Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to identify regional foods and analyze its use on school menus of a Brazilian city, as well as the respect to symbolic and cultural aspects related to it.Design/methodology/approach: – The study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, regional foods were identified through interviews with key school meal and city agents. In the second stage, the inclusion of these foods in school menus from 2009 to 2013 was assessed.Findings: – In total, 142 regional foods were identified and classified into four groups. This classification resulted in a decision tree model to identify regional foods. Approximately 45 percent of regional preparations and 82.5 percent of regional foods were offered totaling 455 preparations and 977 foods analyzed. However, 31 percent of the regional foods identified in Stage 1 were not offered in the menus analyzed. Various regional preparations lost their authenticity, possibly not being recognized because of a lack of traditional ingredients or because they contained non-regional foods that changed their character.Practical implications: – The results mainly point to symbolic aspects of the production and consumption of regional foods and preparations that are important to promoting healthy diets. In addition, they can support public policies that promote the use of these foods in the school environment.Originality/value: – This study analyzes the inclusion of regional foods in school meals--a topic rarely explored in the scientific literature – and proposes a decision tree model to identify regional foods with methodological rigor. This model can assist school food managers in including regional foods and developing studies related to this topic.

This study aims to explore and compare Brazilian public institutional food services’ characteristics concerning the implementation of the government policy for the procurement of food from family farming (FF) and the opinions of food service managers on the benefits and difficulties of its implementation. We conducted a cross-sectional study employing an online questionnaire. The results were stratified by purchase. The Chi-square and Fisher’s Exact tests were applied. Five hundred forty-one food services’ managers participated in the study. Most claimed to buy food from FF, and this acquisition was more frequent among those working in institutions of municipalities <50,000 inhabitants, and educational and self-managed institutions. Those buying from FF developed more actions to promote healthy and sustainable food. Most recognized that the purchase could boost local farming and the economy and improve the institution’s food. However, the managers believe that the productive capacity of FF, the lack of technical assistance to farmers, production seasonality, and the bureaucratic procurement process hinder this type of purchase. The self-management of food services and the small size of the municipality might be associated with implementing the direct purchase policy from FF, which can contribute to building healthier and more sustainable food systems. However, the lack of public management support and the weak productive fabric may pose an obstacle to its maintenance or dissemination. The strengthening and consolidation of these policies require more significant government investments in productive infrastructure for family farming.

The current scenario generated by the Covid-19 pandemic enhances the condition of food and nutrition insecurity due to the worsening of poverty, hunger and lack of access to food, as well as the excess consumption of foods considered unhealthy. The effects of the pandemic enhances the need for a new way of arranging the production, distribution and consumption of food, giving new meaning to the relationship between food, eating and the environment. Thus, it is suggested that a reflection be made on the strategies for the appropriate healthy, adequate and sustainable diet in Brazil to face this health emergency. Actions must be focused on the articulation of strategies that foster sovereignty, food and nutrition security and healthier and more sustainable food systems such as the strengthening of family farming; income assurance for the population; access to quality food; changes in the food environment; dissemination of information on healthy and sustainable food in official recommendations for the pandemic and food guides covering the entire food system, as well as food and nutrition education practices.

Objective The study aimed to shed light on the use of the terms “homemade”, “traditional”, and other similar terms in the front-of-pack labels of industrialized foods. Methods Labels of all packaged foods products (n=5,506) available for sale in a Brazilian supermarket were analyzed. The analysis verified the relative and absolute frequency of terms according to the similarity of expressions and semantics by food groups according to Brazilian regulation (nº 359/2003). A chi-square test identified differences in the total food terms with terms between food groups (.<0.001). Results Of all foods analyzed, 14.1% (n=778) presented the target terms. On the analyzed labels, the age of the brand or product was found more frequently (58.1%, n=495), followed by the terms “traditional” (20.1%, n=175) and “original” (11.0%, n=94). The groups that presented the highest relative frequency were groups I (baking goods) and II (canned vegetables), both with 21.4%. Conclusion The study confirmed the commercialization of packaged foods with terms that refer to a traditional and homemade production with different connotations. The information contained in the labels should be clear and correct to ensure that the consumer can make informed choices. The findings indicate the importance of investigating consumers’ perception of the presence of these terms on labels and clarifying the composition of these foods.

