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Objective Evaluation Tool for Texture-Modified Food (OET-TMF): Development of the Tool and Validation

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Abstract

Texture-modified diets (TMDs) should fulfil nutritional goals, guarantee homogenous texture, and meet food safety regulations. The food industry has created texture-modified food (TMF) that meets the TMD requirements of quality and safety for inpatients. To design and develop a tool that allows the objective selection of foodstuffs for TMDs that ensures nutritional requirements and swallowing safety of inpatients in order to improve their quality of life, especially regarding their food satisfaction. An evaluation tool was designed to objectively determine the adequacy of food included in the TMD menus of a hospital. The “Objective Evaluation Tool for Texture-Modified Food” (OET-TMF) consists of seven items that evaluate the food’s nutritional quality (energy and protein input), presence of allergens, texture and viscosity, cooking, storage type, useful life, and patient acceptance. The total score ranged from 0 to 64 and was divided into four categories: high quality, good quality, medium quality, and low quality. Studying four different commercial TMFs contributed to the validation of the tool. All the evaluated products scored between high and good regarding quality. There was a tendency (p = 0.077) towards higher consumption and a higher overall quality of the product obtained with the OET-TMF. The product that scored highest with the tool was the best accepted; the product with the lowest score had the highest rate of refusal. The OET-TMF allows for the objective discrimination of the quality of TMF. In addition, it shows a certain relationship between the observed and assessed quality intake.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Campofrío Health Care®, Nestlé Healthcare Nutrition®, and Vegenat® for providing all of the products free of charge for this study. We would also like to thank the hospital kitchen staff of Complejo Asistencial Universitario de León for their collaboration.

Author Contributions

ACF was responsible for the conception and design of the study, the acquisition of data, the viscosity evaluation, the analysis and interpretation of the data, and drafting of the article. AVC was also responsible for the analysis and interpretation of data, as well as critically revising the paper for important academic content. BPM was responsible for the acquisition of data, the viscosity evaluation, and drafting the paper. ICR was responsible for the conception and design of the study, as well as critically revising the paper for important academic content. MDBP supervised all the procedures, critically revising the paper for important academic content, and offering the final approval of the version to be submitted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics Unit, Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Complejo Asistencial Universitario de León, Altos de Nava s/n, 24008, León, Spain

    Alicia Calleja-Fernández PhD, RD, Begoña Pintor-de-la-Maza RD, Alfonso Vidal-Casariego PhD, MD, Isidoro Cano-Rodríguez PhD, MD & María D. Ballesteros-Pomar PhD, MD

Authors
  1. Alicia Calleja-Fernández PhD, RD
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  2. Begoña Pintor-de-la-Maza RD
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  3. Alfonso Vidal-Casariego PhD, MD
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  4. Isidoro Cano-Rodríguez PhD, MD
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  5. María D. Ballesteros-Pomar PhD, MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alicia Calleja-Fernández PhD, RD.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no competing financial interests in relation to the work described herein.

Funding

Campofrío Health Care®, Nestlé Healthcare Nutrition®, and Vegenat® provided all of the products free of charge for this study.

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Calleja-Fernández, A., Pintor-de-la-Maza, B., Vidal-Casariego, A. et al. Objective Evaluation Tool for Texture-Modified Food (OET-TMF): Development of the Tool and Validation. Dysphagia 31, 360–366 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-015-9684-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-015-9684-4

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