Abstract

MANIGLIA, Fabíola Pansani; SCAVONE, Patrícia Capreti; BOIANI, Mariana Barbosa  and  FRANCO, Gabriel Silveira. NATURAL AND INDUSTRIALIZED INFANT FOODS IN BRAZIL: WHAT DOES NUTRITION AND GASTRONOMY REVEAL TO US?. Acta Port Nutr [online]. 2021, n.24, pp.22-26.  Epub June 14, 2021. ISSN 2183-5985.  https://doi.org/10.21011/apn.2021.2405.

Exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months of age is indicated by the World Health Organization. After this phase, the mother's milk no longer supplies the macro and micronutrient needs of the child, initiating the beginning of complementary feeding. This is a time of great concern for parents and caregivers, who do not know what children should or should not offer. Both the amount of nutrients and the adequate consistency should be taken into account. Currently, there is a range of industrialized infant foods, which offer practicalities to parents and caregivers. The objective of the present study was to compare the nutritional values and organoleptic characteristics, except flavor, of industrialized and natural infant foods. Two brands of industrialized infant food commercialized in Brazil were randomly selected, their nutritional tables and contained ingredients were analyzed and then tabulated, and photos were made for comparison with the natural baby food. The natural foods were prepared in the gastronomy laboratory of the University of Franca, photographed, their ingredients and nutrients were analyzed, with the help of the Brazilian Table of Food Composition and these data were tabulated. In addition, their cost was considered. There was an important variation in nutritional values, especially in the energetic and glucose aspects. The addition of thickeners and chemical additives in industrialized potatoes was an important point for comparison. It was found that the presence of sodium in industrialized foods is more significant than in natural foods. Another aspect analyzed was the consistency and viscosity of the industrialized infant foods, which are shown to be inadequate due to the need to stimulate chewing in the phase of introduction of complementary feed.

Keywords : feeding; Infant foods; Children; Infant nutrition.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )