Difference between the Theoretical and Analytical Content of Selected Elements in Meals Prepared for Hospital Tube Feeding †
by
, and
Ivana Rumora Samarin
1,*, 
Anja Pozaić
1,
Ivica Vrdoljak
2,
Maria Đurić
1,
Antonija Sulimanec
3,
Ankica Sekovanić
3 and
Ines Panjkota Krbavčić
1 1
Department of Food Quality Control, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Pierottijeva 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
2
Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Krešimirova 42, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia
3
Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska cesta 2, 10001 Zagreb, Croatia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the 14th European Nutrition Conference FENS 2023, Belgrade, Serbia, 14–17 November 2023.
Proceedings 2023, 91(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091013
Published: 14 November 2023
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of The 14th European Nutrition Conference FENS 2023)
Abstract
:Background and objectives: Blenderized tube meals, with the proper preparation and application, can increase the nutritional variety of hospital nutrition, decrease the financial burden on the hospital system, and complement commercial enteral nutrition administration. As this type of diet is used mainly in fragile populations of patients, whose recovery depends largely on adequate nutritional intake, this study aimed to determine levels of certain elements in blenderized tube hospital meals and to compare the theoretical and obtained analytical values of those meals. Methods: Samples of 29 various freshly prepared meals based on meat (n = 13), dairy (n = 9), fruit (n = 3), and soups (n = 4) were collected in the Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Croatia. Those meals in different combinations make 14 daily menus consisting of three meals per day. Meals were prepared according to standard methods of thermal food processing and were blended with a mixer. Water remained after cooking was added to each meal until the proper consistency for tube feeding was achieved. The theoretical composition for each meal was calculated using the National Food Composition Database. Levels of macro-elements (Na, Mg, K, Ca) and trace (Fe) elements were determined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) using Agilent 7500cx. Results: With the exception of Fe, theoretical values for all elements were from 1.3 to 2.4-fold lower in comparison to levels obtained by ICP-MS analysis. Benefits of meal consumption in term of essential elements were evaluated using the EFSA nutrient reference values. It was found that irrespective of the approach used, each of the 14 daily menus met the dietary reference values (DRV) for all elements except for Fe. Discussion: Due to the potentially insufficient intake of some microelements, one of which is Fe, dietitians and healthcare professionals should pay attention to meal composition when planning daily menus for tube-fed patients. For Na, intake should be reduced to prevent the development of chronic non-communicable diseases. Further studies should be conducted to determine if the national food composition database needs to be revised for micronutrient content.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, I.R.S., A.P. and A.S. (Antonija Sulimanec); formal analysis. M.Đ., A.P., A.S. (Antonija Sulimanec), A.S. (Ankica Sekovanić); writing—original draft preparation, review and editing, I.R.S., A.P. and A.S. (Antonija Sulimanec); data/samples collection: I.V.; supervision, I.V., I.P.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the abstract.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement
Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement
The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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MDPI and ACS Style
Rumora Samarin, I.; Pozaić, A.; Vrdoljak, I.; Đurić, M.; Sulimanec, A.; Sekovanić, A.; Panjkota Krbavčić, I. Difference between the Theoretical and Analytical Content of Selected Elements in Meals Prepared for Hospital Tube Feeding. Proceedings 2023, 91, 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091013
AMA Style
Rumora Samarin I, Pozaić A, Vrdoljak I, Đurić M, Sulimanec A, Sekovanić A, Panjkota Krbavčić I. Difference between the Theoretical and Analytical Content of Selected Elements in Meals Prepared for Hospital Tube Feeding. Proceedings. 2023; 91(1):13. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091013
Chicago/Turabian StyleRumora Samarin, Ivana, Anja Pozaić, Ivica Vrdoljak, Maria Đurić, Antonija Sulimanec, Ankica Sekovanić, and Ines Panjkota Krbavčić. 2023. "Difference between the Theoretical and Analytical Content of Selected Elements in Meals Prepared for Hospital Tube Feeding" Proceedings 91, no. 1: 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091013
