Limiting malnutrition and food losses in care settings

General introduction

Identifying food losses in the care sector and working out corresponding strategies against the malnutrition risk in care facilities is better possible through the research project FOOD LOSS in CARE. Malnutrition appears to occur frequently among patients and residents in the (elderly) care sector. Among other things, it is related to impaired meal satisfaction. At the same time, an estimated 40% of prepared meals in the care sector are thrown away as food waste. In the two-year ILVO project Food Loss In Care, ILVO aimed at finding ways to simultaneously analyze and reduce these food losses and malnutrition experimentally in several residential care centers. 

Research approach

The project has now been implemented. We initially selected 2 residential care centers (WZC) in Flanders where we collected nutritional data in 13 wards, using in-depth interviews with focus groups, surveys and measurements of food waste types. Through statistical processing of all data, we uncovered the exact bottlenecks per WZC. Improvement actions were then drawn out. These were tested on site and evaluated using new measurements. In this project, several suitable (digital) tools were also designed and applied, and we built an interesting mobile measurement setup that can weigh meal plates and in the future visually (photographically) interpret component (e.g. coming back from the patient/resident's plate). 

Relevance/Valorisation

By disseminating the scientifically substantiated findings, successful improvement projects on malnutrition reduction and on reducing food losses will undoubtedly emerge. Many residential care centers and hospitals throughout Flanders are closely following the research projects on this theme.