Acceptability of Reduced-Fat and Fried-Food-Free Menu in Self-Service Restaurant

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this study was to determine how the reduction of fat content in meals affects food acceptability in a self-service restaurant. Technical Preparation Files and combined ovens were used to modify the menu. The 14-month trial was divided in two phases, in which 75 clients evaluated the menu, without knowing the changes. Flavor, texture, appearance and global quality were measured using a 7-point hedonic scale. Principal and Hierarchical Factor Analysis as well as Fischer-test (? = .05) were used to test differences in acceptance proportion. The reduction of added fat (up to 2%) and the removal of fried food resulted in an equivalent/higher acceptance (from 71 ± 8 to 86 ± 7), whereas the rejection proportion decreased. The mean acceptance score, in both phases, was satisfactory for all dishes. Hence, it was concluded that the reduction of added fat and the use of combined ovens resulted in a better acceptance of the menu.

KEYWORDS:

• Acceptance
• combined oven
• fat
• fried food
• menu

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to all volunteers that participated in this study. We acknowledge the expertise of J. Nogueira for the data management and E. R. D Prado, MS, for the manuscript translation.