Nutritional properties of differently processed foods for institutionalized elderly people

In cooperation with the Local Healthcare Agency No. 1 "Triestina", the quality of food provided in the canteens of four multifunctional facilities in the Province of Trieste dedicated to the not entirely self-sufficient and completely not self-sufficient elderly (two residential care homes and two private care homes) was considered. This assessment represents the first necessary step to understanding whether elderly institutionalization may be a factor predisposing, precipitating or aggravating the status of a possible malnutrition. Most of the food products consumed in the examined canteens were of significantly lower quality compared to the products commonly found on the market. In particular, by detecting secondary oxidation products, a considerable p-anisidine index, higher than 10 for more than 20% tested samples (fat based foods) was found. In addition, the amount of polyphenols, per person, potentially ingestible with meals, hardly reached 150 - 200 mg/day and the vitamin content was generally lower with respect to reference nutritional values established by INRAN.