INTRODUCTION:

Enrolling higher education is an important transitional period due to the acquiring of greater independence in food choices. In the last years, Vending machines for food and beverages have increased their prevalence and have amplified their influence on the population daily energy consumption

OBJECTIVES:

Characterize the food and beverages in the vending machines for food and beverages from the University of Porto.

METHODOLOGY:

Development and application of a form to evaluate the food supply from the vending machines for food and beverages present in the 14 faculties and in the 2 E-learning cafes of the University of Porto. Data collection was carried out in the second semester of the 2018/2019 school year. In between all the hot beverages machines evaluated, 6 machines were chosen, one from each supplier companies, to collect samples of the standard and maximum sugar available. The categorization of food and beverages into permitted and prohibited, as well as the analysis of the quantities of sugar available, followed the established in Despacho 7516-A / 2016.

RESULTS:

In the 123 machines evaluated, the most frequent food and beverages were soft drinks (16.7%), still water (16.3%) and pastry products (10.9%). In the evaluated institutions, 49% of the products available (with a variation of 15.6% to 56.3% in the different locations) were considered as forbidden. There were no significant differences in the availability of permitted and forbidden products between health faculties and other areas ones´. None of the supplier companies complied with the 5 g for maximum sugar amount.

CONCLUSIONS:

Given the data obtained, it seems evident the need to reformulate the supply in the vending machines for food and beverages of the University of Porto, to improve the quality of the available products and to promote better food choices.

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