Alimentos/ingredientes ultraprocessados: contribuição na composição nutricional dos cardápios ofertados em centros municipais de educação infantil de Maceió.

Abstract

Ultraprocessed foods are industrial formulations subjected to varied processing, whose composition presents chemical additives that associated with large amounts of sodium, calories and sugar cause long-term health damage, as the greatest possibility of developing chronic non-communicable diseases, deficiencies, allergies or food intolerances. Objective: To analyze the contribution of ultra-processed foods/ingredients in the nutritional composition of menus offered at Maceió Municipal Early Childhood Education Centers. Methods: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study. It consisted of a six month analysis of the menus of the public education network. The foods and/or ingredients were classified according to the level of processing in the following groups: fresh or minimally processed; processed culinary ingredients; processed; or ultra-processed. The nutritional composition of the menus was evaluated through the Preparation Data Sheets. Then, how much proportionally represents the contribution of ultra-processed in each preparation in terms of energy, macronutrients and sodium were calculated. Categorical variables were presented as absolute frequencies and percentages, while continuous variables were presented as means and standard deviations. To compare the means, Student's t-test was applied, adopting a significance level of 5% (p <0.05). Results: All CMEI presented a higher percentage of fresh and minimally processed foods when compared to the other food groups, however two CMEI showed a rate above 20% of ultra-processed foods (21.2% and 20.4%). Regarding the average energy composition, macronutrient and sodium and their respective contribution percentages from ultra-processed foods/ingredients offered in the menus, it was observed that the highest percentage of contribution was from sodium, from a total of 791.3mg (SD - 281 , 9) offered on average per day in the menu, 22% (SD - 37.4) came from this group of foods. In addition, in the days of ultra-processed foods, a significant difference in lipid composition was observed, where the average days of these foods were 17.14g. Conclusion: Although the food/ultraprocessed ingredients are still present in the menus offered, fresh or minimally processed foods stand out, being more evident.