea ch o con enien p oduc s, wi h esh like quali y, namely ui s and ege ables [1]. The use o minimally p ocessed p oduc s (MPP) allows oodse ice uni s o o e a g ea e a ie y o menus, educing cos s and minimizing c oss con amina ion. A he same ime hei inclusion in menus educes he p oblem o seasonali y; and enables s anda diza ion o menus, sa ing ime and labou o ce [2,3]. Nowadays he e a e s ill ew ood uni s adop ing MPP, because hese p oduc s a e iewed as being mo e expensi e han con en ional ones and a e equen ly ega ded by employees, as a e less na u al and easily pe ishable, bu abo e all, hey ealize ha he use o hese p oduc s en ails a eno a ion o he en i e p oduc ion o meals, including a educ ion in he numbe o employees in he ac i i ies o p e-p epa a ion [3,4]. The main goal o his s udy was o iden i y and analyze he le el o awa eness o oodse ice ope a o s, in espec o MPP. I is a c oss-sec ional s udy wi h an analy ical componen . The s udy was conduc ed by applying a mul iple choice ques ionnai e o ood handle s. The majo i y o he ins i u ions included in his s udy we e hospi als, loca ed in he No h o Po ugal, which cooked and se ed be ween 100 and 400 meals pe day. App oxima ely 90% o he ins i u ions had less han 10 employees wo king a he ood se ice. 182 ood handle s (180 women and 2 men), we e in e iewed, aged 20-58 yea s. The educa ional le el was on a e age low, mo e han hal o handle s had an educa ion le el less han o equal o he 2nd cycle o basic educa ion. Rega ding o employmen s a us, he ood handle s we e o icials o he Ins i u e and mos pe o ms unc ions o ki chen helpe . All ood handle s esponded ha hei ood se ice uni used he MPP, poin ing he less ime spen on p epa a ion, he less was e p oduce and he a ie y o e ed as he main ad an ages o using hem. In spi e o ecognizing hese ad an ages mos o hem p e e he adi ional ones, highligh ing he easons o his choice eshness, senso y quali y and he ac ha mo e ope a o s a e needed o p epa e hem. A p omo ion and a demys i ica ion o his ca ego y o p oduc s is necessa y o ood se ice manage s and employees, since hey p esen an excellen al e na i e o esh equi alen s. Re e ences: [1] Mo e i, C.L. (2001), P ocessamen o Mínimo, Re is a Cul i a , pp. 32-33. [2] Ragae , P.W.V. (2004), Consume pe cep ion and choice o minimally p ocessed ege ables and packaged ui s, Food Quali y and P e e ence, pp. 259-70. [3] Ca dello, H.G.S (2007), Consume pe cep ions o oods p ocessed by inno a i e and eme ging echnologies: A conjoin analy ic s udy, Inno a i e Food Science and Eme ging Technologies, pp. 73-8. [4] Ribei o, C. (2002), Análise de pe das em Unidades de Alimen ação e Nu ição Indus iais. Flo ianópolis: Uni e sidade Fede al de San a Ca a ina.