O presente estudo teve como objetivos identificar e analisar a utilização de alimentos e preparações culinárias regionais e alimentos da sociobiodiversidade na alimentação escolar de municípios representantes das mesorregiões da região Sul do Brasil, de acordo com a modalidade de aquisição (licitação ou chamada pública). Trata-se de estudo transversal, exploratório e com abordagem quanti-qualitativa conduzido em quatro etapas. A primeira etapa definiu uma amostra de 21 municípios, representantes de todas as mesorregiões da Região Sul do Brasil. A etapa de coleta de dados, realizada no ano de 2015, consistiu na condução de entrevistas semiestruturadas com 162 atores do PNAE para identificação dos alimentos e preparações reconhecidos como regionais; e no levantamento de cardápios e processos de aquisição de alimentos para posterior identificação da presença de alimentos regionais e da sociobiodiversidade. A etapa de tratamento dos dados consistiu na elaboração das listas de alimentos regionais (entrevistas), e na organização de outras duas listas, de alimentos regionais e da sociobiodiversidade, a partir de documentos oficiais, totalizando três listas para comparação. Para a etapa de análise dos dados, utilizou-se os softwares MaxQDA® e Microsoft Excel® para identificar e analisar com medidas de estatística descritiva a presença dos alimentos nos documentos analisados, bem como a via de fornecimento por qual esses seriam adquiridos (mercado convencional ou agricultura familiar). Quanto aos resultados, dos 142 itens analisados, 76 (53,5%) estavam presentes nos processos de aquisição de alimentos e nos cardápios da alimentação escolar, dos quais 47,7% estavam presentes em processos de chamada pública. Constatou-se elevada variação da diversidade de itens entre os municípios, tanto para a análise da variedade de alimentos e preparações culinárias declarados como regionais (Md=15; DP=7,2), quanto para a análise de variação das preparações culinárias e alimentos regionais e da sociobiodiversidade nos processos de aquisição (Md=18; DP=5,9). Dos 123 produtos passíveis de serem identificados em processos de aquisição, 12 equivaleram a aproximadamente 60% do total de presenças. Dos 35 produtos da sociobiodiversidade, apenas 3 (8,5%) estavam presentes nos processos de aquisição ou nos cardápios. Considerando que o uso de alimentos variados e que respeitem a cultura e as tradições é preconizado pelo PNAE, sugere-se intensificação de iniciativas visando a ampliação da diversidade dos alimentos e preparações regionais e produtos da sociobiodiversidade na alimentação escolar na Região Sul. Sugere-se, por fim, intensificar o incentivo à aquisição de alimentos da agricultura familiar via chamada pública e promover a capacitação de atores do PNAE para a aquisição desses alimentos.

ABSATRCT Objective This study aimed to investigate the main criteria used by nutritionists to plan school menus within the framework of the Brazilian National School Feeding Program. Methods Nutritionists from 21 municipalities in Southern Brazil were interviewed. Municipalities had between 20,000 and 70,000 inhabitants and were located in different mesoregions. Data were collected using an open-ended questionnaire and subjected to content analysis using NVivo® software. Results Sixteen criteria were identified, grouped into four categories: (1) food habits, culture, and acceptance; (2) nutritional characteristics; (3) food availability; and (4) management and execution. Brazilian National School Feeding Program regulations were recurrently cited within all identified categories, which demonstrates the influence of the program on nutritionists’ activities. Conclusion Brazilian National School Feeding Program regulatory guidelines for the development of school menus seem to influence the decision making of nutritionists. However, food purchase from family farms and calculation of meal nutritional value seem to be incipient criteria.